The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
MINNESOTA, United States — Target Corp. is stepping up its plan to remodel stores, a bid to regain its cachet and fend off incursions by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
The retailer now plans to revamp more than 1,000 locations by the end of 2020, part of a sweeping overhaul of its operations. The Minneapolis-based company had previously said it was remodelling 600 stores by 2019.
The changes include opening smaller-format stores in places like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia — and pairing the locations with e-commerce services. On Thursday, chief executive Brian Cornell helped unveil a store in Manhattan’s Herald Square, not far from the Macy’s Inc. flagship.
“Guests are rewarding us with more traffic and we’re driving increased comparable-store sales,” Cornell said at the event. “It’s given us confidence to move forward aggressively.”
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Target is opening 11 small-format stores this week, as well as a traditional big-box location in Honolulu. The company also is rolling out its Restock program nationwide in 2018. That service lets customers have essentials like toothpaste delivered the next day.
Small-format stores generate at least twice as much in sales per square foot, though they’re costlier to operate — partly because they have to take deliveries more often. The company also has to pay more for real estate in city centres.
By Matthew Boyle; editor: Nick Turner and Jonathan Roeder.
Designer brands including Gucci and Anya Hindmarch have been left millions of pounds out of pocket and some customers will not get refunds after the online fashion site collapsed owing more than £210m last month.
Antitrust enforcers said Tapestry’s acquisition of Capri would raise prices on handbags and accessories in the affordable luxury sector, harming consumers.
As a push to maximise sales of its popular Samba model starts to weigh on its desirability, the German sportswear giant is betting on other retro sneaker styles to tap surging demand for the 1980s ‘Terrace’ look. But fashion cycles come and go, cautions Andrea Felsted.
The rental platform saw its stock soar last week after predicting it would hit a key profitability metric this year. A new marketing push and more robust inventory are the key to unlocking elusive growth, CEO Jenn Hyman tells BoF.