Business Insider · সাধারণ

We got the first look at Target's revamped SoHo store where the retailer is all-in on style

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Target just remodeled its SoHo store with a larger emphasis on style and design.
The store showcases a curated sample from Target's full merchandise assortment.
Target invited Business Insider for an exclusive first look ahead of the location's reopening.

Target is doubling down on its SoHo concept store.

Less than a year after remodeling the store's main floor, the bullseye retailer went back in to reimagine the rest of the footprint that anchors Target in one of the world's top shopping districts.

"It was probably more of a glorified convenience store," Target's chief brand officer Michelle Messenberg told Business Insider during an exclusive walkthrough ahead of Thursday's reopening.

Located at the corner of Broadway and East Houston Street, the SoHo store shares the block with trendy shops like Prada, Arc'teryx, and Allsaints. While last year's renovation bumped up the store's aesthetics, Messenberg said it was still more of a spot for people to grab essentials on their way to somewhere else.

"Nearly 70,000 people cross this corner every single day," she said. "We wanted to make sure that we were putting our best foot forward when it came to our brand."

Last year's remodel featured an extended entrance experience that calls to mind a deconstructed Target logo.

Bright red clothing store interior with circular arch displays, folded jeans, sweaters, and racks of apparel. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

It's now stocked with apparel-forward displays that also feature select merchandise from other categories.

"It's focused on apparel, but you'll see us mix in the best of beauty, the best of home, and so we're really completing the picture for a guest," Target's director of curation, Matthew Arrington, told Business Insider.

Further back on the main floor, a new section features a more immersive presentation of seasonal merchandise.

Colorful retail store interior with clothing racks, home goods displays, hair care shelves, and green built-in fixtures. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

"What this space does is it puts a point of view on our edit for the season, and that allows people to come in and see our product through a different lens," Messenberg said.

Last year's remodel of the SoHo store's beauty section also set the tone for this year's broader launch of Target's Beauty Studio, which has replaced the retailer's partnership with Ulta.

Curved shelves display boxed perfumes and beauty products inside a brightly lit cosmetics retail store. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

"We've been able to also bring in other beauty founders and creators and celebrity makeup artists to the space, and so it gives them a place to continue to tell that beauty story across Target," Arrington said.

Messenberg said Target sees its stores serving in part as studios for content creators, and no store does it quite like the SoHo store.

Target store interior with a circular candy display, bright shelving, large red ceiling fixture, and a “soho” sign. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

"Brands want to be in this location — this is prime real estate," she said.

The newly remodeled lower level features a futuristic discovery section that features trending items across several categories like toys, sports fandom, and gadgets.

Bright red retail store interior with curved display shelves holding apparel, boxed collectibles, and sports jerseys. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

"We take a high-curation lens here, based upon what's happening in culture at any given point in time." Messenberg said.

Imagine distilling an entire aisle from a typical suburban Target store and distilling it into one shelf of the trendiest items — that's the SoHo store's "Explorer's Lab."

The store has to navigate a balancing act to meet the expectations of the various kinds of customers it serves.

Backpacks, suitcases, and travel accessories are displayed in glossy red retail shelving. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

From college students at NYU who need dorm snacks, to international tourists who need a new suitcase, to local New Yorkers simply trying to grab a roll of paper towels, the SoHo store still carries the essentials and more.

Almost everything in the SoHo store is also available at Target stores across the US, but the intense focus on curation and fresh features is meant to elevate items that shoppers might not realize are right at their fingertips.

Bright retail aisle displays trash bins, laundry baskets, cleaning supplies, car care products, and bottled household goods. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

For Arrington, that means making very tough choices about which colors, brands, or pack sizes get display space. Shoppers can still get Target's full selection online or at another store.

Even as Target leans harder into style and design, the SoHo store still aims to deliver on the basics shoppers expect when they walk in the door.

Bananas displayed on a circular produce stand in a grocery aisle with packaged foods and overhead category signs. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

"People still want their Tide pens. Tide pens are one of the top sellers in the store. Bananas are one of the top sellers in the store. We have a very big, bold, proud assortment of both," Messenberg said.

It's an approach that yields interesting outcomes on the shelves. Established national brands shoppers expect are next to emerging ones they might have heard about on TikTok.

Pharmacy beauty and personal care shelves display lotions, deodorants, shaving products, oral care items and medications. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

"When we have a founder-led or celebrity-led or creator-led brand that we want to celebrate, this becomes a destination for them," Arrington said.

Messenberg said that while brand awareness for Target is a particular focus of the SoHo store, that's not at the expense of going after strong sales.

Convenience store candy and drink displays sit beside an escalator with THE ONEWSTAND sign. — Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

The SoHo store is and will remain a "one of one" format for Target, Messenberg said, but it is playing a growing role in the company's overall strategy.

"We're pulling elements of what we're learning here. It may not translate exactly one for one, but the influence is coming into the chain," she said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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