WAL-MART China Pushes Its Own Brand To Test Water Quickly.

In September 17th, private brand, as an important part of WAL-MART's development, has gradually penetrated into the Chinese market in recent years, and the commodity category covered by it has also been expanding. A few days ago, WAL-MART China announced the strategy of deep differentiated products. For the first time, it launched the fast fashion private brand "George" for the first time in the whole channel. Consumers can choose to buy them from WAL-MART's more than 400 stores in China and WAL-MART's home online platform.

According to the media, at present, WAL-MART has selected 20 representative stores in various regions of the country, and successfully completed the upgrading of the "George" brand clothing area. In late September, the "George" brand clothing will be fully launched on WAL-MART's home platform for customers to purchase.

Statistics show that the "George" brand originated in the United Kingdom and has a history of nearly 30 years. This WAL-MART takes the concept and lifestyle of Chinese customers as the starting point to introduce the "George" brand into the Chinese market and achieve the simultaneous sale of all channels. It will provide clothing for Chinese customers, home textiles, food and Kitchenware and other commodities. In addition, China is the only market to win the "Walmart" authorization on the "George" brand logo.

In fact, private brand is a global strategy for WAL-MART, while China is one of the most important strategic markets of WAL-MART, and its market potential is huge. Wang Yanren, senior director of WAL-MART's own brand in China, said in an interview that "WAL-MART China has its own brand development target, with mature market as benchmark, and also has the chance to do the same as European and American markets."

In April last year, WAL-MART adjusted its own brand structure, streamlined its original brand of more than ten series, and finally integrated it into three brands, Marketside, George. According to the development plan of WAL-MART's own brand, Hui Yi will be responsible for packaging food and daily chemicals of its own brand. Marketside will slowly expand from baked goods to fresh food, while George will focus on clothing and textiles.

However, as the environment of the Chinese market is changing quietly, the tide of the country is rising, the aesthetic of consumers is constantly being cultivated and remolded, the quality and style of fast fashion is being criticized. It may be difficult for WAL-MART to introduce the "George" brand "fast fashion" in this context.

Data show that in the first half of 2019, the number of new stores in the mainland increased rapidly compared with that of last year. Only 12 Muji, GAP and ZARA were added to the international fast fashion brand, and 7 new stores were added respectively. The H&M new store has cut back from 21 to 6 in the past three years, while New Look and Forever 21 have been closed down one after another, and have completely withdrawn from the Chinese market.

Besides, there is another factor worth noticing. Other categories of clothing categories are rising. Handbags, shoes, street brands and sportswear brands are diverting the budgets of consumers. According to DDT's report last year, ordinary consumers spent 5.9% of their spending on clothing, but by 2017, this proportion has plummeted to 3.1%. For low-income people, the average expenditure of women's clothing is especially low, and the rise of footwear expenditure is a bright spot. Compared to the seasonal clothing of fast drying type, shoes and handbags are more value for money and attract more consumers' investment.

To sum up, although WAL-MART has introduced its own fast fashion brand "George" in the store to enrich the category of goods, and even save the cost of rents compared with other fast fashion brands, but because the fast fashion brands continue to be cold in the Chinese market, coupled with the saturation of the clothing market, can the "George" be successfully laid in WAL-MART China stores? Can we get the favor of consumers? Everything remains to be tested by the market.