BlueRose

By Hollie Shaw, Marketing Reporter

Wal-Mart Canada is getting serious about targeting ethnic consumers. On Tuesday the retailing behemoth, which has 310 stores across Canada, launched Black Koi, an in-house line designed specifically for its “petite Asian customers.” The line, made to fit women under 5’3”, just made its debut at 16 stores in Ontario, B.C. and Alberta.

“Being a store of the community means looking at ways to tailor our merchandise to our local customers, in this case, the Asian community,” said Jim Pilkington, director of Wal-Mart Canada’s so-called ‘Store of the Community’ program, which targets various ethnic groups based on demographic data. The retailer has to launch a follow-up collection to Bollywood Signature, a line of clothing aimed at South Asian women earlier this year.



“When our growing number of Asian customers walk into Wal-Mart, we want them to see the everyday low prices that they expect but also the distinct products they want.”


Interestingly, the line is not made in China. It is designed and manufactured in Montreal by Twin Heart Clothing.


“I understand first-hand the difficulty petite Asian women can have finding clothes that fit without blowing the bank at a specialty store” said Cydney Mar, the design house’s co-founder. “I jumped at the opportunity to work with Wal-Mart on the development of this stylish new line.”



Photos: Courtesy of Wal-Mart

warholchic2

great! those clothes look so cute.

i wonder what their sizing guide will be...

i bet they still might not fit me =/