Walmart to Sell New Line of Gap-Branded Homegoods -- Update
27 May 2021 - 12:34PM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Nassauer and Suzanne Kapner
Walmart Inc. and Gap Inc. plan to partner on a line of
Gap-branded homegoods that will be sold at Walmart, a sign of how
each retailer is stretching into new territory to stay
competitive.
Gap Home, which will include items such as bedding and pillows,
will go on sale June 24, the companies said. To start, the
collection will launch online, but Walmart aims to bring popular
items to stores in the future, said a spokeswoman. That could come
later this year, according to a person familiar with the
situation.
In recent years, Walmart has worked to expand its apparel and
homegoods selection to include brands perceived as higher end, part
of its efforts to appeal to a wider customer base and boost online
sales. The retail behemoth earlier this year named fashion designer
Brandon Maxwell as creative director of Free Assembly and Scoop,
private-label brands that Walmart says are part of its "elevated
fashion brands." This month, Walmart said it would acquire ZeekIt,
which allows digital shoppers to see how clothes might look on
their bodies or on models with similar bodies.
The Gap Home items will be sold only at Walmart.
Gap, which has been working to revive its namesake brand,
doesn't currently sell homegoods and has never sold its branded
items inside Walmart.
Gap signed a deal last year with licensing company IMG that will
allow it to expand into home décor, furniture, textiles and other
categories. The agreement also includes Gap's Banana Republic
brand. Gap Home will be developed in partnership with IMG, the
companies said Wednesday.
Gap had reported a string of weak sales in recent years and
struggled throughout the pandemic as spending gravitated away from
apparel. But it has made improvements under new Chief Executive
Sonia Syngal and reported positive same-store sales in North
America in the fourth quarter for the Gap brand. The company
reports quarterly earnings on Thursday.
In the past, Walmart has struggled to create premium apparel
brands, reverting back to a focus on basics like socks and
sweatshirts. Apparel merchants at Walmart have used a pyramid model
to guide their work, with basic clothing making up the base of the
pyramid, the bulk of what they aim to sell. But as digital sales
become a higher priority at the retailer, executives are
experimenting with new models, such as selling higher-end brands
only online.
Specialty retailers like Gap once shied away from selling their
goods anywhere but their own stores or websites. But with
competition intensifying, many brands are increasingly broadening
their distribution, sometimes even selling through competitors like
Amazon.com Inc.
Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com and Suzanne
Kapner at Suzanne.Kapner@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 26, 2021 22:25 ET (02:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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