George is a brand of more formal clothing for men, women and children. It also consists of dress shoes, wallets, belts, and neckties. It was created by the British retailer Asda in 1990, and since Walmart acquired Asda in 1999, it has maintained and expanded it to other markets, notably the United States, Canada, and Japan. The George brand was named after George Davies, who was its original chief designer. Davies is no longer associated with the brand, although Asda and Walmart have aimed to remain true to the low price business model that he established. [Source: Wikipedia]The chain also has collections from various designers. Other Walmart's well-crafted collections at extraordiarily low prices include: Bella Bird, Brooke Leigh Ltd., White Stag, Alexis Taylor amongst others.
One of the biggest criticisms of Walmart is its "Made in China" image. But, in recent months (about time), various Walmart leaders are working towards making it an American company, both in its geographical location and in the source of its products.
From a 2013 report on the Business Insider:
Bill Simon, Walmart's U.S. CEO, says there's a common" misperception about his company.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to urban legend, our stores are filled with products that weren't made in the U.S.," Simon said in a speech at the National Retail Federation convention. "According to urban legend, our stores are filled with products that weren't made in the U.S.," Simon said in a speech at the National Retail Federation convention.
A majority of Walmart's spending, however, is on goods that were manufactured in America, he said.
"According to data from our suppliers, two-thirds of our spending is on American-made products," Simon said. "America is still the biggest manufacturer in the world."
Walmart plans to use even more made-in-America products, spending an additional $50 billion over the next 10 years, Simon said.
"We also plan on giving suppliers the certainty they need by signing longer contracts," he said. "Increasing what we already buy here will help American manufacturing."
Simon said the push for American manufacturing won't cause prices to go up for consumers. He also said the company would continue to make the same profits.
"Walmart isn't a charity, it's a business," Simon said. "We're not going to do something that will raise prices or hurt our margins."
A report by think-tank Demos alleged that Walmart's imported products eliminated 133,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs.
Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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