Scoop is one of Walmart’s exclusive fashion brands. It has also struck deals with national brands like BCBG Paris.
Melissa Repko | ស្ថានីយទូរទស្សន៍ CNBC
SPRINGDALE, Arkansas — Dressed-up mannequins. Eye-catching displays of sleek furniture and colorful swimsuits. And store signs that promote exclusive brands and nationally recognized ones.
ក្រុមហ៊ុន Walmart‘s redesigned SuperCenter, located just 16 miles from its Northwest Arkansas headquarters, reflects the retailer’s ambitions to get more customers to turn to its stores and website to fill their closets and living rooms, along with their fridges.
It is the retailer’s new model, and it will soon spread across the country. Walmart plans to open 30 more redesigned stores by late January and and hundreds more in the following fiscal year, Chief Merchandising Officer Charles Redfield said.
He said the locations will vary slightly and will have different elements of the pilot store. They’ll be used to test and learn before Walmart rolls out the look more widely, he said.
Walmart is the nation’s largest grocery by revenue, but it wants to drive more sales of higher-margin items such as apparel. Over the past five years, the retailer has launched new brands និង struck partnerships with companies like Reebok, គម្លាត and Justice to expand its offerings in apparel, home and other discretionary categories. Those brands have often come with a higher price point and a focus on style. Many are expanding to more of Walmart’s big-box stores.
The retailer’s strategy has taken on more urgency, after Walmart’s first quarter earnings disappointed Wall Street last month and cut profit expectations. Walmart’s mix of merchandise in the period contributed to its earnings miss. As customers spent more on groceries and gas because of inflation, some decided to not buy other, more-profitable items like clothing and TVs — the very purchases that tend to lift profits.
អ្នកប្រើប្រាស់ផ្លាស់ប្តូរ
To compound troubles, retailers — including គោលដៅ, Kohl បាននៅ និង Outfitters ឥន្ទ្រីអាមេរិច — have racked up excess inventory, as consumers snub some popular pandemic items, watch the budget and decide to spend on travel or dining out instead of goods.
Walmart reported that it had excess merchandise, too, with inventory levels up about 33% versus a year earlier. U.S. CEO, John Furner, said last week at an investor day that it will take “a couple of quarters” to get back to where the retailer wants to be. He estimated that about 20% of that overage is merchandise that the company would like to “just wish away.” The company declined to comment further on its strategy to sell through its merchandise, after Target shared its aggressive inventory plans.
About 32% of Walmart’s U.S. net sales have come from general merchandise in recent years, according to company filings. That dropped to 28% in the most recent quarter. At Target, 54% of sales come from general merchandise, according to its most recent annual report.
There’s a big opportunity for Walmart if it can use the frequency of grocery shopping at stores and popularity of online options like curbside pickup to lift general merchandise sales, said Robby Ohmes, a retail analyst for Bank of America.
Plus, he said, creeping prices may encourage a new or infrequent Walmart shopper to give the discounter a shot.
“Everybody is sort of managing inflation,” Ohmes said. “There are going to be groups of people who find themselves at Walmart who normally wouldn’t — so they may get a better flow of customers as people become more value-conscious.”
Walmart is expanding the price points in its beauty department. It recently added a “Beauty finds” display with makeup, skincare, hair and other items for $3, $5 or $9 each. It also sells prestige brands through a new deal with British beauty retailer SpaceNK.
Melissa Repko | ស្ថានីយទូរទស្សន៍ CNBC
The lure of lower prices
CEO Doug McMillon said Walmart’s range will help it better weather a period of inflation.
But it can also draw in customers who have more money to spend, McMillon said.
Silk scrunchies, craft beer and sundresses
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/12/walmart-apparel-home-brands-strategy-tested.html