Dive Brief:
- Walmart has expanded its private label portfolio with the introduction of the “modern bohemian brand” Scenario, the company said in an email to Retail Dive.
- Scenario will launch in all Walmart stores with 280 styles across five departments, including apparel, shoes, jewelry, handbags and accessories.
- Most of the Scenario assortment is priced under $25.
Dive Insight:
Walmart is once again adding to its in-house fashion offer.
The retailer needed a new private label that could represent the evolving style of its consumers and believed a modern bohemian aesthetic would fill that need.
“Customer research showed nearly one in five women identified boho as one of their top style preferences, while none of our existing private brands were perceived as serving that aesthetic,” the company said in a statement.
The company tested the boho style within its other private label, Time and Tru — which drives $2 billion in sales annually — to gauge customer interest. The positive results led directly to the spinoff of the new Scenario brand, which stresses feminine details and offers pieces that are designed to mix and match.
Walmart has been expanding and updating its fashion strategy. The retailer released the trend-forward private brand Scoop in 2019. Two years later, the retailer announced that fashion designer Brandon Maxwell would be the creative director for the brand, along with Free Assembly, another private label.
Shoppers of those labels are now spending nearly twice per order than the average Walmart fashion customer, per the company.
“We’re seeing strength in fashion,” David Guggina, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. said on a recent second quarter earnings call with analysts. “In fashion, I’m really excited about some of our private brands, Scoop, Free Assembly. We’re seeing triple-digit comps in those areas.”
In the second quarter, Walmart Inc. revenue grew nearly 6% year over year to $188 billion. Transactions and average ticket grew about 1% for its U.S. business compared to the year-ago quarter, with e-commerce sales growing 24%.
