Retailers Headline Top Multicultural Businesses List

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., The Kroger Co., Target Corp., Supervalu and Ahold have secured a spot on DiversityBusiness.com’s Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business. Honorees on the 14th annual “Div50” list represent the top 50 corporate and organizational buyers of diversity products and services throughout the U.S.

In addition to Wal-Mart Stores (2), Kroger (11), Target Corp. (18), Supervalu (23) and Ahold USA (42), several CPG companies also made the Div50 list, including The Coca-Cola Co. (14), PepsiCo (17), Colgate-Palmolive Co. (22), Johnson & Johnson (30), ConAgra Foods (49) and Nestlé (50).

“The diversity practices of the Div50 has changed the course of economic inclusion and thereby the world as we know it,” said Kenton Clarke, CEO of DiversityBusiness.com. “The great diversity and vision of our country and our people have made this possible. DiversityBusiness.com is proud to have been a force in the business world for such positive change and opportunity. The initiative that we have led has been instrumental in equalizing the playing field and for that we are very honored indeed.”

Top Honors for Top Corporations

While other diversity awards programs crown companies for metrics such as overall economic growth and returns to shareholders, Clarke said Div50 is an indicator of which organizations provide the best and the most business for diversity-owned companies.

“In a marketplace that is increasingly as sensitive to diversity as it is to revenues, awarding the top buyers of multicultural products and services is becoming a natural part of the new socioeconomic food chain. Organizations that consistently buy the most products and services from diversity businesses, and that sustain the most mutually beneficial business relationships with their multicultural suppliers, should be recognized not only by the business community but also by the general public. That is what we have accomplished in creating The Div50,” added Clarke.