At a recent workshop in Ho Chi Min City, Walmart told Vietnamese businesses that it wants to source more products from companies owned or run by female executives.
Vietnamese news website TuoiTreNews.vn reported that the retailer plans to give businesses either owned or run by women, or in which the majority of the labour force is female, a chance to become their suppliers of specialised goods and services.
At the event, held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, Jocelyn Tran, regional senior director for Walmart global sourcing in South-East Asia, revealed that globally, the American retailer is aiming to buy nearly $24 billion worth of goods and services from women-owned or women-run suppliers in 2016.
This plan has the potential to double Walmart’s purchase of merchandise and services from women-led enterprises in 11 of its international markets, Tran said.
The senior manager of international sourcing for the Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative at Walmart, Kara Valikai, added that women, especially those in emerging markets, reinvest an average of 90 per cent of their incomes into their families and community, helping to reduce poverty.
Valikai added that in the retailer’s experience, female business owners are also innovative, adaptable and willing to experiment with new ideas.
She added, however, that this doesn’t mean that there is any gender discrimination in Walmart’s sourcing policies, but that the company would be offering further guidance for female entrepreneurs.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jenny Whelan. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
