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Walmart Canada rolls out Esprit collection as '90s fashion makes a significant comeback. Walmart stores in Canada will carry Esprit fashion items ranging in sizes XS to XXL. By Janis Ramsay Insidehaltoncom Wednesday, August 12, 2026 1 min to read * Twitter * LinkedIn * Email * Print * Save JOIN THE CONVERSATION A few middle-aged moms will soon be reliving a favourite fashion moment from the '80s and '90s as Walmart is bringing the Esprit brand back to Canada. The company has knitted and fleecy crewneck sweaters, denim and classic layering pieces - all with the classic Esprit branding. Sizes range from XS to XXL. But merchandise may not stay on shelves long. A similar launch at Costco in the United States last month sold out quickly. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Walmart returns the Esprit brand to Canada. "The brand is returning to Canada with a curated, colourful collection of elevated everyday essentials inspired by Esprit's heritage, which created instant fads then and is sparking viral moments now," Walmart Canada said in a news release. "Esprit holds a special place in the hearts of many Canadians, so it's especially meaningful to bring this iconic brand back to Canada - exclusively at Walmart," Walmart Canada womenswear senior director Marlise Wilson said. "Esprit's bright, optimistic spirit defined an era for so many of us, and I'm thrilled to bring that same sense of joy, colour and self-expression to both longtime fans and a new generation of customers." Shoppers wanting to see the selection available online, and at select stores, can visit walmart.ca. Is Esprit a Canadian brand? ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Esprit was founded in San Francisco in 1968, and became popular in the '80s and '90s as shoppers enjoyed the relaxed California style and easy-to-wear collections. "Through a collaboration with Centric Brands, Esprit is once again available to Canadian consumers marking an exciting new chapter for the beloved heritage brand," Walmart said in its press release. Esprit brand makes a comeback at Costco U.S. stores. Last month, Costco stores in the United States also had Esprit sweatshirts available - and they were selling out quickly. "I saw them and had a flashback right there in the middle of Costco. Oh wait, I had a hot flash," @KellyNtay said in a Reddit thread. "My wife got one today and was parading it around like a trophy, so stoked on nostalgia," @etherealsounds added. "Sweatshirts are sold out here, but I'd love to find one," @Prior-Onion3411 said. Other commenters said the Esprit sweaters would also pair well with a Swatch watch, Umbro shorts and stirrup leggings. "The Eighties are back? For me at least, my eighties are closer than The Eighties," @Objective_Safe_5982 replied. Janis Ramsay is an online editor with Metroland. Reach her at [email protected]. Join the discussion about this article or read previously posted comments

Visions of Tomorrow: retail tech leaders say AI success starts with ending old processes. July 30, 2026 12:45pm "We decided to literally blow everything up," said Jessica Murphy, co-founder and CEO of True Fit, describing the moment roughly two years ago when she told her chief technology officer to scrap the company's existing systems and rebuild from scratch. "There were no sacred cows." That radical reset was a primary theme of a conversation at Sourcing Journal's Visions of Tomorrow event on Monday, where Murphy and Meg Ball, senior director of creative technology and AI enablement at Centric Brands, shared experiences of how their businesses have deployed AI within their businesses. The two executives arrived at similar conclusions: layering AI onto outdated processes risks accelerating inefficiencies rather than creating meaningful change. "You can't put an AI workflow onto a broken process," Ball told SJ Denim's executive editor Angela Velasquez during the panel. "That just creates a faster broken process." Ball, who joined Centric Brands without a predecessor or a blueprint for how to introduce AI across the organization, said one of her first moves was to sit down with product designers and teams to understand there daily tasks and the technologies they were working with. During those meetings, the teams would dig into the tech stacks and each user's roles and responsibilities, before determining whether they wanted to maintain the same processes going forward. "Most of the answers are, absolutely not," Ball said. The processes became about mapping the full product lifecycle, including bottlenecks and handoffs, and figuring out where technology could accelerate what people were already trying to do, rather than bolting AI onto the outside of an unchanged process. Murphy described a comparable reckoning at True Fit, where 20 years of incremental growth had quietly hardened into what she called a "Frankenstein system." The fashion fit and sizing intelligence platform kept running into the same excuse for why it failing to innovate as quickly as it had liked - obsolete infrastructure. "Twenty years in tech is old," Murphy asserted, "And 20 years when you are developing technology is ancient." While the internal rebuild was initially expected to take a year, it instead took two. However, the changes delivered more progress than the previous 18 years combined. For Ball, the clearest early wins of AI deployment have been product visualization and speed to market. Centric Brands has onboarded around 150 creative users onto new tools, letting designers turn ideas that have "been in their head for years" into something they can show retailers, buyers and sales teams almost instantly. According to Ball, with these AI-driven workflows in place, the apparel and accessories company has been able to cut budget for sampling, photo shoots and studio time. "The weight goes to zero, which to me is very, very powerful," Ball said. But she pushed back on the fear that AI flattens creativity into something generic. With two decades of experience across product development, screen printing, graphic design and art direction, she argued that trained judgment is even more essential in determining what designs to keep, scrap and refine. "[Our teams] could create 400 different variables of something now before their coffee even is cold," Ball said. "But they still need to understand how to go back in and look at what they're developing and use the skill. We really encourage teams to make sure they're taking their best skill that they have and just amplifying it up a degree." Murphy, whose company built its business on unifying fragmented retail data, warned that even the best AI tools are only as useful as the information feeding them. She said retailers often struggle due to having more disparate data than other industries, which leads her to advise anyone looking to implement AI-powered systems to establish a single source of truth before pushing full speed ahead with a new strategy. "If machines can't read it, then the world can't see it," Murphy said, applying that logic both to True Fit's own systems, as well as the ad tech and marketing platforms retailers are simultaneously trying to plug in. Both visionaries returned to the same closing idea: AI won't create differentiation on its own. "If everybody just uses the same stuff and doesn't bring in their own special sauce, then we'll be copycats of each other," Murphy said. SJ Newsletters

Authentic ready to drive GUESS brand's next chapter across North America. By Samantha Loveday July 30, 2026 Authentic Brands Group has announced a new network of operating partners for GUESS in the United States and Canada, accelerating the brand's growth across key consumer categories through Authentic's global platform. The appointments represent the next phase of Authentic's strategy for GUESS following its partnership with the brand. By aligning existing businesses with best-in-class operators, Authentic is optimising the portfolio, expanding category leadership and creating new opportunities to drive long-term growth across North America. Guess and Authentic have appointed Centric Brands for children's apparel, sleepwear and accessories, as well as men's sleepwear, underwear, plus small leather goods, belts and cold-weather accessories across the family. Vandale Industries will lead women's intimates and sleepwear, while Creative Home Ideas/YMF will expand GUESS into the home category with bedding, bath, décor, rugs, lighting, kitchenware, outdoor accessories, hydration products, stationery and pet products. Orly Shoe Corporation will oversee socks and slippers, while E.S. Originals will spearhead children's footwear. "GUESS has built decades of equity as one of the world's most recognizable fashion and lifestyle brands," commented Jarrod Weber, global president, sports and lifestyle at Authentic. "Our focus is on continuing to develop that brand in thoughtful ways, bringing consumers the categories they expect from GUESS while ensuring every product reflects the style, quality and point of view that have made it iconic. By partnering with best-in-class operators, we're creating new opportunities for consumers to experience the brand across more aspects of their everyday lives."