Walmart has chosen over 1,000 finalists for its eighth annual Open Call event, taking place June 30.
The event, which will be virtual for the second year in a row, offers finalists the opportunity to pitch their products in 30-minute one-on-one meetings with Walmart merchants. Participants can secure deals ranging from a few local stores to supplying hundreds of Walmart and Sam’s Club locations as well as Walmart.com and Walmart Marketplace.
“We’re thrilled with the growth we’ve seen in our Open Call event, as we’ve seen time and again its power to support new and existing jobs and help small businesses and entrepreneurs,” said Laura Phillips, Walmart senior vice president for global sourcing and U.S. manufacturing, in a statement. “We know that U.S. manufacturing matters a lot to our shoppers. Programs like Open Call serve to bolster communities, provide more value to our customers and improve the way we do business.”
This year, more than 4,300 businesses applied for the chance to pitch their products, and more than 12,500 merchant meetings were requested, marking one of the largest number of Open Call applications received in the event’s eight-year history.
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