The company will restart its 30-year-old model for teenagers and young adults on Tuesday with a new 130-piece fall set geared toward Generation Z. The No Boundaries label’s redesign serves as a way to persuade customers to view Walmart as a place to purchase nice clothing and shopping as well.
The new series includes of-the-moment patterns like big jeans, cropped T-shirts, faux leather thongs and bomber jackets. Most items cost $15 or less. Some items are made of recycled materials to charm to a generation who values conservation. The length range was increased to be more diverse, starting at XXS up to 5X.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based business is marketing the revamped Little Restrictions on TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and the online gambling site Roblox. It intends to test new models in stores in big college towns.
The expected market is noticing.
“It’s simple, but cute”, Za’Kryra Davis, 16, said while looking at the colour pants and denim leotards at a Walmart shop in Secaucus, New Jersey, where the novel No Limitations was getting rolled out next year.
According to Davis, who outlets at stores like Rue21 and Forever 21 and draws inspiration from changes that are appearing on social media, she has been more willing to spend money on clothing at Walmart because she believes they look more contemporary.
Prior to creating the No Boundaries collection, which concentrated primarily on the simplest items like T-shirts and denim, Walmart relied on a number of suppliers with individual design teams. The company hired a devoted design team to create the reboot selection, a sign of the company’s significance to Walmart’s broader style strategy.
However, winning over clients born between 1997 and 2012 may be challenging given Walmart’s big competitors. The era of electronic natives is renowned for being price aware and prepared to shop around, with visits to everything from used shops to Shein’s fast-fashion online retailer to discounters like Target and American Eagle Outfitters, both in malls.
Olivia Meyer, 22, who lives in Riverview, Florida, gets inspired by styles on the internet and makes most of her clothing purchases online, generally from Amazon, to ensure fast delivery. She was pleased with the strappy tops and cargo pants she saw while browsing the Walmart drop No Boundaries series.
“I’m not devoted to one location,” Meyer said. However, she continued, “I believe Walmart has a chance to get our money and target Gen Z.”
Retailers are keen to attract younger consumers because they represent the future, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of research agency GlobalData, while Gen Z spends the least amount of money on clothing of any socioeconomic demographic other than the so-called Silent Generation.
“If you don’t capture them today, you run the risk of them going to a rival”, he said. “Traditionally, Walmart has not been appealing to this kind of younger demographic, which is why it’s trying to change”.
No Boundaries’ annual sales of $2 billion are reported by Walmart, but Saunders believes the numbers have been stagnant for a while. He argued that the retailer needs to dispel the myth that older people’s obsessions with fashion end with floral prints, pull-on pants, and other clothing types.
Three years ago, Walmart hired American designer Brandon Maxwell to serve as the creative director for its “elevated” fashion brands Free Assembly and Scoop, a sign that the company wants to be recognized as a destination for fashion.
At a fashion show that featured Maxwell’s designer collection, which is sold at high-end Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, the company hosted social media influencers who focus on trendy but affordable style in February.
It’s always about the women in my life, and it’s no different at Walmart, Maxwell, who mingled with the Walmart guests after the show.
To boost its legitimacy as a one-stop shop for fashionistas, Walmart has added store mannequins and colorful displays of its clothing. Under the stewardship of Denise Incandela, executive vice president of apparel and private-label brands, the company has featured more than 1, 000 brands and partnered with celebrities like Sofia Vergara.
Incandela claimed at a recent conference in New York that Walmart’s scale, which has more than 4,600 locations nationwide, can promote high quality and low prices. However, the Gen Z customer who “cares about style” poses the greatest threat to growth in clothing, she said.
“We have created a brand that is more modern, has better quality, has silhouettes that are more relevant to the Gen Z customer”, Incandela said. “We’re improving the shopping experience, but we have to change that perception.”
At the Walmart in Secaucus, Elizabeth Fernandez, 58, and her daughter, Destiny Fernandez, 38, said they found the women’s clothing more appealing than in the past. Additionally, they were drawn to the updated No Boundaries line. Their shopping cart brimmed with pants, shorts, tops and skirts drawn from throughout the store.
Destiny Fernandez criticized Walmart for being on the mark by recycling and updating earlier trends, citing the cropped puffer jackets and various denim washes on the racks.
“It’s all stuff that is coming back”, she said. “So I am going to take a look”.