Disney Store-Within-A-Store Locations Coming To Target
Target Corp. and The Walt Disney Co. have inked a deal for 25 Disney store-within-a-store locations at Target locations in October. By October 2020, another 40 such locations will open.
The Disney stores at Target, which will measure about 750 SF, will feature more than 450 items. Those will include toys, games, apparel and accessories, including more than 100 products previously only available at the roughly 300 Disney retail locations.
The Disney locations will be adjacent to Target's children's clothing and toys, a position that will be replicated on Target.com and the Target app. There will be experiential elements as well, including music, interactive displays and a seating area to watch Disney movie clips and other programming.
The shops will also carry collectible merchandise, including the Disney Animators’ Collection with dolls, clothing and accessories. All together, merchandise in the shops will range in price from $2 to $200, with many items under $20.
Disney-within-Target is the latest example of a retailer embarking on a store-within-a-store strategy, which is proving to be an effective way of increasing customer engagement with the larger brand, Chain Store Age reports. Done well, the host retailer reduces payroll and unproductive inventory. Other benefits can include an enhanced brand image and increased customer draw.
Target isn't the first major chain Disney has partnered with to create a store-within-a-store. Beginning in 2013, the entertainment giant started adding stores in J.C. Penney locations, and now there are about 600.
J.C. Penney's Disney stores also sell toys, collectibles and children's apparel, but the items are designed and sourced by Disney just for J.C. Penney, the Dallas Morning News reports. The stores don't offer items available only at Disney retail stores.
Among this year's Disney locations in Target, Texas will have the most, with five — two each in metro Houston, two in metro DFW and one in Austin. California, Colorado, Illinois and Pennsylvania will each have two stores, and there will be one each in 10 other states. Neither company has released a list of next year's locations.
As Target and Disney announced their collaboration, the companies also said that in 2021, a new Target store will open at Flamingo Crossings Town Center in 2021, at the western entrance to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
Among major retailers, Target is holding its own in difficult times. In August, the company reported strong second-quarter 2019 comparable sales growth of 3.4% year over year. Chief Operating Officer John Mulligan credited the success to the $7B reinvestment program Target kicked off in 2017 to open smaller stores and renovate its larger, standard locations.
After its positive second-quarter report, Target stock bounced upward to about $104/share from $85/share. A year ago, stocks traded at $86/share.
