Macy’s would love you to believe that its stores represent a slice of Americana. Macy’s latest ad campaign capitalizes on the retailer’s name recognition and brand ubiquity by showing clips of classic films and television stars like Lucille Ball and Johnny Carson mentioning Macy’s.

There’s one major problem with this all-American image: Macy’s supplier diversity program includes goals for minority and women-owned businesses but mentions nothing about veteran-owned businesses.

NaVOBA requested information from the supplier diversity team at Macy’s and asked why the company includes goals for other diverse business groups but not veterans. Macy’s did not reply.

The company boasts its dedication to its supplier diversity program and even lists a message from Terry Lundgren, Macy’s CEO, on its supplier diversity web page at http://www.macysinc.com/diversitymanagement/supplierdiversity/.

Lundgren states, in part, that "Macy's, Inc. recognizes that at the heart of retailing is creativity, and that by bringing together a broad array of talents, our business is enhanced. This is particularly true in our vendor relationships. …we continue to see the benefits this diversity brings to all of us in the retail industry. From a business perspective, we know that if we want to continue to be the best at what we do, then we need to attract and retain the best talent, both as employees and suppliers."

Does this mean that veterans are not creative and do not represent the "best talent" as employees and suppliers?

Lundgren’s statement continues to describe how "To assist in the growth of talented small business, Macy's, Inc. strives to purchase and support vendors who are certified as minority or women-owned. We look to purchase goods and services from these business enterprises and encourage prospective suppliers to join us as partners and take advantage of our Supplier Diversity Program. As partners, it's a true win-win -- Macy's, Inc. finds talented new suppliers for high quality, competitively priced merchandise and our vendors see their business grow."

Does this mean that veterans are not talented and veteran-owned businesses cannot provide high-quality, competitively priced merchandise?

In 2006, Macy’s spent more than $770 million with diverse suppliers. That’s a lot of buying power. But, with more than 3 million vetrepreneurs and more than 26 million veterans in America, that’s a lot of buying power as well. Perhaps veterans take all that buying power to different retailers this holiday season.

To see the list of companies that do "Buy Veteran," visit http://www.navoba.com/f1000.aspx

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