Recession Could Boost Wal-Mart's Home Push

Wal-Mart not long ago began renovating its home furnishings departments, and it is making significant efforts to get consumer to take a hard look at what it can provide.

A couple of years ago, Wal-Mart did a deal to bring the Better Home and Gardens brand into the store. Licensed from the magazine publisher, it has become a core brand that provides the Wal-Mart line up with a fashion sensibility. Now, the retailer has launched a television advertising campaign to promote the brand and its ability to provide fresh looks for homes at affordable prices.

And Better Homes and Gardens isn't the only home brand Wal-Mart is promoting these days. On Wednesday, Wal-Mart announced the launch a new home furnishings collection for teens dubbed Your Zone. Rolling out into stores nationwide and on Walmart.com, the bedding and furnishings included under the Your Zone umbrella were styled to be versatile and interactive in the sense that customers can mix and match elements to create their own interior designs. Bedding is available in bright patterns and reversible solids, and includes comforter sets priced from $28 to $40, sheet sets from $12 to $24 and window treatments for under $15. Your Zone also offers interchangeable rugs, pillows and throws, bulletin boards, display shelves and accessories. Furniture and lounge seating under the Your Zone brand launches in late spring.

Linda Hefner, executive vice president of home at Wal-Mart, said the Your Zone line "further strengthens our branded product offering. Teens love the fun products, and moms love the unbeatable prices,"

The mom part is probably to the point, as teens don't aspire to decorate their rooms from discount stores quite as much as their mothers do, moms being more apt to consider the issue of price. Still, moves by Wal-Mart to add promotional elements like Twilight shops, which aligned with the DVD debut of the popular movie, are in part attempts to make it a cooler place to shop for young people.

In the end, though, price is critical. In remodeling its home departments, Wal-Mart spent a lot of money it didn't want to. Traditionally, retailers cajole vendors into chipping for departmental remodeling. The problem Wal-Mart faced is that, after years of being pressured on price, and not just by Wal-Mart, but also by Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target among others, many home furnishings suppliers were in, near or just emerged from Chapter 11. You can't get fixture allowances from a stone, after all. Or not as many as you might like.

Now that Wal-Mart has made the investment, it wants a return, hence the new products and the advertising. The recession, in this case, may play into Wal-Mart's hands. With more people shopping Wal-Mart to save money, a wider range of consumers than normal will be exposed to the store exclusive brands and may develop a taste for the kind of home furnishings Wal-Mart is serving up. Even if they don't bite themselves, they might serve up a heaping helping of new, inexpensive interior design for their kids.