Wal-Mart eyes women-owned businesses

"The challenge for small women-owned businesses - and particularly women artisans - is that they have a fantastic product, but they may not have the size or scale to sell in our bricks and mortar stores," said Leslie Dach, Wal-Mart's executive vice president of corporate affairs.

The page is scheduled to be available in spring 2012, and products will include jewellery from Guatemala, Thailand and Ethiopia; coffee from Central and South America; and dresses from Kenya.

Just months after defeating a landmark sexual discrimination suit brought by over a million of its female employees, the retail heavyweight launched its global women's initiative.

"We're stepping up our efforts to help educate, source from and open markets for women around the world - we want them to view us as a retailer that is relevant to them and cares about them. We want them to be leading suppliers, managers and loyal customers," Wal-Mart president and CEO Mike Duke said.

The US Supreme Court's June dismissal in the 10-year-old gender bias case was a major victory for Wal-Mart, who had faced billions of dollars in claims if it had lost. The retailer may still face charges of gender-bias in lower courts, however.

Last month, Wal-Mart, who is the world's largest retailer by sales, said it was rejigging its e-commerce operations in the US, UK, Japan and Canada so that its online operations and brick and mortar stores would be better integrated.

Instead of reporting to a global e-commerce team, the group said its e-commerce managers in developed markets would report directly to the executives in charge of stores in each country.

According to trade publication, Internet Retailer's Top 500 list - which ranks business-to-consumer retailers in the US and Canada, based on online sales, Wal-Mart is in sixth place, preceded by Office Depot, Dell, Apple, Staples and in first place Amazon.com.

According to Dach, Wal-Mart's e-commerce platform would give women access to an established set of customers on Walmart.com, as well as the benefit of the company's knowledge about customers, packaging and promotions.

The company's partners for the initial line include Full Circle Exchange and Ethical Fashion Africa, a program within the International Trade Centre.

Wal-Mart forecasts that by 2016, the dedicated e-commerce site will feature approximately 500 items - from apparel and jewellery, to stationery and accessories - by more than 20 000 women.