Walmart gets stylish with Free Assembly
Walmart has a new fashion brand — Free Assembly, a modern, stylish line being sold at a value, according to the retailer. The clothing line was two years in the making.
Over the last few years, Walmart has broadened its store brand fashion items, rolling out more than 1,000 apparel brands online and recently forming a partnership with online resale business thredUP. The company has other store brand clothing under the labels Time and Tru, Terra & Sky, Wonder Nation and George.
The new line is a step forward in Walmart's efforts to be taken seriously as a fashion destination, said Denise Incandela, senior vice president, women’s group, elevated and online brands at Walmart in a blog post.
“Now we’re doubling-down to offer customers something they couldn’t find at Walmart before — a fashion essentials-inspired brand for both men and women created by our in-house design team,” Incandela said.
Alongside the launch announcement, Walmart's blog also featured a conversation between Incandela and Dwight Fenton, who led the creation of Free Assembly, Fenton underscored Incandela's message.
"We’re committed to making Walmart a fashion destination — no matter the customer’s style or budget," Fenton said, noting that Free Assembly complements the retailer's existing private brand clothing lines. "The company has been focused on meeting that need for customers by launching new elevated fashion brands, whether that’s a denim-focused brand like Sofia Jeans by Sofia Vergara or more fashion-forward pieces that can be found in Scoop. What’s been missing is a brand that offers modern essentials. So, we set out to build that brand. Free Assembly rounds out our portfolio to offer customers something they didn’t have before — elevated, modern essentials for both men and women at incredible prices."
The Free Assembly line focuses on simple designs that can be layered and are versatile.The fall collection includes 30 items for women and 25 for men, priced between $9-$45.
“With Free Assembly, we have a vision to create a new kind of brand that would entice any fashion shopper. So, we’ve built an in-house fashion design team with decades of experience designing for modern American brands known for mass appeal,” Incandela said.