Walmart Inc. (WMT.US) launched its own women's clothing brand in an effort to attract younger consumers.

American retail giant Walmart Inc. (WMT.US) is set to launch a new private women's clothing brand named Scenario in its stores to attract younger consumers. It is reported that most items from Scenario will be priced under $25, including jeans, women's shirts, and tops. These garments will be placed in the areas of Walmart Inc. stores previously used to sell the Time and Tru clothing line (Walmart Inc.'s former private women's clothing brand). This initiative comes as Walmart Inc.'s sales of clothing and accessories have increased for seven consecutive quarters. Meanwhile, Walmart Inc. is continually grabbing market share from department stores and specialty clothing retailers. Denise Incandela, Walmart Inc.'s Executive Vice President of Fashion, stated that the company recognizes it has not met all consumers' clothing needs. Company data shows, While our consumers appreciate the exceptional value we provide, they do not recognize our style and quality in the same way. Notably, Walmart Inc.'s latest financial report released last week revealed that despite second-quarter revenue of $187.94 billion (a year-over-year increase of 5.9%) surpassing the market expectation of $186.87 billion and an adjusted earnings per share of $0.81 also exceeding the anticipated $0.74, same-store sales in the U.S. (excluding fuel) grew only 2.6%, marking the lowest level in over six years and falling far short of the market expectations of 3.7% to 3.8%. As a retail bellwether serving over 150 million customers weekly, the slowdown in Walmart Inc.'s same-store sales growth is raising deep concerns in the market about the overall weakening consumer environment. Additionally, although Walmart Inc. raised its full-year guidancelifting the full-year net sales growth estimate from the previous 3.5% to 4.5% to a range of 4% to 5%; and increasing the adjusted earnings per share guidance from $2.75 to $2.85 to between $2.80 and $2.87there is insufficient strength in its profit guidance; the midpoint of the full-year EPS estimate at $2.835 is below the market expectation of $2.90. This has spurred investor concerns that if a retailer like Walmart Inc., which has traditionally excelled in times of consumer downtrends, is starting to see signs of slowed growth, then an inflection point in the overall consumer economy may be approaching.