Walmart has hired Brandon Maxwell as the creative director of its lofty fashion brands.
Walmart
Walmart wants to make a name for itself in fashion. It has attracted Brandon Maxwell, a designer who dresses celebrities from Lady Gaga to Michelle Obama, to boost his reputation.
As Creative Director, Maxwell will lead the lofty brands of the discounter, Scoop and Free Assembly. The 36-year-old designer lives in New York City. He was a judge on Bravo’s “Project Runway” and designs a luxury label sold by retailers like Neiman Marcus with items costing hundreds or thousands of dollars each.
However, by partnering with Walmart, Maxwell said he can fit more budgets and reach more customers, including friends and family in his hometown of Longview, Texas. His first full collections will be available in the spring of 2022.
“I’m not one to believe that fashion is on the surface. I believe it’s a way of saying to the world ‘This is who I am’ and that has power,” he told CNBC. “Being able to bring that to so many different people, and communities like mine, in which I grew up, always felt like the goal for me.”
In recent years, Walmart has gone beyond the basics of clothing. The retailer has acquired established clothing brands, such as menswear retailer Bonobos, and launched its own brands. It added nearly 1,000 national names to its website, including Champion, Levi Strauss, and Free People. And it struck a deal with ThredUp, a retailer of second-hand clothes, shoes, and accessories, to offer more expensive brands with a limited budget.
The retailer has launched four exclusive, lofty brands: Sofía Jeans, developed in collaboration with actress Sofia Vergara; Eloquii Elements, a plus size women’s line inspired by the acquired Eloquii brand; Free Assembly, a private label for men and women for everyday fashion; and Scoop, a trend-focused brand that Walmart has revived.
Yet in terms of turnover, the world’s largest retailer is better known for its low prices than high fashion. The national footprint of more than 4,700 stores is largely concentrated in suburbs and small towns rather than fashion centers such as New York City and Los Angeles. Much of his fashionable clothes can only be found online.
Denise Incandela, executive vice president of clothing and private labels at Walmart, said this is changing. After testing and selling private labels online, she said shoppers will see them in more brick-and-mortar locations. This spring, Sofia Jeans will be in 1,000 stores. Free assembly will be in 500 stores, Scoop in 250 stores and Elloquii Elements in 100 stores.
She said the retailer plans to sell more national brands in stores and make clothing displays more attractive with mannequins and creative imagery. It also adds a kids line to Free Assembly and Scoop.
Walmart has 13 generic trademarks that have generated annual sales of $ 1 billion or more. Three of its own clothing lines are $ 2 billion brands. The company declined to name the brands.
Stacey Widlitz, a retail consultant and founder of SW Retail Advisors, said Walmart needs to prove to younger, style-conscious shoppers that the stores and website are a place to fill the closet, not just the refrigerator.
“The challenge for them is to really shape consumers into the fact that they are becoming a fashion destination,” she said. ‘It’s not an overnight solution [Walmart] is food. They are several basic principles. Walmart isn’t synonymous with fashion right now. “
She said it’s behind Target, its smaller, big-box rival that established itself as a cheap chic store with sleek, remodeled stores and popular house brands.
Free mens lifestyle montage
Source: Walmart
But she pointed to Walmart’s free assembly line, which launched last fall, as a sign of progress. She said Walmart needs to ramp up the pace with private labels.
Walmart’s US ecommerce sales were up 79% in the most recent fiscal year as more shoppers sent their purchases to their homes or took online orders in the parking lot during the pandemic. Turnover in the same store grew by 8.6% compared to the previous financial year. The company did not disclose how much of that revenue growth came from general merchandise, such as clothing.
As some shopping mall staples like Macy’s and JC Penney have lost their footing, Walmart and other off-mall stores have the chance to gain credibility and market share in general merchandise categories like beauty and apparel.
Incandela said Walmart wants to be a convenient place for consumers to find a wider range for their wardrobe, from T-shirts to eye-catching outfits. She said the retailer will continue to experiment with ways to impress, from showcasing clothes differently on their website to showcasing customers on TikTok.
“We are at the beginning of that journey,” she said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
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