Boy George at Wal-Mart? Well, not exactly - George clothing merchandise - Merchandising: apparel & accessories - Brief Article

DSN Retailing Today, Jan 26, 2004

The extensive launch of George in children's wear, in some of Wal-Mart's most attention-getting fixtures yet, indicates that the company wants to position its newest kids' apparel brand front and center in mom's mind. Now that she has had more than a year to familiarize herself with the rapidly growing misses line, Wal-Mart hopes to extend her loyalty to outfitting the rest of her family.

Brought overseas in 2002 from British acquisition ASDA, George meets demand for everyday low prices in not-so-everyday apparel. George is to tailored fashions what Wal-Mart's No.1 selling proprietary brand Faded Glory is to casual fashion basics.

In boy's sizes, George features shirt-and-tie combos appropriate for dressy occasions. And since dressy kidswear is often worn only once, Wal-Mart's price points are likely to resonate with morns. As in misses, the quality is a selling point, and some of the dark pants and crisp Oxfords could easily be used as school uniform components.

As in boys', the girls' offering features dresses and separates that meet demand for special occasion wear, along with more casual items. This casual wear is obviously designed with today's trends in mind, but is more basic than the trendier SKUs under the mary-kateandashley label.

In both girls and boys, as in men's and women's, George merchandise is featured on the outer corners of the respective departments. Childrens' items are housed in triptych-shaped fixtures featuring a broad array of hanging and folded tops and bottoms. Ideally, they will become one-stop shops for moms.