In an attempt to nab the country’s top apparel spot, Walmart Canada is expanding its private-label brand George to include more fashionable styles and a better in-store experience.
To make room for George, Walmart is hanging up most of its private label clothing brands, including B.U.M. Equipment, 725 and Penmans, but will keep its Athletic Works line.
Creating a unified look across so many brands was difficult, said Jeff Lobb, senior vice-president of marketing for Walmart Canada. By consolidating the lines, Walmart can now focus on building a strong brand identity under one brand name, he said.
The George line has been divided into seven categories including George Baby, George Kids, G21–for teens and young adults–George for contemporary consumers, George Classics for mature adults, George Plus for full-figured women and George Maternity for expecting moms.
“Fashion confidence” is a big part of the new George, said Lobb, adding that Walmart wants its customers to feel like they’re getting fashinable pieces but at a reasonable price. The chain has made improvements to quality and style of the line, which is now designed in Canada, and in-house. Walmart has also doubled the number of associates dedicated to product development to 40.
Walmart Canada is currently the second-biggest seller of apparel in the country behind Sears Canada, and they have their sights set on number one, said Lobb.
All 319 of Walmart’s Canadian locations will be revamped to create a “store-within-a-store” concept that includes improved signage, new hardware and fixtures, as well as new brand packaging and tags.
The store is a vital element of any marketing plan, said Lobb. “The world’s best advertising experience, if it doesn’t come to life in store then it really is for naught,” he said, adding that on average, 1.1 million consumers visit Walmart each day.
Walmart will promote the expansion with a “flyer-within-a-flyer” design that highlights the George brand, in addition to TV, magazine and online ads that launch next week from Walmart creative agency of record JWT.
The George brand also gets its own website in both English and French – FashionByGeorge.ca or LaModeCestGeorge.ca – which go live today.
“Consumers are going to have the opportunity to interact with the brand on a 52-week basis,” said Lobb. “More and more consumers are going online so we’re going to be able to help them understand George.”
Consumers can’t yet purchase any of the items online, but Lobb said Walmart hopes to add an e-commerce service to the site in the near future.
