Target Corp Launches ‘The Shops at Target’ — And New Design Strategy

This Sunday (May 6), Target Corp. will launch “The Shops at Target,” a curated collection of boutiques from around the country. Participating shops include such trendsetting boutique retailers as the Webster in Miami, Privet House in Connecticut, and The Candy Store in San Francisco.

The shop-in-shop concept will bow in over 1700 Target retailers and feature exclusive products from each of the five participating boutiques.

The trend for curating products from other retailer’s and incorporating them into one’s own store is certainly not new, but after the pop-up store phenomenon, it has been one of the strongest marketing trends and has brought positive results for such High Street stores as Barneys, Lane Crawford, and Colette.

Aspen’s Cos Bar created a collection of nail shades and accessories for Target.

In the past few years Target has enjoyed considerable marketing success from their collaborations with designers like Missoni, Jason Wu, and Proenza Schouler, among many others. But this is not just about marketing.

“With the launch of The Shops at Target, we’re able to create an ongoing sense of discovery and excitement for our guest,” says Jamie Bastian, a spokesperson for Target. “We were looking for shops with a compelling point of view and shop owners who could help us create collections that reflect our guests’ wants and needs.”

Diane and Brian Campbell, owners of The Candy Store in San Francisco, one of five participants in The Shops at Target, and some of the candies they developed with the mass retailer.

Target found one of those shops tucked away on Vallejo Street in San Francisco’s Russian Hill. The Candy Store has offered a remarkable assortment of classic and esoteric candies since 2007, and was a fairly local discovery – until along came Target.

“Target has been canvassing the globe to uncover distinctive shops –stores with a story –that offer something surprising and unexpected for our guests,” says Bastian.

“The partnership with Target has brought more awareness of our brand on a national level,” says Diane Campbell, the store’s co-owner along with her husband Brian. “I think Target was attracted to our carefully curated collection of sweets as well as our modern aesthetic and passion that we have for our business.”

That passion and ability to source unique candies made it that much easier for Target to collaborate with Campbell in developing new products for Target.

“The collaboration with Target was fantastic from minute one,” says Campbell. “They really worked hard to understand our brand and capture the feel of our store.”

Target’s strategy of co-opting someone else’s cool is a smart move and a primary reason for why big brands are courting small ones like The Candy Store. A short-run marketing program like “The Shops at Target” helps energize the over-arching brand and generate footfall and press. Even more importantly, it helps leverage new insights on the future of the brand.  Target Corp. officially calls it a “design partnership program.”

“We most definitely leverage past merchandise collections and experiences when planning,” confirms Bastian.

Which is precisely the point here: a marketing “exercise” should not be designed to simply push product, but to act as a benchmark for the future of the brand, broadening its relevance in the mind of the consumer.

As more and more products become ubiquitous and available virtually everywhere, big brands will be wise to seek out the authentic little retailers who can bring cachet and coolness to their otherwise big box image, and in turn discover new approaches in product development, packaging, and customer service.

The first flight of “The Shops at Target” launches May 6 and features The Candy Store (San Francisco), Cos Bar (Aspen), Polka Dog Bakery (Massachusetts), Privet House (Connecticut) and The Webster (Miami). At select Target stores. www.target.com.

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