Last fall, you may have heard about LA25, an initiative we launched in 25 of our Los Angeles Target stores. Pull together a bunch of the enhancements and updates happening in departments across our stores and put them all together in one experience, to see how they impact sales and the guest experience. The tests are designed with our signature categories, like style and wellness, in mind, along with some of our new and updated services. The latest group of updates are popping up in stores throughout May. “At Target, we're always looking for ways to create an exceptional shopping experience for guests,” says Mark Schindele, senior vice president, Target Properties. “Our teams are learning a lot from LA25, and we’re excited to see how these newest enhancements fit into the mix.” Take a look at the some of the newly unveiled updates: The front of our stores is the first thing guests see as they walk in, so it’s the perfect spot to showcase some of our latest product.
Style is front and center, featuring the latest trends in apparel or home items, and the display will transition about every eight weeks. We’re also incorporating locally and seasonally relevant products, like beach chairs and coolers for summer, in an easy-to-spot area right up front. We’ll continue featuring Bullseye’s Playground, which we updated from The One Spot last fall, because we know our guests love the exceptional value they find there. We’ve updated the Guest Service counter to feel fresh and inviting, with plenty of storage space and user-friendly signs to make the Order Pickup experience quick and seamless. -only products or downloading the Cartwheel app. To give our guests more of the better-for-you food options they crave, we’re testing three new food vendors—Freshii, Which Wich? and Pizza Hut Artisan—for our front-of-store cafés. And since Starbucks is still a favorite stop on guests’ Target runs, we’ve added Starbucks Cafés to all LA25 stores that didn’t have one yet, and remodeled existing ones with new fixtures and seating.
We’re testing several changes to the Women’s Apparel and Accessories departments that refine the shopping experience. For example, C9 Champion, our exclusive brand of activewear, shoes and accessories, got a major refresh including a new, easy-to-navigate presentation with more space and updated fixtures, signing and mannequins. We’ve also added LED track and valance lighting here (and throughout the entire store) to better highlight the product. We’re trying out new ways to display products and offer guests samples in the Grocery to create a more inspiring experience. The new look features woodgrain signs overhead and updated shelves with a black and grey color scheme. We’re also using more space to cross-merchandise products normally located in separate aisles—say, grilling must-haves like ketchup, mustard and hot dog buns—making it easy for families to round up all the products they need to create easy and delicious meals. Additionally, we’ve updated our lighting, flooring and signage in the fresh market area, and added new bins to help enhance the produce presentation for our guests.
By updating our signs, interactive displays and other visuals, we’ve created a space in our Toys aisles that draws parents and kids in and invites them to find, explore and get hands-on with their favorite brands and products—from Barbie to LEGO to the mega-popular Star Wars franchise. , along with clear, intuitive signage that helps guests easily order the products from our full assortment online. We tested this concept in Denver in 2015 and saw solid results, so we’re expanding it for our LA guests. Remember those Service Advisors we talked about before? They can help answer questions and help guests use our technology to place their orders. We’ve reimagined the Home department, curating products in lifestyle vignettes like you’d see in specialty stores. For example, guests might find a set dinner table with plates, napkins, lighting and chair covers, all in one place. The vignettes inspire guests to mix, match and shop everything they need for a certain area of their home without having to visit different sections of the store.
, with clear signage and instructions for ordering and shipping exactly what the guests needs. Many locally produced products and brands have a loyal following with our guests, so we’re adding more of them to our mix, and putting them in the spotlight on endcaps and other featured spaces. Here, guests will find several beloved LA brands, including Jones County Road grooming supplies, snack confections from Zlicious, and a jewelry collection by artist Michelle Chang. “In the coming months," Mark says, "we’ll continue to watch and learn as our guests dig in and experience these latest updates, and we’ll use the feedback to make our next store prototype and new store formats even better.”Liza Pulitzer had her eye on brightly colored beach chairs that debuted Sunday as part of the hotly anticipated collaboration between Palm Beach-inspired fashion label Lilly Pulitzer and big-box retailer Target.But even she — daughter of the company's iconic namesake — couldn't get her hands on one.
The line of shift dresses, swimsuits and housewares in eye-popping colors and patterns flew off shelves at stores within minutes of going on sale. Online, shoppers didn't fare much better: Website issues meant many were unable to make purchases."They looked wonderful," Liza Pulitzer said Monday of the chairs. "I probably would have had to stand in line at 3 in the morning."She told the Sun Sentinel she thought her mother, a near-lifelong Palm Beach resident who died in 2013, would have been thrilled to see the excitement surrounding the 250-piece collection. Across the country, Lilly lovers lined up outside Target stores hours before the doors opened at 8 a.m. Sunday. Others stayed up all night in hopes of snagging items online. "She would have loved the fact that everybody wanted to get something, a piece of Lilly," said Liza Pulitzer, 58, a Realtor in Palm Beach.Known for its wild patterns and splashy colors — especially pink and green — the Lilly Pulitzer brand has its roots in Palm Beach.
It began in 1959, when women fell in love with the simple, boldly patterned dresses a young Lilly Pulitzer — wife of publishing heir Herbert "Peter" Pulitzer Jr. — made to hide stains from the orange juice she sold for fun.The company closed in the 1980s, but re-emerged a decade later with a new owner. Now run by Oxford Industries, the brand has become increasingly popular in recent years, with customers embracing its loud prints and its fun-loving, party-throwing namesake's philosophy that "being happy never goes out of style." Much of the enthusiasm about the Target line stemmed from its lower price point. The Target collection included $38 shift dresses, compared to a price tag of about $200 on a Lilly Pulitzer-proper shift."I think wearing a Lilly dress and wearing a Lilly print makes people smile, and the fact more people would have the opportunity — I liked that," Lilly Leas, the 26-year-old granddaughter of Lilly Pulitzer, told the Sun Sentinel. She runs Tradewinds Media Partners in Palm Beach.The Lilly Pulitzer for Target line went live online early Sunday and was sold out within hours (with one item, a hammock, purchased by Leas, who set an alarm).
By 7 a.m., lines had formed outside stores.Gabrielle Kiger, of Boca Raton, was outside a Target in Vero Beach at 7:15 a.m. About 45 people were ahead of her and by the time 8 a.m. rolled around, about 200 people were waiting, she said."When the store finally opened, there was a big stampede of women rushing in," said Kiger, 25, a producer at Fox Sports Florida. "And everything was pretty much gone in two or three minutes."She added: "I think it was worse than Black Friday. They were calling it Pink Sunday."A longtime Lilly fan, Kiger managed to grab three dresses and wore one of them to work Monday.Not everyone was so lucky. Sydnee Brin, of Coral Springs, was out of town for a wedding and couldn't make it to a Target on Sunday. When she tried to buy online, the collection was sold out.Brin was frustrated to see Lilly Pulitzer for Target items popping up on eBay carrying prices far above what they had been in stores."That defeats the entire purpose," the 26-year-old physician assistant said.