The Shops at Target debuts Sunday
Target is rolling out five new product lines on Sunday. Pictured are bowls from Privet House. Photo courtesy of Target
Target is introducing five new product lines on Sunday as it rolls out The Shops at Target, a design partnership with five small businesses.
The shops, a candy store, a beauty boutique, a dog treat bakery, a women’s clothing store and a home decor store, have been working with Target to create limited-edition collections.
You can see some examples of the merchandise and read more about the small businesses that were chosen here.
According to a news release from Target, the Shops’ 400 products vary in price from a $1 nail file to a $159.99 pouf for the home.
The latest design partnership is one of many Target has developed since 1999, when it partnered with Michael Graves. Most recently, Target launched a limited-edition Missoni line, which was so popular it crashed the retailer’s website.
Do you think Target’s limited-edition collections that come from these partnerships are setting it apart from other retailers?
May 3, 2012 - 6:00 AM
We were in Target last week and it was darn near empty. I know they’re probably keeping inventory down while they remodel, but I don’t think I’ll bother going there until the work is done…there’s no merchandies.
Does this launch mean they’ve finished construction?
@Kristen: I heard that from a co-worker and went Monday to check it out. I didn’t think it was too bad, so maybe they’ve gotten some things rearranged and have restocked. Construction is scheduled to be done in June.
I was there on Tuesday and was very disappointed as well. Actually left empty-handed because I could not find ANYTHING I was looking for. It was pretty sad. I have always loved stopping in there to pick up a few things and had usually found some others, but will hope that once all of this remodeling, etc., is complete that it will be better.
I went to Target last night… couldn’t figure out how to use the Kodak Photo thing near the front, so decided to see if I could get printer ink (instead of going to Staples or Best Buy)… the electronics section was COMPLETELY gone.
I ended up going to Staples, and left Target VERY disappointed. I knew they were renovating, but I didn’t realize how… bad it was during the process. I think I’ll avoid Target until the renovations are complete.
You may have said before, but I don’t follow this blog regularly… when are the renovations supposed to be completed?
@Other Kristen: Target said in March that the work would be done in June.
Will all Target stores have this? I was under the impression that only select stores would have The Shops. Will the one in Christiansburg offer these products, too?
The electronics section is now at the back of the store next to the men’s department – they were moving stuff yesterday when I was in there. What I don’t like now is that the aisles are SO SMALL width-wise that you can’t get a cart through! Especially in the women’s clothing section. The shoe selection looked measley too in comparison to what it had been. On a positive note, all the employees I ran into – which were quite a few – were extremely helpful and asked if I needed assistance finding anything every time I saw one. This is just like when Kroger rearranges everything – it stinks at first but once you get used to the new “flow” it’s all good after that!
@KM: Target has said the collections will be available at all of its stores.
Would love to know why Target is pulling all the Kindles and its accessories from their shelves and focusing solely on introducing Apple products. Why can’t they have both???
I was told this week by one of the employees that shoes, handbags, plus other (soft goods) depts., would be cut WAY back to make room for more groceries.We have plenty of grocery stores. Seems like baby/children’s dept. will suffer also.
@Elena: According to this New York Times story, Target was tired being a showroom for its rival, Amazon.com, much like what’s been happening at Best Buy.
The story quotes a letter from Target executives to its vendors, which states: “What we aren’t willing to do is let online-only retailers use our brick-and-mortar stores as a showroom for their products and undercut our prices.”
@Martha A.: It’ll be interesting to see what gets scaled back to make room for groceries. Perhaps it is something I can look into when the renovations are done.
Everyone interested in finding out what Target will be like after renovations should head to Christiansburg…everything is complete there. Yes, groceries are nice and to get a few basics to avoid an additional stop on the way home is a benefit. And a few items I regularly buy were cheaper than Kroger. BUT I noticed that the accessories, handbags and shoes do seem to have been cut back. Electronics seems to be expanded but organized poorly.
Building renovations can be a bear and remaining operational during them is a challenge. I went to Target to get an infant rocker seat and there was so little inventory on the floor that I started to leave. Then I thought maybe they had more inventory in storage so I asked FOUR different employees to assist me and each one of them said they would call for someone that actually works in the infant department. After I stood waiting for over 20 minutes I called the Target store with my mobile phone and told the operator that I needed assistance and she sent someone right over!!! Gee, what a long drawnout process just to then be told that they had nothing like I wanted…I went there because they use to have a great selection of infant seats!!! Oh well, I tried!!