Walmart’s “Open Call,” the company’s largest annual sourcing event, came to a close this week with more than 1,100 businesses pitching their products.
As the retailer said in a news release Thursday (June 30), more than 330 of those pitches — for products made, grown, or assembled in the U.S. — ended in a deal for those businesses.
That means these products have won a place on the shelves at Walmart or Sam’s Club, online at Walmart.com or on Walmart’s Marketplace. Another 280 business owners are still in talks with merchants about potential deals for their products.
Read more: Walmart Picks 1,200 Businesses in Largest-Ever ‘Open Call’
“Investing in U.S. manufacturing is not only the right thing to do for the country’s long-term economic health, it’s the right thing to do for customers today who are dealing with historic inflation,” said Doug McMillon, Walmart’s president and CEO.
This was the largest version of the Open Call, which Walmart says is part of its pledge to spend $250 billion over 10 years on products grown or made in America, a milestone the company says it has reached. In 2021, the company said it would invest another $350 billion in American-made products by 2031.
Related: Walmart Adds Digital Eyeglass Fitting Company to Stable of AR Try-on Tools
In other recent Walmart news, the company this week said it was acquiring it is acquiring California-based tech firm Memomi, whose virtual optical try-on solution technology in-house Walmart had been using in its stores.
Walmart described the purchase as “the next step” in its plan to offer “personalized, affordable access to optical care,” as well as part of a larger strategy to use data and technology to expand its healthcare business.
Learn more: FTC Takes Walmart to Court Over Money Transfer Fraud Allegations
Meanwhile, Walmart was sued this week by the Federal Trade Commission, which says the company “turned a blind eye” as its money transfer services were corrupted by scammers, costing customers hundreds of millions.
Walmart countered that the suit was “factually flawed and legally baseless,” and that the FTC didn’t give the company a chance to explain itself.
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