Macy’s has chosen 26 entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities for its 2024 vendor accelerator program, known as “The Workshop at Macy’s,” reports Yahoo Finance. Each participant completing the program receives a $5,000 business grant, and the winner of a pitch contest will get a $100,000 grant, per a Macy’s press release. In addition to getting access to education and funding, participants will meet Macy’s buyers and marketplace teams, with the potential to become vendors. From May 5 through June 1, they can also market their goods via an online pop-up on Macy’s website.
In the 13 years since its founding, Macy’s accelerator program has assisted more than 200 businesses led by underrepresented founders and owners and whose businesses cater to underserved communities, Sherieka Smallwood-Morgan, Macy’s director of retail strategy, said in a statement. Additionally, brands will be introduced to S.P.U.R. Pathways: Shared Purpose, Unlimited Reach, a multiyear, multifaceted funding program to advance entrepreneurial growth, close wealth gaps, and shatter systemic barriers faced by diverse-owned businesses.
Total Retail’s Take: The Workshop at Macy’s is the retail industry’s longest-running vendor accelerator program designed to propel underrepresented brands to the next level by providing retail industry knowledge, resources and tools, according to a company press release. The accelerator program is vital to the department store chain’s ongoing commitment to empower underrepresented entrepreneurs through its social purpose platform, Mission Every One. Following The Workshop, participants will be introduced to Macy’s buyers and digital marketplace teams for the opportunity to onboard as vendors across Macy’s retail ecosystem.
The Workshop at Macy’s has helped to develop more than 200 diverse-owned businesses since 2011. This year’s class includes businesses across apparel, beauty, home, kids and center core, which includes handbags, jewelry and eyewear. The accelerator program is a great way for Macy’s to support growth for new brands that can, in turn, reap big rewards for the retailer if successful and sold on Macy’s platforms.
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