Hanesbrands Inc., the maker of Hanes underwear and the Wonder Bra, is getting twice as much as space in more than 3,500 Walmart stores to offer more clothing choices for the plus-size women who shop there.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has started selling an extended line of Just My Size women’s clothes, including dress pants, sweaters and other merchandise beyond the underwear and jeans it already stocked, Maria Teza, the brand’s director, said in an Oct. 13 telephone interview.

“So many of the women who shop at Walmart today fall into the plus-size category,” Teza, 41, said. “She’s already there, whether she’s buying groceries, toys, clothes for her kids. So we really wanted to create a plus-size destination for apparel for her.”

Two New York fashion shows today will introduce the spring collection, ranging in size from 16 to 28, and in price from $6 to $22, she said.

Increasing sales in Walmart, the world’s largest retailer and Hanesbrands’ biggest customer, may help reverse two years of declining revenue, said Scott Krasik, an analyst at C.L. King & Associates in New York.

“An apparel company as big as Hanesbrands needs new ideas, big ideas to grow revenue in totally new categories, such as Just My Size outer wear and active wear,” Krasik said. “It may help them return to revenue growth next year.”

‘Strong Buy’

Krasik raised his rating Oct. 5 to “strong buy” from “neutral,” citing more demand for Just My Size and other apparel. Retailers reduced orders in late 2008 and 2009.

Hanesbrands, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, advanced 23 cents to $23.61 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have climbed 85 percent this year after tumbling 53 percent in 2008. Walmart slipped 15 cents to $50.19 yesterday.

Richard Noll, Hanesbrands’ chief executive officer, said this year the company was completing a Walmart agreement. He told analysts in July the contract may provide as much as $75 million in incremental sales next year and eventually add $150 million a year. Total revenue dropped 5 percent to $4.25 billion last year.

Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, accounted for 27 percent of revenue in the year ended Jan. 3, according to the manufacturer’s annual securities filing.

Comfortably Large

Hanesbrands research found that 60 percent of women shopping at Walmart fit plus sizes, said John Marsh, senior vice president and general manager of the manufacturer’s casual-wear division. About 40 percent of overweight women are comfortable wearing clothes designed as plus size, rather than buying extra- large of regular garments, he said.

Walmart executives weren’t available to comment, Melissa Hill, a New York-based spokeswoman, said.

Walmart’s U.S. stores generated 11 percent of revenue from apparel in the 12 months ended Jan. 31, down from 12 percent a year earlier, as groceries and pharmacy items accounted for a larger share, according to an annual securities filing. Sales totaled $401.2 billion last year.

“Walmart is rather scientific regarding its product performance across many metrics,” Richard Hastings, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based consumer strategist for Global Hunter Securities LLC, said in an e-mail Oct. 13. “If they seem to be adding to plus-size apparel square footage, then they probably see evidence of sufficient demand or they might see an opportunity from a competitor.”

Noll is turning to revenue growth after three years of cost cuts resulting in a net reduction of 5,800 jobs. Walmart sought more of the Just My Size line to replace its private- label, plus-size clothing, Teza said.

One Vision

“When there were multiple brands on the floor, they represented many different visions,” Teza said. “The pieces didn’t necessarily work together.”

Just My Size now accounts for 14 to 16 racks in the average Walmart, she said. That’s double the number before the companies agreed in April to expand. In the spring, signs will offer suggestions on how to mix and match pieces, she said.