Made in the U.S.A. goes global

-- Home Textiles Today, 2/18/2003 9:26:00 AM

Bentonville, AR — Wal-Mart's Made in the U.S.A. program has long been a mainstay in its stores — the merchant's very public effort at boosting American-made goods against the incursion of cheaper imports. Now it's ready to offer some of those same goods to consumers in other countries.

The company today said it has opened a new office at its Arkansas headquarters to identify quality U.S. products that would appeal to Wal-Mart customers in other nations. GP USA Export is a branch of Wal-Mart Global Procurement, an internal buying agency formed by the company in 2002.

"We're living in a global marketplace," said Ken Eaton, Wal-Mart's senior vp of global procurement. "And Wal-Mart wants to offer its customers the very best of what the world has to offer."

Wal-Mart global procurement has sourcing offices in 17 countries working directly with Wal-Mart merchandise buyers around the world.