The scale of Walmart enables us to bring a level of quality and fabrication that’s hard to match in the industry. How do you compete with fast-fashion digital companies like Shein and Temu?Ī. And now we’ve got anywhere from 25 to 50 stores that we test assortments when we’re making changes. We use an outside service to test CADS (computer aided design sketches) of prints and images and silhouettes with customers before we even make samples. We have brought a lot of testing into our assortment that we haven’t had in the past. We’ve been working on shortening our product lifecycle so that we can jump on the trends faster and create a fast track so that where we’re seeing success that we can double down.Ī. We want to make sure that we don’t rely on one particular region too heavily. We’re constantly shifting based on where we think we will have the best partnership. We are sourced from all over the globe so we source from South America. So even things that she can wear to work but more on the casual side and building out our active assortment in a much bigger way as well as the more casual.Ī. So it’s making sure that we’re playing in the trends in a way that our customer expects us to and that we’re servicing more of her closet needs. Things that are hot right now are cargo pants. We were more (about) opening price point basics. How are you trying to get Walmart shoppers to buy more clothing?Ī. For me, to be able to operate at this scale and impact so much of the country and to be able to bring it to this level that makes everybody feel beautiful at extraordinary price points and an extraordinary value felt like an opportunity of a lifetime. Her answers have been edited for length and clarity. The Associated Press recently interviewed Incandela, whose resume includes executive positions at Saks Fifth Avenue and Ralph Lauren, about her vision. clothing and footwear market, according to GlobalData Retail.

Last year, Walmart had a 3.4% share of the U.S. namesake business, according to the latest company filings. General merchandise accounted for 28% of its U.S.

Walmart doesn’t break down its clothing sales, but it said it saw its market share in clothing increase in the recent spring and summer seasons. Moreover, in these inflationary times, shoppers have been spending more on groceries and pulled back on discretionary items like fashion that carry fatter profit margins. That includes Shein, the China-founded ultra-fast-fashion retailer. The changes - spearheaded under Denise Incandela, who has been with the discounter for six years, most recently as executive vice president of apparel and private-label brands - are happening as the discounter faces increasing competition on all fronts.

Its mission: induce shoppers coming in to pick up bananas and cereal to cross the food aisles and buy clothing that fills more of their wardrobe needs. The majority of the fashion assortment is under $40. Over the past few years, it’s brought in more than 1,000 brands including Reebok, Justice, and Champs and partnered with celebrities like Sofia Vergara for a jeans line as well as influencers like Rachel Zoe. The Bentonville, Arkarsas-based discounter has been adding mannequins and colorful displays of its clothing, while bolstering its fashion to include casual work wear like cargo pants, jumpsuits and trendy dresses.

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