Hello Boutique Freaks!!! I had a little something on my mind and wanted to share. See the photo above? I'm sure many of you have seen this display already as the much anticipated Target and Neiman Marcus Collaboration has already entered stores. Well to catch you up (as if you need it), 24 CFDA designers created a "legendary" line of 50 gifts. We're talking the likes of designers like Oscar de la Renta, Marchesa, and Marc Jacobs to name a few! Okay, so you see my picture, this was taken the Monday after its release on Saturday. For those of you that are familiar with most Limited Time line events at Target this sight is unusual, especially for a line with names like this involved! There is still a lot of merchandise left. I remember the Liberty of London event and even more recently the Missoni event. People were literally lined up outside of the stores like Black Friday and trying to grab anything they could get their hands on! At some stores it was near pandemonium! So why is there still a hefty amount of merchandise left?? Here's my take on why.
#4 Merchandising
I can only speak to the merchandising in Target stores, but I've seen much more creative merchandising initiatives in Target for other things, especially seasonal merchandise. Think about it, have you ever been in Target during Halloween, Valentine's Day, or Christmas?? Custom fixtures are created for much of the merchandise, and even though it is meant to be recycled or disposed of after, it looks great! I think the signing for the Target+Neiman Marcus collab was awesome, but the merchandising efforts could have been better and made the merchandise look much more alluring in the Target store than it does on what they have now.
#3 Not Enough Apparel and Accessories
Even though there were previews of the collection on Target's website (maybe even Neiman Marcus, I'm not sure because I didn't check) I think people expected a lot more of what these designers actually design on a regular basis or at least what they are most popular for and that's CLOTHES, as well as accessories. If Tory Burch had created a cute bootie for this collection there would be no evidence that the shoe even existed online or in stores.
#2 Price Points
Now the average Target shopper could quite possibly be just as affluent as the Neiman Marcus shopper, but they come to both retailers for different things. However Target's audience varies across many income ranges whereas Neiman Marcus does not. So when I saw the price points of some merchandise it seemed a little high. Fashionistas on budget around the world thrive on lines like this because they can't afford to buy a lot of these designers products otherwise, so I'm sure this took some others by surprise as well. Walking into Neiman Marcus and seeing a blouse for $79.99 by Robert Rodriguez is a very different experience when you see it in a Target store. Some of the merchandise isn't that bad like the Proenza sweatshirt for $29.99 and the Rag & Bone shot glasses for $19.99, but some of the others are a little pricey for what Target Limited Time Line shoppers are use to.
#1 IT WILL GO CLEARANCE
There is one immutable fact about most all things sold in Target stores and that is IT WILL GO CLEARANCE!!! When pro Target shoppers alike saw these prices a lot of them probably said "You know what, I'll get the Proenza sweatshirt and the Tory Burch flask today, but that Rodriguez dress, I'll get that the first day it gets marked down!" So the explosive sales of the first weekend of the event were probably dampened by shoppers plans to get a better deal when the merchandise goes clearance.
Welp, that's my take guys. I'm not that great in the financial department right now being that I'm preparing for the holidays and preparing to move again, but I did get the Tory Burch Flask and I do really like it. Tell me what you guys thoughts on this matter. Was Target+Neiman Marcus a success or not so much??
