US discount retail conglomerate Wal-Mart is on the fashion offensive with spreads in high fashion magazines, a fashion show during New York Fashion Week, and now the launch of Metro 7. The new brand is geared towards the "fashion-savvy" female customer with an urban lifestyle.

The development of Metro 7 signifies a departure from the norm for the retail giant. While always having focused on ultimately low prices, Wal-Mart began listening to its customers in developing the new brand. Karen Stuckey, who is responsible for apparel product development, told the FT that the Metro 7 brand evolved out of a study of 6,000 existing Wal-Mart customers. She said that results indicated that a significant number of Wal-Mart shoppers wanted more from the store. They were "desirous of a much more fashion-forward, contemporary style...and we were not providing that."

The brand will now be sold in 500 urban Wal-Mart stores and through the company's website. The collection will be refreshed on a monthly basis, keeping up with the trends through a "trend office" based in New York.

With the launch of Metro 7, Wal-Mart is trying to boost slow sales in its existing stores by focusing on items with higher profit margins, like home furnishings, electronics and fashion. And for the first time ever, it is using customer research to develop products.

"They buy soap, they're buying consumables, or they buy other basic products where the deciding factor is price," head of marketing for Wal-Mart US, John Fleming, told the FT. "And yet we haven't always had the assortment that meets their needs in areas like apparel, home and electronics. So our strategy is to use consumer research and insights to better understand their needs, and to develop assortments where we have an opportunity to meet these needs."

Fleming formerly worked for rival Target for 19 years. The smaller discount retailer regularly uses customer research. It has also polished its image to become America's more "upmarket" discount retailer, with modern marketing techniques and collaborations with well-known designers. Since Fleming took over as head of marketing for Wal-Mart US in April of this year, the company's advertising style had begun to resemble Target's more. However, Fleming stresses that Target and Wal-Mart are not the same company. Customers will come to Wal-Mart to change their tyres, buy new glasses or get their pictures developed.