Classic Fashion teamed with Walmart to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of the company’s first U.S.-based production facility in California.
For the next five years, the Santa Ana facility will cut and sew apparel exclusively for Walmart. The new facility will create 125 new jobs by 2023, supporting the existing workforce, and an additional 225 by 2027 totaling 350 new jobs over five years.
“Classic Fashion is proud to be a supplier to Walmart as we build our manufacturing presence in the United States,” said Sanal Kumar, chairman and managing director of Classic Fashion. “I'm proud to highlight our incredible U.S.-based manufacturing staff and the local community here in Santa Ana as we continue to build on Classic Fashion's 20-year history of success.”
The next phase of Classic Fashion’s project requires the company to identify countries close to the U.S. to source materials for the facility, and phase three, is to grow vertically to source materials directly from the U.S.
“Walmart is proud to work with Classic Fashion, which will soon be manufacturing its excellent products here in the U.S.,” said Jason Fremstad, senior vice president, Supplier Development & Sourcing at Walmart. “Investing in local manufacturing creates American jobs, helps small businesses expand and benefits communities like Santa Ana. We're excited to feature Classic Fashion's American-manufactured apparel exclusively in our stores.”
According to Walmart, nearly two-thirds of its annual product spend is on products that are made, grown or assembled in the U.S., and in 2021 the company announced a new $350 billion investment to reinforce that goal. In addition to partnering with companies like Classic Fashion to expand its U.S. manufacturing presence, Walmart also supports American entrepreneurs through its annual Open Call event.