Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens will 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.
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 attend here.
Building on the success of last year’s localization summit, Walgreens aims to bring in local businesses to evaluate opportunities to build locally relevant product offerings for its 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 CMO and SVP. “When our shelves reflect the communities we serve, we can better live out our purpose of more joyful lives through better health.”
All sourcing and product submissions will be made through RangeMe, an online product discovery and sourcing platform. Walgreens will review submissions, and will invite selected suppliers for face-to-face virtual meetings with buyers on ECRM’s virtual meeting platform, ECRM Connect, where chosen suppliers can introduce new products into the marketplace. ECRM’s support team will help ensure that buyer and seller connections are executed.
