Wal-Mart Has Designs on Designers
Word is that Wal-Mart is getting into the branded clothing business, not to be confused with their foray into the designer fashion business. And this time it just might work.
Shoppers were not excited to exchange hard-won dollars for invented Wal-Mart brands like Metro7 and George that offered little in the way of design difference but took more cash—a bullet Target missed by using real designers for their offerings.
Now, in a different approach, Wal-Mart is joining forces with established clothing brands like Op and l.e.i. jeans, and most interestingly, Norma Kamali of 80’s football-shoulders fame—a designer who has, with Cher-like tenacity, managed to hang on to a bit of floor space in upscale chains and even has her own boutique.
The appetite for apparel brands shows no signs of slowing. The 2008 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index from Brand Keys shows Macy’s in the number one spot among non-discount department stores. Macy’s new retailing approach—heavy on the celebrity brands like Jessica Simpson, Martha Stewart, and Donald Trump—appears to be working, and would bode well for a non-store brand strategy on the discount side of the store aisle.
With the celebrity associations Op is calling on to publicize the launch, and even the faded celebrity of Ms. Kamali herself, Wal-Mart may indeed be finally getting the mix of product and celebrity brand right.
A lot depends, as it always does, on what the product delivers because in the category in which Wal-Mart competes, the merchandise range and the quality of the merchandise hold the highest expectations for consumers. Celebrity will sell, but only when backed up by something people actually want to wear.
Amy Shea is executive vice president at Brand Keys.
