Wal-Mart Announces Retreat from Fashionable Clothes with Fashion Show

This kinda reminds me of a similar fiasco Wal-Mart pulled a couple of years back during their initial attempt at goin ‘upscale’. They put on a ‘fashion show’ somewhere in Florida, as I recall. I forget the name of the line, but it was pretty well received until...... potential customers found out it was from Wal-Mart. I remember one woman was quoted as saying: “I never buy clothing at Wal-Mart!”

Incidentally, Capitol One’s annual back-to-school survey is out and it doesn’t look good for anyone in retail including Wal-Mart.

Many parents will spend less this year than last: the number of parents who plan to spend over $125 on back-to-school shopping dropped to 45 percent this year compared to 52 percent last year.

What’s good for Wal-Mart is BAD for America!

what you you think of my dress in the photo?dont be shy and think your comments will embarrass me.

Dress for less with “fantasy” fashions by Vantress!

It appears that Wal-Mart may be trying once again to go after a more upscale customer, but then again I could be wrong. If I remember correctly their line was called Metro 7 or something like that. They made an attempt at going after customers who would normally shop at places like Target which sells a better clothing line. Well typical of Wal-Mart their attempt failed miserably. It all boils down to the fact that even now THEY STILL DON’T KNOW WHO THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE.
And who are Wal-Mart’s customers? People who shop on PRICE ALONE. They don’t care who made it, the quality of it, where it came from, etc. They just want their cheap goods. Why? Because they probably can’t afford anything of quality.
But the old saying you get what you pay for applies here.
And yes, Ken, you’re right. What is good for Wal-Mart is bad for America!!

“We’ve only had one real problem with “Metro 7,” and that is, we’re having a hard time keeping up with the demand in our stores.” – Tom Schoewe [Lehman Brothers Annual Retail Conference, 5/2/06]

The Truth:
Wal-Mart receives the lowest possible score in customer satisfaction survey.  According to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index, “Wal-Mart ranked lowest among U.S. discounters and department store chains in an annual survey.” While Target was able to maintain its score, Wal-Mart’s number fell from 72 to 68 this year. The retailer’s grocery department has been at the bottom of the list every year since ACSI started tracking in 2004. [Bloomberg, 2/19/08]

Wal-Mart shakes up apparel unit. After months and months of slumping sales, Wal-Mart shut two apparel divisions at it headquarters – the first such layoffs in years. Despite widespread optimism within the company, Wal-Mart’s strategy of offering trendy clothing lines did not resonate with its customer base. Bill Dreher, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities, said, “They had tried to overreach — on their own, with little expertise or credibility in fashion. It was not bound for success.” [New York Times, 1/30/08]

Wal-Mart abandons upscale strategy and reaches out to core audience.  Wal-Mart, of Bentonville, Ark., has for several months sought to win back shoppers by slashing prices on a broader range of goods than usual at the expense of its profit margins. The low-price push comes in the wake of a failed bid in 2005 and 2006 to lure more affluent shoppers by stocking trendy merchandise in apparel and home decor—some of which it is liquidating at marked-down prices. [Wall Street Journal, 8/15/07]

Wal-Mart tries and fails to be trendy.  After realizing that affluent shoppers were shopping at Wal-Mart, the company in the last two years aggressively moved towards offering trendy fashions under a new label called Metro 7, doubled the organic food in its aisles and started offering 400-thread count bed sheets. Wal-Mart even bought ads in Vogue magazine and sponsored an open-air fashion show in Times Square. [Business Week, 6/1/07]

Wal-Mart means low price, not high quality.  Metro 7 fashions didn’t really attract upscale shoppers, who continued to visit Wal-Mart only for their staples like detergent and milk and spurned Wal-Mart’s organic offerings. Chief Executive Lee Scott conceded in an April meeting with BusinessWeek that the company has struggled to persuade customers that Wal-Mart can mean high-quality, rather than simply low price. “I think we went too far too fast,” he said [Business Week, 6/1/07]~~~~~~~~~~WMW

“A Wal-Mart spokeswoman attending the show said the clothing on display showed “good value and good style for the kids for back to school.”

Y’Anad Burrell, the founder and creative director of the show, now in its fifth year, said she first approached Wal-Mart looking for corporate sponsorship, but then decided to include their clothes.

“It’s a fashion show,” Burrell said. “Let’s show some of their clothes on the runway."~~~~~~~Reuters~~~~~~~~~

So the retailer’s recent fashion show in San Francisco’s supertrendy Union Square doesn’t seem to make sense. Is Wal-Mart planning to roll out a line of leather mini dresses just in time for back to school? If not, what’s the value retailer doing with the likes of high end designers? WMW~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Note: I can only assume the media team is asking this,tongue-in-cheek........ The timing AND location coincide with the back-to-school Momtourage campaign,(and the Pebble Beach youth golf tournament held each Labor Day weekend in nearby Monterrey California,sponsored by WalMart.) This is an effort to bask in the reflected glow of “upscale” designers,hoping that the subliminal message will be sent to the more “affluent” moms,hoping they will “upgrade’ their opinion of WalMart and join the entourage,I mean,Momtourage this fall.(Type in Pebble Beach in the search engine here. Tom Schoewe,quoted above,is involved in this youth golf program,The First Tee.)

There’s Just One Thing to Say...

If that model in the photo is supposed to be Wal-Mart’s take on “trendy,” I say let them go for it!

That chick looks like she was standing a little too close to Bubba’s pick-up truck when the rear tires exploded!  She gives a whole new meaning to the term tire wear!

Screwed:  Part of the life cycle and sustainability of WalMart tires ?How much fashion mileage will this basic black number get? Easy care-just hose down and wear.

shut up jane no one cares what you think.why is this newsworthy anyway this article?who cares?

Wal-Mart and fashion?  Do these 2 things even go together?  First Wal-mart needs to develop some class before even attempting fashion.  This is the best example of a local down-home business going completely corporate with no care in the world on if it is better for the people in the community.

Great blog site.please blogging .