The world’s largest retailer has brought on A-list celebrity designer Brandon Maxwell to bring life — and sales — into two of its private-label brands, in a move designed to counter Amazon’s growing share of apparel sales.
Walmart took a major step toward improving its hand in the apparel business on Tuesday (March 16) in announcing that it had hired celebrity A-list designer Brandon Maxwell as the creative director for two of its in-house private-label brands.
In a move described as “a first for the company,” Walmart said the 36-year old native Texan, who is best known for outfitting the likes of Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, will oversee four seasonal collections annually for its Free Assembly and Scoop brands. The move will start with the holiday season this fall, ahead of a full collection drop next spring.
“Our shared fashion values of accessibility and commitment to incredible design and quality make him an ideal partner for Walmart,” said Denise Incandela, Walmart’s executive vice president, apparel and private brands. “Bringing his distinctive design talent to our elevated brand collections of Free Assembly and Scoop allows Walmart to offer customers stylish, high-quality fashion at an extraordinary value.”
Will Wear Many Hats
Although limited to two brands, Maxwell will be involved in many different parts of the design process, and will oversee four seasonal collections of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing as well as a line of accessories. In addition to design work, Maxwell will also advise on material selection, sourcing, production and marketing campaigns. Prior to that, a line of face masks designed by Maxwell is set to hit shelves shortly.
“This partnership allows me to bring the experience and joy of fashion to countless people who live in small towns across the country. Everyone deserves to have access to well-designed clothing at an accessible price point,” Maxwell said, in reference to the fact that 90 percent of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of one of Walmart’s 5,000 domestic stores. “Like many people across the country who live in a small town, Walmart was the destination for everything where I grew up in Texas, including clothing,” he added.
The Apparel Wars
The new designer strategy comes at an interesting time for Walmart, which has seen its share of the clothing and apparel category shrink while rival Amazon’s stake has steadily grown.
According to the latest PYMNTS research data, Amazon’s quarterly share of the apparel segment began 2020 with only about a four-percentage-point lead, which widened to a ten-percentage-point advantage by the end of the year, with the online giant grabbing 18.4 percent of clothing sales versus Walmart’s 8.2 percent share.
As much as Walmart has committed to spending $14 billion on growing and modernizing its business this year — and has also made recent forays into the social shopping scene via live-streamed events on TikTok — it has long struggled to find the balance between style and price that pleases both new and existing customers.
In addition, Bloomberg pointed out that Walmart’s latest attempt to embrace upscale fashion is not its first. Similar initiatives 10 years ago did not go as planned, with the company halting an ad campaign in Vogue magazine and eventually closing its office in New York City’s garment district
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