Walmart recognized for distinction in merchandising

10 Jun '11

3 min read

Walmart Canada was awarded the Retail Council of Large Chain In-Store Retail Merchandising Award at the Excellence in Retailing Awards in Mississauga on June 6. The company received the award for its 'Fashion by George: Walmart Apparel's Extreme Makeover' project. The project involved retrofitting more than 300 stores across the country to give shoppers an exclusive "store-within-a-store" experience, and retiring a number of Walmart Canada private label brands (i.e., B.U.M., Penman's and 725), to create one umbrella brand.

The 'Fashion by George' project is one of the largest expansions of an apparel brand in Canadian history which created a whole new apparel shopping experience for Walmart Canada customers. Today, Walmart shoppers see clearly marked George-branded signage and hardware, fixtures, and branded packaging and hang tags, which together contribute to the line's updated look and feel. A Walmart exclusive, the George brand offers Canadians style-right clothing and accessories at unbeatable prices.

"We're honoured to have been selected by a distinguished panel of peers for excellence in merchandising, and are very proud of the Walmart team for this accomplishment," said Shelley Broader, chief merchandising officer of Walmart Canada. "This award speaks to our company's commitment to making the shopping experience easy and affordable for our customers."

Walmart Canada also won several awards for the George public relations campaign, including a CPRS ACE Award for Best Use of Media Relations - Budget over $50,000 and two OVATION Awards: an Award of Merit in Brand Communications and an Award of Merit in Media Relations Over $100K.

Awarded by the Canadian Public Relations Society, the ACE (Achieving Communications Excellence) awards recognize creativity and excellence in public relations for Toronto and the surrounding areas. The prestigious OVATION Awards program is presented by the Toronto chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators and recognizes communications excellence throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

Retail Council of Canada (RCC) has been the Voice of Retail in Canada since 1963. They are a not-for-profit, industry-funded association representing more than 43,000 store fronts of all retail formats across Canada, including department, specialty, discount, and independent stores, and online merchants.

Walmart Canada operates a growing chain of 325 stores, serving more than one million Canadians each day. With 85,000 associates, the company is Canada's third-largest employer. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Walmart Canada's corporate culture was recently ranked among the 10 most admired corporate cultures in Canada by Waterstone Human Capital Inc.

Wal-Mart Canada Corp

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