In Minnesota, the Star Tribune has a story about how Target is refiguring its priorities, which is creating major questions for its suppliers.
"For vendors, it’s an unsettling time as they wonder where their products will rank on Target’s reconfigured priority list," the story says. "Will they get as much shelf space as in the past? Or will they be shrunk down to make room for up-and-coming products or one of Target’s private-label brands?"
The story goes on to note that at a financial meeting in March, Target CEO Brian Cornell and other Target executives "laid out more details about that re-prioritization, classifying products as falling into one of four boxes. After the signature categories, the next level is 'outperform,' which includes items like laundry detergent and pet care that help drive trips to the store. That grouping will receive some investment, but not as much as the first. The next tier is 'perform.' Those are the things that shoppers pick up while they’re in the store because it’s convenient, such as baking needs and automotive. This group will receive fewer resources.
"The final category is 'reposition,' which is a temporary classification for areas Target wants to reinvent. The most prominent example is grocery, with Target in the early stages of an overhaul of that department to offer more natural, organic and premium items."
"For vendors, it’s an unsettling time as they wonder where their products will rank on Target’s reconfigured priority list," the story says. "Will they get as much shelf space as in the past? Or will they be shrunk down to make room for up-and-coming products or one of Target’s private-label brands?"
The story goes on to note that at a financial meeting in March, Target CEO Brian Cornell and other Target executives "laid out more details about that re-prioritization, classifying products as falling into one of four boxes. After the signature categories, the next level is 'outperform,' which includes items like laundry detergent and pet care that help drive trips to the store. That grouping will receive some investment, but not as much as the first. The next tier is 'perform.' Those are the things that shoppers pick up while they’re in the store because it’s convenient, such as baking needs and automotive. This group will receive fewer resources.
"The final category is 'reposition,' which is a temporary classification for areas Target wants to reinvent. The most prominent example is grocery, with Target in the early stages of an overhaul of that department to offer more natural, organic and premium items."
- KC's View:
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I'm sympathetic ... but the thing is, I'm always arguing that retailers need to reset their priorities when it comes to selection and brands. Any retailer that hangs its hat on the sale of products that everybody else sells is making a mistake. Success is in the differences, not the similarities.
