Walmart has hired Brandon Maxwell as creative director of its fashion brands.
Walmart
Walmart wants to make a name for itself in fashion. He has taken advantage of Brandon Maxwell, a designer who dresses celebrities from Lady Gaga to Michelle Obama, to boost his reputation.
Maxwell will oversee the high discount brands, Scoop and Free Assembly, as creative director. The 36-year-old designer lives in New York City. He has been 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.
Working with Walmart, however, Maxwell said he can fit in more budgets and reach more buyers, including friends and family, in his hometown of Longview, Texas. His first complete collections will be available in the spring of 2022.
“I’m not a person who believes that fashion is just something on the surface. I think it’s a way of telling the world, ‘That’s 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 seemed like the goal to me.”
In recent years, Walmart has expanded beyond the basics of clothing. The retailer has acquired established clothing brands, such as men’s clothing retailer Bonobos, and has launched its own. He added nearly 1,000 national names to his website, including Champion, Levi Strauss and Free People. And he came to an agreement with ThredUp, a seller of second-hand clothes, shoes and accessories high-end brands with a budget.
The retailer has launched four exclusive and high-end brands: Sofía Jeans, developed with actress Sofia Vergara; Eloquii Elements, a larger female line inspired by the acquired brand Eloquii; Free Assembly, a private label for men and women for everyday fashion; and Scoop, a trend-oriented brand that Walmart revived.
Still, the world’s largest retailer by revenue is better known for low prices than high fashion. Its national footprint of more than 4,700 stores is largely concentrated in suburban areas and small towns rather than fashion malls like New York and Los Angeles. Much of her fashionable clothing can only be found online.
Denise Incandela, executive vice president of clothing and private label at Walmart, said this is changing. After testing and selling private labels online, he said shoppers will see them at more locations. This spring, Sofia Jeans will be in 1,000 stores. Free assembly will be done in 500 stores, Scoop in 250 stores and Elloquii Elements in 100 stores.
He said the retailer plans to sell more national brands in stores and make clothing screens more attractive with mannequins and creative images. A children’s line will also be added to free Assembly and Scoop.
Walmart has 13 private general merchandise brands that have generated $ 1 billion or more in annual sales. Three of its private clothing lines are $ 2 billion brands. The company rejected the brand name.
Stacey Widlitz, retail consultant and founder of SW Retail Advisors, said Walmart needs to show younger, aware shoppers that their stores and website are a place to store the closet, not just the fridge.
“The challenge for them is to be able to really shape the mind of the consumer that they are becoming a fashion destination,” he said. “It ‘s not an overnight solution [Walmart] is food. There are several basic aspects. Walmart is not synonymous with fashion right now. “
He said he is behind Target, his biggest and smallest rival that has established itself as a cheap and stylish retailer with sleek and refurbished stores and popular private labels.
Free assembly Male lifestyle
Source: Walmart
But he pointed to Walmart’s free assembly line, which was launched last fall, as a sign of progress. He said Walmart needs to pick up the pace of private labels.
Walmart’s e-commerce sales in the U.S. grew 79 percent in the most recent fiscal year as more shoppers shipped purchases home or picked up online orders in the parking lot during the pandemic. Its sales in the same store grew by 8.6% compared to the previous year. The company did not find out what part of this sales growth came from general merchandise, such as clothing.
Because some mall commodities like Macy’s and JC Penney have lost their level, Walmart and other stores outside the mall have a chance to gain credibility and market share in general merchandise categories such as beauty and clothing.
Incandela said Walmart wants to be a convenient place where consumers can find a wider range for their wardrobe, from t-shirts to sexy dresses. He said the retailer will continue to experiment with ways to make an impression, from displaying clothing differently on its website to standing in front of customers at TikTok.
“We’re at the beginning of this journey,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Bravo and CNBC.