The Shophound

MASS EFFECT: TARGET Adds Gay Pride Tees To Online Mix

What does it mean when a huge, mass-market retailer like Target adds ten Gay Pride t-shirts to its online offerings? In a year when same-sex marriage continues to be a lightning rod-issue in Presidential and state politics, it says something about progress and attitudes. In fact, voters in target's home state of Minnesota will vote this fall on a state contitutional amendment prohibiting same-se marriage. Are the new product offerings a result of Target's troubles with gay activists a couple of years ago when the retailer was discovered to have donated $150,000 to the MN Forward PAC  supporting Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, who was known to hold some anti-gay views? Boycotts were threatened. A music deal with Lady Gaga was torpedoed, and the company's generally exemplary reputation for supporting its gay employees with fair and equal benefits was tarnished by the bad publicity.

Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder tells Minneapolis' Star Tribune that the decision to offer the shirts came not from that embarrassing episode, but was generated by the company's 1,200 employee strong LGBTA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allies) Business Council. "Over the past year, we heard from our team members and guests that they'd like to see an assortment of Pride merchandise available at Target."

The shirts which became available this week, sell for $12.99 each, and the entire purchase price will be donated to the Boston-based Family Equality Council which is dedicated to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents and their families. The assortment includes 10 different styles including one by singer Gwen Stefani, who also sells an exclusive line for children called Harajuku Juniors at the chain. As far as we can tell, the shirts are available only online, not at Target stores, so...baby steps.

Line of Target T-shirts to support gay pride (Star-Tribune via Towleroad)

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: ODIN Meets Target This September

A couple of days ago we heard about Kirna Zabête's selection as one of the next retailers for the Shops at Target program, and today brings the news that one of The Shophound's favorite men's stores, ODIN will also be featured along with San Francisco's The Curiosity Shoppe.

Odin founders Eddy Chai and Paul Birardi (pictured above with images from their store, not the upcoming collection) have created an exclusive line of sweaters, henleys, button-downs, pants, shoes and accessories that reflect their store's singular aesthetic. Target tells us that the line is meant to appeal to "both the sartorially savvy and the guy who’s worn the same pair of jeans his whole life". The line will appear in Target stores and online on September 9th along with collections from the other two stores and and more retailer to be announced on Thursday, so stay tuned.

It’s a Man’s World: Introducing Odin at Target (A Bullseye View/Target.com)
ODIN New York (Official Site)
Previously:
Scents In Space: ODIN Creates A Pop-Up Environment For Its Fragrances

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Target's First Retailer Collaboration With THE WEBSTER Is Unveiled

The first phase of TARGET's new designer collaboration concept, The Shops at Target, was unveiled yesterday afternoon as the first images of the mass retailer's team-up with the exclusive Miami Beach boutique The Webster flew around the magical interwebs. The chain's new concept is to collaborate with influential stores rather than designers to add excitement to Target's big-box merchandise mix, and while initially, it was hard to figure out exactly how this would translate, the new photos look promising. The 122-piece collection features a range of products for Men, Women and Children including shoes and accessories with a breezy, summery look and just enough tropical pattern to remind you of Miami without looking like you have been imprisoned on some Polynesian island. it was created in tandem with The Webster co-founder and CEO Laure Heriard Dubreuil who translated the boutique's "beachy and chic, yet luxurious" aesthetic to fit target's under $50 price points. Refinery 29 and GQ have previews of the men's and women's lines, and if you want to pore over the entire collection, head on over to the Huffington Post for an extensive slide show of the whole shebang including items that will be available online only. The Webster for The Shops at Target drops on May 6th, so be prepared. We can't be sure if this project will cause an Missoni-like frenzy, but with the way things have been going, you can't be too early.

First Look: The Webster at Target (The GQ Eye)
YES: The Webster For Target Is Here And We're Giving It Away! (Refinery 29)
The Webster's New Target Collection Hits Bullseye (Huffington Post)

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Strong But Not Overwhelming Response For Jason Wu's Target Line

We can't imagine that Superbowl Sunday had all that much of an effect on Target's launch of its Jason Wu collaboration, because by the time the game began, the morning shopping action sounded like it was long over. While shoppers may still have a bad taste in their mouths from the retailer's system breakdowns surrounding the Missoni collaboration last Fall, the response to Wu's smaller collection dodn't seem to tax the chain too heavily. As usual, the team from Racked was out on location to gauge the crowd response which seemed to range from a ransacking in Brooklyn to more sedate but still enthusiastic shopping in Queens. By now, however, it looks like most of it is gone to (presumably) happy customers. On line, the majority of items are either listed as sold out online or "available in stores" which means take your chances. This morning we found five apparel pieces and no accessories that were still orderable from Target' website.

If you are really set on getting some of this line, we found literally thousands of items listed on eBay, and, from what we could gather, they were not going for much above their retail prices —at least not yet.

Your other option, of course, is to sit tight for a month when H&M's Marni collaboration hits. You will probably be guaranteed a frenzy at the store for that one, but Sofia Coppola's short teaser ad for the collection just hit, and it looks like it will be worth the effort.

Jason Wu for Target Is Practically Gone from Atlantic Avenue, A Measured Mania for Jason Wu at the Queens Target (RACKED)

MEA CULPA: Target Apologizing for Cancelled Missoni Orders By Sending Them Out... For Free.

Some customers are still fuming from this past Fall's Target x Missoni website crash/order cancellation debacle, and apparently, Target is still embarrassed by the way it's biggest designer collaboration ever collapsed under overwhelming demand from the public.

In fact, the huge discount chain is still trying to make up for its logistical breakdown by shipping out some of those cancelled orders anyway, at no charge. The Cut tells the story of a would-be online customer who received the following email from Target notifying him that his canceled espresso set was on its way,

Thank you for your patience and continued support with regard to your Missoni for Target order.  Your Missoni item(s) have now shipped and we want to let you know that you will not be invoiced for the item(s) listed below.

If you do not wish to keep the below item(s) please donate them to a local charity or shelter of your choice rather than returning them to Target.

Well how's that for unheard of efforts to restore a customer's faith?

Not only was Target sending the item they cancelled without charging him a dime, but they had already sent him gift certificates earlier this year to apologize for his inconvenience. On top of that, The Cut tells us that the $39.99 espresso set is currently selling for as much as $250 on eBay. That's what we call a sweet Holiday Season surprise.

Outstanding Missoni for Target Items Are Now Being Distributed for Free (The Cut)

POP-UP, POP-DOWN: Target's Missoni Pop-Up Sells Out & Shuts Down

Among the most horrendous of the Fashion's Night Out nightmare stories we have heard have been tales of the Missoni x Target Pop-up store near Bryant Park. Though the store opened at 6:00 PM, customers began lining up early in the day, and many of those who waited hours and hours found a miserably ransacked house of chaos when they finally arrived inside.

According to The Cut, by 10:00 AM this morning the shop, which was to have stayed open through tomorrow, was completely out of merchandise and shut its doors permanently. Of course, everyone will get another chance at the collection, The line is scheduled to hit Target stores on Tuesday the 13th, plan carefully, or simply by it all online.

Missoni for Target Pop-up Store Forced to Close Early (The Cut)

SNEAK PREVIEWS: Someone Got A Peek At Missoni's Top Secret Target Collection

Missoni's upcoming collaboration line from Target has been kept under the tightest security. Even the few editors who were given a preview last month were forbidden from photographing or recording the experience in any way, but some clever photographer recently caught the ad campaign being shot, so there are a few unofficial preview shots floating around the interwebs including the one pictured here.

The campaign stars Margherita Missoni, and from what we can see, it should make both Missoni fans and Target very happy. It couldn't look more classically Missoni, so expect a big response once it hits Target stores later this year. This will be one to line up for.

Missoni for Target (The Fashion Spot via The Cut)

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Missoni To Team Up With Target This Fall

Twitter is the new Press Release.

Yesterday afternoon, Target announced via Twitter that its next big designer collaboration would be with one of Italy's most famous designer brands, Missoni, putting taditional outlets like WWD behind the curve.

Target is practically the grandaddy of the designer collaboration craze, and despite recently releasing a greatest hits dress collection from its Go International! young designer program, the giant chain's future seems to be with the larger, wider ranging programs with more established brands, like last year's wildly successful Liberty of London collections and even the current Calypso St. Barth line which includes home accessories as well as apparel.

The upcoming Missoni line will be the company's largest and most wide-ranging collaboration yet including men's, women's and children's clothes, bed & bath and dinnerware all in the Italian label's famous, colorful graphic patterns totaling over 400 separate items. The line is reported to launch on September 13^th and be available through October 22^nd. If past experience is any indication, it will be a sellout, but since Target now has a Manhattan store, we aren't counting on the kind of pop-up shop that spawned days of block-long lines like we had for the Liberty of London program, though it wouldn't be such a bad idea to give downtowners a more convenient opportunity to shop the collections.

@TargetStyle (Twitter)
Next from Target? A Fall Collaboration with Missoni (Vogue.com)

 

DISCOUNT PREVIEW: Target & Gilt Groupe Join Forces For A Collboration Preview

You may be itching to get out of the office early this Friday for one of the last Summer weekends, but you'll probably want to stick by your computer at Noon when Gilt Groupe will be launching a preview sale of Target's upcoming collaborations with Tucker, Mulberry and John Derian (all pictured below) weeks before they hit the chain's website or retail stores.

While Gilt has been exploring to find interesting variations to expand on it core off-price labels for less business, Target is still looking for ways to reach upscale customers who remain the biggest spenders among its customers. Even though it finally has a Manhattan store, the chain is not yet a convenient everyday shopping stop for Manhattan customers, but Friday's sale will save you a trek to East Harlem or Brooklyn, and Gilt members may even receive their purchases before they become available to regular Target shoppers.

Basically, it's a win-win, so set your computer alerts for Friday at Noon, and if you are not yet a Gilt Groupe member (which would be hard to imagine if you are a regular reader of this blog) then by all means click HERE imediately.

ACTS OF CONTRITION: Target In Apology Mode

While Target has been basking in the attention over its shiny new Harlem store during the past week or so, it has also been the object of complaints, anger and boycott threats over a $150,000 donation through the company's own PAC to the Minnesota Forward PAC which supports Republican Gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. The candidate is known for his conservative, anti-gay stances on a number of issues, so the financial support flies in the face of Target's otherwise exemplary record as an employer regarding Gay and Lesbian issues, as well as its sponsorship of Gay and Lesbian events.

While Target initially defended its donation as supporting business issues in the corporation's home state of Minnesota, it has now issued an apology and promised to set up a more extensive review process for future political donations. It is not unusual, however, for large corporations such as Target to support candidates over a broad political spectrum in their home states where legislation can affect their business.

Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel wrote in a letter to employees, "While I firmly believe that a business climate conducive to growth is critical to our future, I realize our decision affected many of you in a way I did not anticipate, and for that I am genuinely sorry," which should go a long way to mollify critics and potential former customers of the huge chain.

Target apologizes for Minn. donation (Associated Press via Towleroad)