The top three items on a mock New York newsstand inside Target‘s recently renovated SoHo flagship are lip balm, Lemme vitamins and a David Protein bar.
“This shows you where people are thinking about wellness and beauty, all in the same purchase and basket,” said Amanda Nusz, senior vice president, essentials and beauty marketing. “They don’t see it as two different departments or pyramids or two different businesses. They see it as the way in which they live their lives.”
The cross-categorization of beauty is something Nusz and the rest of the Target team are doubling down on in the year ahead.
Speaking at WWD’s Los Angeles Beauty Forum with Jenny B. Fine, editor in chief of Beauty Inc, Nusz discussed the retailer’s plans following the appointment of its new chief executive officer, Michael Fiddelke, and his $2 billion investment, which will go toward the opening and remodeling of locations like the SoHo store.
The scene at the Target NYFW Beauty Studio party.
Nina Westervelt/WWD
“We are under-spaced in beauty. We are under-spaced in wellness and personal care. We know we need more space to do two things, to add assortment, but also to add experience,” Nusz said. “We are also in the process of rethinking our service model in terms of, how do you create an experience that’s welcoming, inspiring and easy.”
Consumers, Nusz said, come to Target for brands they “already love” and the ones they’ve yet to meet. With plans to add 3,000 products, replenishment and discovery remain top of mind. Aside from K-beauty and sun care, the retailer is seeing opportunity around brands that operate in a “white space,” the Gracie’s Corner, Camille Rose types with “incredible innovation and authenticity.” These are the players that will fill Target’s new Beauty Studio, entering 600 stores in August.
“The guests want newness from Target. They want stories from Target. They want to discover, that was so clear. They want prestige at Target, but they want it to be storied and in fun,” said Nusz. “So what you will find in [the Beauty Studio] space is it will be much more open. It will allow for a lot more storytelling and a lot more spotlights.”
The concept and curation of the studio will vary from store to store. Creating an experience at scale is tricky. “We have to figure that out,” said Nusz. “But based on what we know about the consumer, we know we need to continue to invest this platform. We’re having conversations of what does that look like in more doors as we go, so more to come. But it is the right thing to do, to be a one-stop shop. It is the right thing to do to make sure we build something really premium, and we do it distinctly Target. It has to be about discovery. It has to be about experience. And that’s what we’re building.”
