MACY’S ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ITS SUPPLIER DIVERSITY PROGRAM

Macy’s is accepting applications for the 10th anniversary class of its diverse supplier accelerator, The Workshop at Macy. 

The retailer is offering highly-qualified ethnically diverse-, women-, LGBTQ-and veteran-owned businesses an opportunity to learn how to grow and scale their brands. The business development program equips participants with a new perspective on how to create effective, large-scale supplier relationships via a one-week intensive that includes master classes on building brand identity, managing business relationships, financial management for sustained growth, high impact business conversations, maximizing assortment plan and production life cycle, and more. 

The 30 brands in the class of 2020 – the largest-ever – will learn from a consortium of Macy’s leaders including president Hal Lawton and chief diversity officer Shawn Outler in addition to retail leaders from Babson College, Facebook, Diverse and Engaged, and Carol’s Daughter.

The Workshop at Macy’s, a key initiative in the company’s commitment to creating pipelines for supplier diversity, has graduated more than 125 companies since its launch in 2011.  In the years since its inception, several alumni have successfully launched product lines in select Macy’s and Bloomingdales stores, and on The Workshop at Macy’s e-commerce site.

In 2018, Macy’s purchased approximately $937 million from ethnically diverse- and women-owned businesses. This engagement with diverse suppliers contributed more than $1.8 billion to the U.S. economy – surpassing the billion-dollar mark for the fourth year in a row – and sustained more than 10,000 jobs.  These jobs, and the incomes earned through them, are important contributions to the communities in which we operate.

The application period runs from now through Sunday, January 26, 2020.

Interested brands can complete an application by visiting TheWorkshopAtMacys.com.