Becoming a vendor with a chain or mass merchant requires a lot of patience because these large companies typically move at the speed of drunken snail (unless you're in the hot seat, then they want it NOW). Generally, the time it takes to get vendored ranges anywhere from one to six months (or sometimes more), but it depends on the retailer, their policies and their bureaucracy. For example, there are seven layers of approval to navigate before a company completes the process at Wal-Mart. It can be done in as little as a month but it generally takes a little longer. At least at Wal-Mart everything can be done online, which speeds things up a lot.
At K-Mart, they're still doing things by hand (literally). I received a K-Mart vendor application in the mail recently that weighed about four pounds. Every single page had to be filled out with a pen and in order to be able to fit everything in the allotted space, I think you have to be one of those artists who can write someone's name on a grain of rice. I soaked my hand in a bucket of ice when I was finished. Luckily, I had the good sense to make copies before loading the application and all of the required attachments onto a pallet and hoisting it all into the back of a semi for its trip to their home office because after it arrived, they promptly lost it and needed another copy. I just received a vendor application for JC Penney in the mail too and it looks to be about the same size as K-Mart's.
In any case, the point is that becoming a mass merchant vendor requires patience, determination and tenacity. Be sure to read everything carefully and have a clear understanding of what they require before you get started. A simple mistake (for instance, the Wal-Mart system doesn't accept commas in address lines) can kick out your application and send it to the back of the line where it might linger for eternity.
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