Walmart Gets Trendy at Home, Just Not TOO Trendy
Walmart (WMT) style has long been an oxymoron, or an insult. No more. The Arkansas behemoth is stepping into modern home fashion and it may have picked just the right time to do it. With Target (TGT) closing down its Global Bazaar and Martha Stewart exiting Kmart, there is a space in the market for what Walmart has in mind: a low-cost, internationally flavored and stylish-enough line of bedding, bath, dining, furniture, home décor and accessories.
That is the idea behind Hometrends. The line, which will be updated seasonally, will incorporate "nature-inspired materials and finishes" as Walmart put it, as well as global influences and contemporary geometric patterns. Hometrends is clearly aimed at a broader, more fashion-conscious and younger audience. 
Not that Walmart is about to become fashion forward. Mass-market home furnishings purchasers are notoriously conservative. In Hometrends, Walmart has developed an inexpensive â€"- rugs start at $11 -- globally-influenced product line that reflects home fashion trends without toying with the cutting edge. Japanese screens in a traditional cherry wood finish and an off-while fabric, for example, are more likely to have broad appeal than those made of luminescent maroon metal and paper shot with abstract vaguely Asian patterns. Mass-market customers have a specific style comfort zone.
A global product line can also help Walmart to engage ethnic sensibilities without creating a specifically ethnic product line. While it has tested stores like Club Mas that target ethnic consumers, Walmart tends to characterize programs in its mainstream stores designed, for instance, to appeal to Hispanic consumers as being accessible to Latinos but not as especially developed for them.
Target ditched its post-holiday Global Bazaar home décor promotion this year in favor of The Great Save, which featured bulk products reminiscent of warehouse clubs merchandise. The move opened the path for Walmart to be the lower-cost alternative to specialty import retailers such as Pier 1 (PIR) and Cost Plus World Markets (CPWM).
Beyond that, the Hometrends introduction is another boost to Walmart's Project Impact. Although electronics have gotten more attention, the new store layout that has emerged under Project Impact also has improved displays and expanded presentations in home furnishings. Over the past couple of years, Walmart has launched two new home brands, Canopy, which is a low-price but trendy label, and Better Homes & Gardens. Licensed from the magazine publisher, that brand encompasses stylish traditional looks. All of this is designed to boost Walmart's home fashion credibility. Hometrends helps complete Walmart's home products offerings at a time when consumers are beginning to spend a little money on improving their living space.