One of the biggest cheers came at the news that in the UK George was proving so popular the Wal-Mart board had agreed on a new tactic to boost sales even further ­ opening two clothing-only stores on the high street. And nobody cheered louder at the news than the 180 or so Asda people who have flown over for the annual Wal-Mart jamboree.
The standalone George stores will be opened in Leeds and Croydon in September. The new stores will be about 10,000 sq ft and will be trialled for a year before any decision is taken on opening any more.
There has been speculation for at least six years that Asda would make such a move. That it is finally happening, some 13 years after George was launched, confirms one indisputable fact: supermarket clothing brands are no longer the poor relative of high street fashion.
Nevertheless, Asda's president and CEO Tony DeNunzio is keen to play down the significance of the trials, stressing they are only two stores. But he adds: "If you think of the size of the clothing market on the High Street it is is significantly greater than out-of-town. So the opportunities are greater."
The ramifications of Asda's move are clearly enormous, particularly for price-led clothing rivals such as Matalan.
However, as those Wal-Mart associates gathered in Fayetteville last week heard, the supermarket chain has plans to extend the reach of its George brand in other ways. In particular, it is preparing to launch higher quality products with more of a premium position. And Andy Bond, head of George, appeared on stage modelling one of the first lines in that range ­ a M&S quality' pure wool suit which will retail for around £80. These new products should start appearing in stores in the autumn and will carry the George name with some form of sub branding.
With George sales now hitting £1bn, Asda already claims to have a 6.6% share of the UK clothing market. Bond says the brand's success stems from its ability to offer "fantastically fashionable products at unbelievably low prices".
He also points out that for many consumers George is the second reason ­ after low prices ­ why they shop at Asda.
But the George story is no longer confined to the UK. As Wal-Mart looks to share best practice among its global operations, the clothing brand is moving on to the world stage, with the UK team acting as the hub for that rollout. Aside from the UK, George is now sold in four markets ­ Germany, the US, Canada and Korea. The brand is launching in Mexico in a couple of months, and will be introduced to the Japanese market in the spring or summer of next year.
The day after the fashion show, it was time for the full Wal-Mart Shareholders Convention. And once again the importance of the George brand was explained to the 18,000 people in the Bud Walton arena.
So far, Wal-Mart has set a conservative target of building George sales up to $2bn by the end of the current financial year. But with 3,400 Wal-Mart stores in the US and another 1,000 elsewhere in the world, the potential for the brand is enormous.
And Bond is clearly excited. "In five years time, George could be the biggest clothing brand in the world, delivering sales and profit, and loyalty among our customers."
It's a bold ambition. But who would have thought when Asda launched a supermarket clothing range all those years ago, it would end up as a high street fashion brand? Or, for that matter, that it would end up on sale in supermarkets as far away as Tokyo?

{{ANALYSIS }}