May 16 (UPI) -- Walmart announced a partnership Wednesday with upscale fashion retailer Lord & Taylor.
A Lord & Taylor "flagship store" will appear on Walmart.com in a few weeks, the company said. It will offer about 125 brands -- including Tommy Bahama, Lucky Brand and Vince Camuto.
The companies said there is mutual benefit in pairing the low-end mass retailer with the more exclusive Lord & Taylor.
"This innovative flagship on Walmart.com is an entirely new model for us," said R.J. Cilley of Lord & Taylor. "We are excited for the opportunity to serve exponentially more customers with our premium fashion offerings."
The move comes as Walmart is aggressively cutting prices as it competes with Amazon, which is poised to overtake Walmart as the top seller of apparel in the United States.
A study by Guggenheim Securities, released Tuesday, said a sample basket of 100 household items was 4 percent less expensive at Walmart than at Amazon. Walmart stock prices have declined by 13 percent since the start of the year.
Lord & Taylor has faced typical department store obstacles like cutting costs and falling sales in physical stores as more customers shop online.
Walmart's redesigned website will include two shopping locations, one for Walmart's everyday brands and one for premium brands like Lord & Taylor.
Walmart is expected to report first quarter results on Thursday.