The only thing Wal-Mart has done with respect to its fashion business is shift executives around and offer deep discounts, yet they haven’t addressed their unsold clothing inventory, brand issues, or the fact that the customers they desire don’t want their parents buying their clothing from Wal-Mart. Low prices aren’t going to attract customers who continually choose to spend their money with retailers who target them with style and cachet over price.
The situation reminds me of a song from my youth entitled “Parents Just Don’t Understand”, in which pre-Oscar Nominee Will Smith laments that his mother purchased clothes for him that his classmates will probably laugh at. In response, his mother states “If they’re laughing, you don’t need them because they’re not good friends”.
In this case, Wal-Mart is acting like the unyielding character that is Will’s mother, only they’re saying: “Our prices are low, so people must want our stuff”, while the customer is saying: “I prefer fashion brands that I can feel good about wearing”. The lesson here is that whilst parents can ignore the fashion choices of their children, retailers don’t have the option of ignoring the fashion and brand choices of their customers.
The irony here is that many Wal-Mart executives and middle managers in charge of marketing, branding, fashion, etc. have children, and wives, who I seriously doubt are wearing Wal-Mart clothing and, instead, are probably decked out in the latest from Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), J-Crew (JCG), Nordstrom (JWN), and the like.
Wal-Mart executives can find a cure for its ailing fashion business by simply talking to the fashion consumers it covets, whether they're members of their own families, or the teenagers working summer jobs at Wal-Mart, so they can buy clothes from another retailer.
Disclosure: The Author doesn’t own positions in any of the companies mentioned in this article. He is, however, thankful that his understanding parents made high school a lot easier on him.
