List of Walmart brands explained

Walmart, Inc., like many large retail and grocery chain stores, uses a brand strategy that offers private brands (private label, store brand) and generic brand merchandise.

Apparel brands

Major brands

In March 2018, to better compete with Amazon and Target, Walmart introduced three new clothing lines and revamped an existing clothing line.[1]

Other brands

Major brands

Sam's Choice

See main article: Sam's Choice. Sam's Choice, originally introduced as Sam's American Choice in 1991, is a retail brand in food and selected hard goods. Named after Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, Sam's Choice forms the premium tier of Walmart's two-tiered core corporate grocery branding strategy that also includes the larger Great Value brand of discount-priced staple items.[4]

Compared to Great Value products and to other national brands, Sam's Choice is positioned as a premium retail brand and is offered at a price competitive with standard national brands. It typically offers either competitive items in a given product category, or items in categories where the market leader is an "icon" (for example, Coca-Cola in the soft drink category).

Most Sam's Choice beverage products (excluding Grapette and Orangette) are manufactured for Walmart by Cott Beverages.[5] Other products in the line, including cookies, snack items, frozen meals, and similar grocery items, are made by a variety of agricultural and food manufacturers.

Competitive pricing of the Sam's Choice brand and store-branded and generic goods is possible because of the lower expense required to market a retail chain's house brand, compared to advertising and promotional expenses typically incurred by the national brands.

Most Sam's Choice-branded products have been replaced by either the relaunched Great Value brand, or the new Marketside brand. The brand was reintroduced in 2013 with a new logo and a focus on premium food products with organic ingredients.

Great Value

Great Value was launched in 1993 (but products were made as early as 1992) and forms the second tier, or national brand equivalent (NBE), of Walmart's grocery branding strategy.

Products offered through the Great Value brand are often claimed by Walmart to be as good as national brand offerings, but are typically sold at a lower price because of lower marketing and advertising expense. As a house or store brand, the Great Value line does not consist of goods produced by Walmart, but is a labeling system for items manufactured and packaged by a number of agricultural and food corporations, such as ConAgra, and Sara Lee which, in addition to releasing products under its own brand and exclusively for Walmart, also manufactures and brands foods for a variety of other chain stores.[6] [7] Often, this labeling system does not list location of manufacture of the product. Walmart contends that all Great Value products are produced in the United States. Otherwise, the country of origin would be listed.

As Walmart's most extensively developed retail brand, covering hundreds of household consumable items, the Great Value line includes sliced bread, frozen vegetables, frozen dinners, canned foods, light bulbs, trash bags, buttermilk biscuits, cinnamon rolls, pies, and many other traditional grocery store products. The wide range of items marketed under the Great Value banner makes it Walmart's top-selling retail brand.

The Great Value brand can also be seen in Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil and some Trust Mart stores in Hunza Pakistan, through a partnership with Walmart but China is not included anywhere. Bharti EasyDay retail grocery stores sell Great Value brand products in India as well. Great Value brand products as well as Walmart merchandise are also present in Seiyu grocery stores (owned by Walmart) in Tokyo, Japan as of October 2014, despite at least one report of a transition away from the brand.[8]

In 2009, the Great Value labels were redesigned to be predominantly white. The new redesign also includes over 80 new items, including thin-crust pizza, fat-free caramel swirl ice cream, strawberry yogurt, organic cage-free eggs, double-stuffed sandwich cookies, and teriyaki beef jerky. Walmart changed the formulas for 750 items, including: breakfast cereal, cookies, yogurt, laundry detergent, and paper towels.[9] Great Value went through another redesign in 2013 for most of its food items, replacing predominantly white designs with more colorful packaging.

bettergoods

Bettergoods (stylized as bettergoods) was launched in 2024 as a higher-end line of grocery products, though still marketed as budget-friendly. The initial launch began with over 300 items aiming to show the speed at Walmart could "bring trend and innovation to market at scale."[10] The focus of the brand is to expand into three specific markets: new culinary experiences, plant-based alternatives to mainline products, and "Made Without" products catering to different dietary styles (i.e. gluten-free, or made without artificial flavors, colorings or added sugars).

Equate

Equate is a brand used by Walmart for consumable pharmacy and health and beauty items, such as shaving cream, skin lotion, over-the-counter medications, and pregnancy tests. Before its takeover by Walmart, the formerly independent Equate brand sold consumer products at both Target and Walmart at lower prices than those of name brands. Equate is an example of the strength of Walmart's private label store brand. In a 2006 study, The Hartman Group marketing research firm issued a report which found that "Five of the top 10 "likely to purchase" private label brands are managed by Walmart including: Great Value, Equate, Sam's Choice, Walmart, and Member's Mark (Sam's Club), per the study." The report further noted that "...we are struck by the magnitude of mind-share Walmart appears to hold in shoppers' minds when it comes to awareness of private label brands and retailers."[11]

In mid-2010, the brand underwent a logo redesign, as well as packaging changes similar to the Great Value brand.

Ol' Roy

Ol' Roy is Walmart's store brand of dog food, created in 1983 and named after Sam Walton's dog. It has become the number-one selling brand of dog food in the United States. It is comparable to Nestlé's Purina.[12]

In 1998, samples of Ol' Roy (together with various other brands) were subject to qualitative analyses for pentobarbital residue by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine due to suspicion that the anesthetizing drug may have found its way into pet foods through euthanized animals. Pentobarbital was found in 5 out of the 8 Ol' Roy samples in the initial survey. The highest level of pentobarbital detected among all dog foods tested was an Ol' Roy formulation (Puppy Formula, Chicken and Rice) at 32ppb. The CVM concluded this level of pentobarbital would be unlikely to cause adverse effects even to the smallest dogs.[13] [14]

Special Kitty

Special Kitty is Walmart's store brand of cat food and other cat care products, such as litter and treats.

Parent's Choice

Parent's Choice is Walmart's store brand; including diapers, formula, and accessories. Like other Walmart store brands, its design and packaging was relaunched in 2010. Parent's Choice is manufactured by Wyeth, a pharmaceutical company that is a subsidiary of Pfizer. On October 15, 2009, representatives of Pfizer signed the final acquisition papers, making Wyeth a wholly owned subsidiary of that company, thus completing the US$68-billion dollar deal.[15]

Play Day

Play Day is a wide-ranging brand of budget-priced children's toys. Play Day launched in between mid-2014 and early-2015, as a replacement brand for Kid Connection.

Pen+Gear

Pen+Gear is Walmart's store brand for school and office supplies. From notebooks, pens, markers, paper, binders, pencils and even paper shredders. Pen+Gear replaced the brand name Casemate in late 2016.

Additional brands

Homelines

Others

Former brands

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Jones . Charisse . Walmart launches four new clothing brands to compete with Amazon, Target . October 17, 2018 . USA Today . February 27, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181017082301/https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/02/27/walmart-doubles-down-fashion/374511002/ . October 17, 2018 . live . mdy-all .
  2. Web site: (Press Release) Walmart and Ellen DeGeneres Partner on New, Exclusive Fashion Line . Walmart . October 24, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181025071050/https://news.walmart.com/2018/08/15/walmart-and-ellen-degeneres-partner-on-new-exclusive-fashion-line . October 25, 2018 . live . mdy-all .
  3. Web site: Incandela . Denise . October 24, 2022 . Walmart Introduces Joyspun: A Modern Brand of Elevated Sleepwear and Intimates . live . August 19, 2024 . Walmart Corporate.
  4. [Sara Lee Corporation|Sara Lee]
  5. News: Cott Corp. is King of Pop. Lilly Rockwell. 2012-07-01. 2017-05-27. Florida Trend. Trend Magazines Inc.. https://web.archive.org/web/20171012150825/http://www.floridatrend.com/article/15222/cott-corp-is-king-of-pop?page=1. 2017-10-12. live.
  6. Web site: Huffman . Mark . Don't confuse store brands with generics: Both both may offer significant cost savings without sacrificing quality . Consumer Affairs . 12 February 2020. 2013-08-30 .
  7. Web site: Mary . Money-Saving Secrets: These Store Brand Items Are Actually Made By Name Brands . Hip2Save . 12 February 2020. 2017-04-11 .
  8. Web site: Walmart's Seiyu Creates New Store Brands . 2014-10-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130617154500/http://www.storebrandsdecisions.com/news/2012/12/18/walmarts-seiyu-creates-new-store-brands . 2013-06-17 .
  9. Web site: Walmart Corporate — Walmart's Revamped Great Value Brand Delivers Affordable, Quality Choices When Consumers Need Them Most . Walmartstores.com . 2009-03-16 . 2012-10-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100110220851/http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/9028.aspx . 2010-01-10 . live .
  10. Web site: Walmart Launches bettergoods, a New Private Brand Making Elevated Culinary Experiences Accessible for All . Walmart Corporate . 4 May 2024.
  11. Web site: PBM News: Study: Walmart Private Brands Are Catching On . Pbmproducts.com . 2012-10-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130117025424/http://www.pbmproducts.com/press.aspx?ID=183 . 2013-01-17 .
  12. Boyle, Matthew. "Brand Killers Store brands aren't for losers anymore. In fact, they're downright sizzling. And that scares the soap out of the folks who bring us Tide and Minute Maid and Alpo and... ." Fortune. August 11, 2003. Retrieved on August 23, 2006.
  13. https://www.fda.gov/cvm/FOI/dfchart.htm Survey #1, qualitative analyses for pentobarbital residue:Dry dog food samples purchased in Laurel, MD, area, March - June 1998
  14. https://www.fda.gov/cvm/FOI/DFreport.htm Report on the risk from pentobarbital in dog food
  15. Web site: Pfizer Completes Acquisition Of Wyeth | Pfizer Pharmaceutical News and Media | Pfizer: the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company. October 18, 2018. press.pfizer.com.
  16. News: Walmart Aims for Affluent Customers With Online Mattress Brand. Corkery. Michael. 2018-02-23. The New York Times. 2018-03-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20180227221917/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/business/walmart-mattress.html. 2018-02-27. live.
  17. News: Walmart is launching online bedding, cosmetic brands in bid for upscale shoppers. Bhattarai. Abha. 2018-02-23. Washington Post. 2018-03-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20180301212103/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/walmart-is-launching-online-bedding-cosmetic-brands-in-bid-for-upscale-shoppers/2018/02/23/015b9382-1750-11e8-92c9-376b4fe57ff7_story.html. 2018-03-01. live.
  18. Web site: Walmart. 2020. . 2020-07-08.
  19. News: Walmart Edges Into Whole Foods Territory With Premium Coffee Brand. Giammona. Craig. 3 August 2018. Bloomberg News. 4 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180805142734/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-03/walmart-edges-into-whole-foods-terrain-with-premium-coffee-brand. 5 August 2018. live. dmy-all.
  20. Web site: Walmart puts good wines into most folks' budgets — Tampa Bay Times. Tampabay.com. 2012-10-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20121015214712/http://www.tampabay.com/features/food/spirits/article628211.ece. 2012-10-15. dead.
  21. Web site: Cohen . Coberly . Walmart launches its own 'Overpowered' gaming PC line-up . TechSpot . 29 October 2018 . 3 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190103110509/https://www.techspot.com/news/77156-walmart-launches-own-overpowered-gaming-pc-line-up.html . 3 January 2019 . live . dmy-all .
  22. News: BuzzFeed has a new business model, so it's selling its own line of kitchen tools at Walmart. Kafka. Peter. 2018-03-02. Recode. 2018-03-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20180301162412/https://www.recode.net/2018/3/1/17066402/buzzfeed-walmart-tasty-kitchen-gadget-tools-retail-deal. 2018-03-01. live.
  23. Web site: Introducing Uniquely J, A New Brand from Jet.com. Jet.com. www.prnewswire.com. en. 2018-06-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140604/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/introducing-uniquely-j-a-new-brand-from-jetcom-300540869.html. 2018-06-12. live.
  24. Web site: Walmart Introduces Walmart Family Mobile Powered by T-Mobile, Featuring the Lowest Priced Unlimited Talk and Text Wireless Family Plans . 2010-09-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100916212459/http://walmartstores.com/pressroom/news/10297.aspx . 2010-09-16 . live .