Walmart has not always been known for its fashion sense, but the category has grown into a $20 billion business in recent years behind the leadership of Denise Incandela and a group of Walmart employees, with some based in New York and some in Bentonville.

Incandela recently received Walmart’s highest award, the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The award was given at the retailer’s annual meeting on June 5. Steuart Walton, grandson of Sam and Helen, and Walmart Board Chair Greg Penner, the grandson-in-law of the Walmart founders, presented her with the award before a crowd of 11,000 at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The Walton family annually chooses the recipient of the award.

“Entrepreneurship is the relentless pursuit of solutions through resilience, through taking risks, and through innovation,” said Steuart Walton. “We look for someone who embodies this idea of an entrepreneur, innovation, resilience and taking risks.”

He described Incandela as a maverick who developed a New York fashion office with more than 100 people. Walton recently traveled to New York’s fashion district to visit the operation.

“It was great to see the initiative and innovation she’s taken in setting up this office, and then the results that she’s been able to achieve,” he said. “Our fashion business has been growing at a very healthy clip. I believe it was up over 10% in the first quarter.”

(right) Steuart Walton, grandson of Sam and Helen, and Walmart Board Chair Greg Penner, the grandson-in-law of the Walmart founders, present Denise Incandela the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

‘FASHION MAVERICKS’
Incandela thanked the Walton family for recognizing the work of the fashion group.

“I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award,” Incandela noted in a social media post following the event. “While my name may be on the award, this recognition truly belongs to the extraordinary team of fashion mavericks I have the privilege to work alongside every day. Sam Walton often spoke about the power of mavericks — people willing to challenge convention, think differently, and find new ways to serve customers. That spirit is alive and well across our Walmart fashion organization.”

Incandela’s career has spanned more than two decades in fashion, logging nearly nine years at Walmart, 2.5 years at Ralph Lauren overseeing digital strategy, and 15 years at Saks Fifth Avenue, where she was chief marketing and digital officer.

She said during a leadership podcast on “The Robin Report” in March 2025 that professional women need to build functional relationships in an organization and seek out mentors and advocates, something they don’t do enough. She said it’s impossible to succeed alone. Incandela said for her, leadership is creating a culture of empowerment, customer obsession, and accountability with risk-taking and the relentless pursuit to win without compromising integrity.

THE TRANSFORMATION
She said over the past several years the fashion group has been on a mission to transform Walmart apparel by elevating the assortment, creating better shopping experiences, reaching new customers and changing perceptions of Walmart fashion.

The progress, according to Incandela, is the “direct result of talented associates, bold thinking and a relentless focus on the customer. I am also deeply grateful to our incredible cross-functional partners across Walmart. Great things happen when teams unite around a shared vision. The recognition is meaningful, but the opportunity ahead of us is even more exciting.”

Walmart’s fashion transformation began years ago, according to Deanah Baker, a retired fashion executive from Walmart who worked directly with Incandela. She said Incandela and the fashion group had to convince the entire company to buy into the need to transform fashion, and it took time. Baker said the work began in earnest around 2017, and the fashion team worked through a major reduction in brands carried by the retailer, developing and promoting private brands, and adopting advanced RFID technology to enable more online sales. The group also began focusing on best-in-class suppliers and factories. The store-of-the-future remodels allowed for a different presentation for apparel that bridged online inventory offerings with in-store shoppers.

Baker credits Incandela with assembling a world-class team in New York, where fashion talent is first-rate.

“She is a driven leader who is tenacious about bringing fashion to Walmart customers in all income brackets,” Baker said.

Walmart CEO John Furner also recently made a trip to one of the four pop-up stores the fashion group has opened in New York City. He noted on his social media feed that the fashion team pulled together a great opportunity for non-customers to experience Walmart in new and exciting ways. Incandela said the recent pop-up event featured designer Brandon Maxwell and a new fashion line recognizing “The Devil Wears Prada” look ahead of the launch of the movie’s sequel, which was released in theaters in May.

David Guggina, CEO of Walmart U.S., said during a recent investor conference that the fashion team’s efforts continue to draw new customers to the brand, and sales from the April event increased 70% from the prior event.

“I think the bigger story here is that customers are increasingly seeing Walmart as a destination for both value and style, and we believe there is a lot of runway ahead of us to continue this momentum,” Guggina said.

THE CUSTOMER CLOSET
Incandela earlier this year spoke at the National Retail Federation Big Show Event about Walmart’s effort to draw more customers to the Walmart brand. She said part of the transformation sought was to target “white space” in apparel prices from $15 to $40, which was somewhat risky because 60% of the retailer’s customers had been shopping at $15 or below.

“We realized we were not supporting our customers’ closets, just the bottom of the closet,” Incandela said. “That was a big ‘a-ha’ for us, because we have 145 million shoppers in our stores weekly for groceries and consumables. But we were not serving our growth customers — the more urban millennials and Gen Z. Walmart fashion had mostly been in the socks and underwear business. We were winning on price, but we weren’t winning on quality, aesthetic and style.”

Walmart said fashion is working to create a halo effect for its brand and its stores. Walmart said it is taking market share, and customers are responding to store remodels. Company executives have also said Walmart is capturing new customers and has grown its $100,000 and higher household income customer penetration and spend, while also maintaining its core customer.

The post Walmart’s fashion boss garners top company award, transforms business appeared first on Talk Business & Politics.

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