Target Reveals Next-Generation Store Design
Target Corp. unveiled design elements for the company’s most ambitious store redesign to date, with plans for the first fully “reimagined” store to open in the Houston suburb of Richmond near Grand Parkway Southwest.
Target Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell introduced the Minneapolis-based retailer’s newest store redesign plans as part of the company’s commitment to invest billions of dollars over the next three years to refresh hundreds of existing stores.
“With our next generation of store design, we’re investing to take the Target shopping experience to the next level by offering more elevated product presentations and a number of time-saving features,” said Cornell said at Shoptalk, the retail and ecommerce event held in Las Vegas. “The new design for this Houston store will provide the vision for the 500 reimagined stores planned for 2018 and 2019, with the goal of taking a customized approach to creating an enhanced shopping experience.”
New Shopping Experience
Target expects in October to open its first fully reimagined, 124,000-square-foot store 35 miles southwest of Houston in Aliana’s Market Center.
In addition to the Houston location, 40 additional stores will receive elements of Target’s next generation redesign when they are updated in October 2017. Guest feedback and learnings from this new design will influence Target’s customized approach to the 500 stores being reimagined in 2018 and 2019.
Design Features
The modernized design features will include large glass windows at the front of store, stenciled concrete floors and unique lighting throughout. Additionally, the new design offers two entrances, each with a specific guest need in mind. Shoppers can enter through one entrance to find displays of exclusive brands and inspiring seasonal moments, and the other for easy pick-up of online orders and groceries.
Elevated, cross-merchandise product presentations will amplify Target’s exclusive style assortment across apparel and accessories, home, jewelry and beauty, encouraging guests to browse.
For time-starved guests, the second entrance will offer easy access to grocery, a wine and beer shop, self-checkout lanes and a dedicated order pickup counter within steps from each other.
Outside this entrance, guests will find dedicated parking spaces where team members will bring out online orders.
An enhanced grocery department design will feature woodgrain fixtures, a robust assortment of fresh produce as well as quick grab-and-go options and meal solutions.
New for Target, curved, more circular center aisles will feature merchandise displays to engage guests with compelling products in unexpected places.
Store team members will be equipped with new technology – available in all stores this fall – to search inventory, take payment from a mobile point-of-sale system and arrange delivery, all from the sales floor.
Target’s investment to reimagine 600 of its 1,800-plus stores by 2019 is part of the company’s strategy to create a smart network, with stores, digital channels and supply chain working together to meet guests’ needs. This announcement follows Target’s previously shared plans to open more than 100 small-format stores over the next three years, curating the best of Target for dense urban neighborhoods and college campuses.
First Midtown Manhattan Store
Additionally, Target announced plans to open a 43,000-square-foot small-format store in Manhattan’s Herald Square, west of 34th Street and Broadway, one block from Penn Station.
Also expected to open in October, the Herald Square store will be one of 30 locations Target plans to open this year, and will be the company’s third location in Manhattan, joining the Harlem and Tribeca stores. Additionally, Target has previously announced future plans to open small-format stores in Manhattan, including sites in East Village (projected to open summer 2018) and Hell’s Kitchen (2019).
The company is focused on expanding Target’s small-format stores in dense urban neighborhoods, with New York being a priority market for the company’s growth. Target’s flexible store design allows for stores in smaller locations with assortments that are tailored to meet the needs of local guests.
The two-level Herald Square store will have two entrances, one off of 34th Street, and the other off of 33rd Street. The store will feature modern décor elements, including concrete floors, wood plank walls and ceilings, pendant and LED lighting and elevated merchandise assortment displays.
The Herald Square store location will provide a quick-trip shopping experience with a curated assortment mix, including convenient grab-and-go food and beverage items conveniently located off of the 33rd Street entrance. Additional grocery, including a robust, fresh assortment will be available in the store’s lower level. Services will include a CVS pharmacy and pickup for online orders.