Walgreens opens call for diverse vendor participation at Localization Summit
Walgreens announced plans to hold its annual Localization Summit, a virtual showcase for diverse, local and regional businesses and entrepreneurs to share their retail offerings with the merchants of the national drugstore chain.
The virtual event, hosted by RangeMe and ECRM, provides local suppliers the opportunity to connect with the Walgreens Merchandising team, share their products and receive feedback with the ultimate goal of being stocked on Walgreens shelves in their local areas.
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The merchandising event will take place on Feb. 22 and focus on products across grocery and household, apparel, beach, tourism and general merchandise, among other categories. Suppliers can find additional information about the virtual event and apply to join here.
Building on the success of last year’s localization summit, Walgreens aims to bring in local businesses from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to evaluate opportunities to build more locally relevant product offerings for Walgreens customers and deeper collaboration with new suppliers for the future.
“To be a trusted health and well-being destination, we work hard to remain relevant for customers in each of our communities and curate a selection of products and services that meet their unique needs,” said Luke Rauch, Walgreens’ chief merchandising officer. “When our shelves reflect the communities we serve, we can better live out our purpose of more joyful lives through better health.”
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All sourcing and product submissions will be made through RangeMe, the industry standard online product discovery and sourcing platform. Walgreens will review supplier submissions and invite selected suppliers for face-to-face virtual meetings with buyers on ECRM’s industry-leading virtual meeting platform, ECRM Connect, where chosen suppliers can introduce new and innovative products into the marketplace. ECRM’s dedicated support team will help ensure that buyer and seller connections are executed seamlessly.