Walmart Launches Online Site That Connects Shoppers with Products Supporting Small Women-Owned Businesses Around the World

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Empowering Women Together is Another Initiative in Advancing Walmart's
Commitment to Global Women's Economic Empowerment
BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Walmart today launched an
online destination on Walmart.com that gives shoppers who want to buy unique
and interesting products the opportunity to do so while supporting small
women-owned businesses around the world. With each purchase, consumers lift and
empower the women behind these products to create new jobs and improve both
their own lives and the lives of their families and communities. At launch,
Empowering Women Together will offer shoppers more than 200 items from 19
businesses in nine countries.

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"Empowering Women Together is a simple concept; it connects shoppers in the
United States with quality products made by women-owned businesses around the
world," said Andrea Thomas, senior vice president, Walmart. "And in doing
that, it helps achieve so much more. Through Walmart's Empowering Women
Together, customers can help these suppliers increase their incomes, better
their lives and create new jobs for others, and Walmart can help these suppliers
gain experience with buying trends, scaling, product development and acumen they
need to build their businesses."

"As merchants, we're always looking for new products to share with our customers
that are quality, on-trend and priced right," said Kelly Thompson, senior vice
president of merchandising, Walmart.com. "The products from the Empowering
Women Together collection deliver all of that while also giving our customers
the chance to do good with their dollars - it's a positive and powerful
proposition for everyone."

Empowering Women Together will be part of Store for Good, a developing
Walmart.com program dedicated to connecting consumers with products that do good
for other people, for themselves, or for our environment. The initiative will
grow and potentially include eco-friendly products and healthier food options.

Each of the businesses participating in Empowering Women Together is fueled by
women with inspiring stories. No two stories are alike. Challenges such as
poverty, lack of education, domestic abuse and physical limitations are common.
What each supplier shares is a drive to build a better future. Empowering Women
Together will give Joy Ndungutse, an entrepreneur in Rwanda, and many women
like her around the world the opportunity they never thought they'd have - to
begin or greatly expand their access to shoppers in America.

"From a humble beginning under a tree in a remote village in Rwanda, my sister
and I founded Gahaya Links after the devastating 1994 Rwanda Genocide that left
over 1 million dead," said Joy Ndungutse. "We organized about 20 women with a
vision of empowering them to enhance their weaving skills, to be able to earn an
income, and live adequately by community standards. Today we are a growing
network of over 4,000 women, the majority of whom are genocide survivors and are
organized in cooperatives throughout Rwanda. Through our partnership with Full
Circle Exchange and opportunities such as Empowering Women Together, this
platform gives hope to many families in Rwanda and we are so grateful."

Empowering Women Together is also dedicated to helping U.S.-based women-owned
businesses grow and expand their distribution. Nine of the initial 19
Empowering Women Together businesses are U.S. based.

"Women's Bean Project was inspired while our founder volunteered at a local
women's shelter," said Tamra Ryan, CEO of Women's Bean Project. "The women she
met wanted to work their own way up and out of poverty, but didn't have the
skills to find or keep work. So, she decided to start a business to teach them
how."

From an initial $500 investment and two employees, Women's Bean Project has
grown to employ hundreds with an operating budget in excess of $2 million and
products that include salsa mixes, spice rubs, coffee beans, soups, chili, gift
baskets and jewelry. "Women's Bean Project does more than produce great
merchandise; it teaches women job readiness and life skills, and helps them with
their basic needs to build a better life - that's what has fueled our success."

In addition to merchandise from Gahaya Links and Women's Bean Project, the
inaugural Empowering Women Together collection also includes jewelry from Peru,
Rwanda, Kenya and the U.S.; home accessories from Rwanda and Haiti; paper
mache from Haiti, apparel and accessories from Rwanda; iPad and laptop cases
from Cambodia and Nepal; coffee and tea sets sourced globally and made in
America; and specialty foods made in America and Canada. The full collection
can be viewed online at http://www.walmart.com/empoweringwomentogether.

To help empower the women behind these products, Walmart is applying the same
model for making a difference that it has used to take on other social issues
such as hunger, accessibility to healthy foods and sustainability. An important
part of that model is partnering with organizations that share the same goals
and bring expertise and leadership to problem-solving. Walmart's initial
partners for Empowering Women Together include Full Circle Exchange and
Global Goods Partners.

"Walmart and Full Circle share a common mission to empower women through
commerce, allowing them to work their way out of poverty in ways that are both
sustainable and dignified," said Mark Priddy, CEO and cofounder, Full Circle
Exchange. "By focusing on poverty reduction through job creation and access to
global markets, we believe that, when equipped with the proper resources, women
have the power to help lift whole families and entire communities out of
poverty."

"Our goal is to help strengthen women-led development initiatives for
marginalized communities in Asia, Africa and the Americas," said Jennifer
Gootman, executive director of not-for-profit Global Goods Partners. "Women all
over the world are overcoming enormous challenges to join together and support
each other in small business enterprises to better themselves, their families,
and their communities."

Walmart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative
In September 2011, Walmart announced its global Women's Economic Empowerment
Initiative. The program's key goals were formed through conversations with
leaders from government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), philanthropic
groups and academia and include increasing sourcing from women-owned businesses,
empowering nearly 1 million women through training, and promoting diversity and
inclusion representation within our merchandise and professional services
suppliers. Empowering Women Together is part of this initiative's 5-year
commitment through 2016 to source $20 billion from women-owned businesses.

In addition to these key focus areas, Walmart will support its Women's Economic
Empowerment Initiative with more than $100 million in grants that drive
progress against its goals. Funding will come from the Walmart Foundation and
donations directly from Walmart's international businesses.

About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and
live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their
mobile devices. Each week, more than 200 million customers and members visit
our more than 10,500 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce
websites in 10 countries. With fiscal year 2013 sales of approximately $466
billion, Walmart employs more than 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart
continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and
employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by
visiting http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at
http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/walmartnewsroom. Online merchandise sales are available at
http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.

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SOURCE Walmart

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