Irony is a cruel mistress for Target, whose demise reminds us of the importance of brand strategy
The decision to close hundreds of Target stores, or rebrand them to Kmarts, may have been avoided, Melissa Packham argues, if the company paid more attention to brand strategy, sooner.
It’s a sad day when one of Australia’s favourite retail brands closes stores at such scale, but it’s a demise which, at least from a purist brand strategy perspective, could have been avoided.
Target management has been talking for several years about the need to reposition the brand, to differentiate it from its sister brand, Kmart, and to get clear about its target audience. But it failed to do so in time to keep up with the market. Now, instead, employees who are already dealing with the impacts of COVID-19 are being punished further by the inadequacies of Target to deal with its known issues earlier.
Target’s strategic shortfalls remind all brand owners, no matter the category, of the most fundamental elements of good brand strategy.
>>Target’s persistence in employing an ever-so-slightly premium price to Kmart, coupled with the move away from branded items.
Target has never sold branded items.
Not in the USA but, since this article is from Australia, things might be different there.
Fila, Lonsdale, Bonds, Ambra, Dyson, Lego and so many more, all available at Target.
Interesting how the reverse seemed to happen with US versions of these store brands
I couldn’t agree more- Although Target is the more upscale Brand in the US. It still caters to value line pricing. Kmart stores… and I mean ALL Kmart stores are trashy worn down dives… to the point where I am absolutely astonished that there can be SUCH a disparity between the two countries- In the US it seems Kmart appears to be going out of business, shuttering stores leaving them vacant for years since even their locations show their leadership incompetence and are retail dead zones.
I used to work for Tardet in the buying office. They got rid of anyone with an opinion. We all knew the strategy wasn’t right. They didn’t want to listen
This is a shame. I distinctly remember the collaborations; the Missoni + Target range in 2014 was fantastic – if they’d kept this up, it might have been a different story today.