Walmart Inc. has invited about 850 entrepreneurs out of more than 4,800 who applied to pitch their products to the retailer at its virtual “Open Call” event October 1. The giant retailer received 44 percent more applications than last year. Submissions came from small and medium-sized businesses in 49 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and Mozambique.
This is the Bentonville-based retailer’s seventh annual Open Call, but because of the pandemic, it’s the first to be held virtually. Participants will still have the usual 30-minute one-on-one pitch meetings with Walmart buyers. A list of those pitching is not available, but we would love to hear about any company in our region that made the finals. In 2018, we posted this article about The Cumberland Companies in Knoxville that made the list.