CINCINNATI, Feb. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For the sixth
consecutive year, The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) has been named one of
America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises by the
Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
The annual list honors corporations that have established a
sustained commitment to the inclusion of women-owned businesses in
their supply chains.
"Diversity is at the core of our people-first culture and an
integral part of our business strategy at Kroger," said Angel
Colón, Kroger's senior director of diversity and inclusion. "Women
make up more than half of our workforce and 31% of our senior
management, and we're deeply committed to increasing women's
business enterprise representation across Kroger's supply chain.
We're proud that this intentional approach to inclusion has once
again earned us WBENC's prestigious 'Top Corporations'
recognition."
Kroger's 2019 Women's Business Enterprise (WBE)
Highlights:
- Kroger invested an additional $163
million with women-owned businesses across its supply chain
in 2019, increasing its annual WBE spend by 50%.
- Kroger established 234 new WBE supplier partnerships, a 57%
increase from 2018.
- Kroger held a Supplier Inclusion Innovation Summit in
May 2019, inviting more than 80
diverse suppliers to pitch their products and services while
networking with Kroger's key category managers and buyers. Nearly
half of summit attendees were WBE suppliers, including Tempagenix,
Kroger's Top Innovation Award honoree.
- Kroger partnered with WBENC's Student Entrepreneur Program to
mentor Sinzuca Chocolates Founder Yolanda
Martinez and other emerging WBE vendors.
- Kroger achieved Billion Dollar Roundtable status for 12
consecutive years, reaching more than $1
billion in spend with certified minority- and women-owned
suppliers.
- Kroger ranked 13th on Omnikal's 2019 Omni50 list,
which recognizes America's top 50 corporate and government buyers
of products and services from inclusive and diverse suppliers.
- Kroger ranked fourth on The Wall Street Journal's list
of the top 20 most diverse Fortune 500 companies.
The Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises list is
the only national award program honoring corporations for
establishing supplier diversity initiatives that proactively
integrate women-owned businesses into their supply chains. The 75
companies named to the prestigious list will be recognized at
the 2020 WBENC Summit & Salute, a gathering of more than 1,800
entrepreneurs and corporate business leaders taking
place March 16-18 in Nashville, Tenn.
About The Kroger Co.
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™
and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human
Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly
half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily
through a seamless shopping experience under a variety
of banner names. We are committed to creating
#ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us,
visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
About WBENC
WBENC is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned,
controlled, and operated by women in the
United States. WBENC partners with 14 Regional Partner
Organizations (RPOs) to provide its world-class standard of
certification to women-owned businesses throughout the country.
WBENC is also the nation's leading advocate of women-owned
businesses and entrepreneurs. Throughout the year, WBENC provides
business development opportunities for member corporations,
government agencies and close to 16,000 certified women-owned
businesses at events and other forums. Learn more at
www.wbenc.org
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.