Claire’s Expands Partnership With Walmart
Claire’s and Walmart are taking their relationship to the next level.
The accessories brand and the mass merchant are expanding their partnership, as competition for big-box retailers to carve out their space in the fashion world heats up.
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Walmart has added Claire’s jewelry and accessories to an additional 1,200 locations, bringing the total number of Walmart stores where Claire’s products can be found at around 2,500. That’s in addition to walmart.com and the roughly 360 Claire’s shops-in-shop in Walmart stores around the U.S.
“Walmart is continuing to establish itself as a fashion destination with a focus on expanding our assortment of quality, on-trend and accessible apparel and accessories,” said Michelle Gill, vice president of jewelry and accessories at Walmart. “This includes creating innovative shopping experiences like the Claire’s stores within Walmart that enable customers to find more of their favorite brands and shop with confidence.”
Ryan Vero, chief executive officer of Claire’s, added: “Together with Walmart, we have created a memorable and exciting way to bring Claire’s to customers who love our brand and those with the potential to discover all we have to offer. With these new locations, we’re excited to build on the success we have seen with our partnership and our own expanding consumer products business to reach more customers where they live and shop.”
Claire’s sells its products through more than 30 retail partners across grocery, drug stores, toy stores, specialty apparel and department store channels, including Amazon, CVS, Tesco and Galeries Lafayette. The company, which began its partnership with the mass channel merchant in 2018, grew net revenues by 53 percent in 2021, compared with 2020, thanks to a resurgence in ’90s and early Aughts fashion trends. In the last year, Claire’s also partnered with celebrity stylists and sisters Chloe and Chenelle Delgadillo and hired Kristin Patrick as its new chief marketing officer.
Walmart’s interest in Claire’s is just part of the mass merchant’s plans to establish itself as a bonafide fashion outlet for the masses.
Earlier this month, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer updated its virtual shopping features by adding a be-your-own-model capability to its app. The company has also invested heavily in expanding its roster of owned apparel and accessories brands (three of which are $2 billion brands, although the executive declined to specify which ones) and national brands available at Walmart.
“It’s a full 360 strategy that we’re working on to continue to attract our customer and establish Walmart as a fashion destination,” Denise Incandela, executive vice president of apparel and private brands at Walmart U.S., told WWD in February.
But Walmart is up against stiff competition from the likes of Target and TJ Maxx, both of which offer affordable prices and a plethora of apparel and accessories options. Target has 18 of its owned apparel brands — including the newest brand, Future Collective — spanning across men’s, women’s and children’s. The company said 10 of its owned brands are billion-dollar brands, including women’s activewear brand All In Motion.
