Here’s the link to the whole article, but see below for the email summary:
My company tried to open an account on Target, either just before or during covid, I’m not sure.
They were not interested.
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Somehow, I expect that Target is limiting its investment in its marketplace, and selectivity is essential. I also expect that they will not meet their goals for growth,
Handmade by Amazon was planned to be a selective marketplace, and the personal goals for the Amazon team led to a late in the game loss of selectivity, just before launch.
The Fine Arts category on Amazon which was their first attempt at restoring selectivity after their early separation from sellers like ToysRUs showed that their selection criteria were too upscale for the Amazon customer.
I wish them well, and would prefer to be surprised if they succeed.
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From the article:
Target says they are specifically looking for online complements for their in-store selection, like offering more breadth, deeper assortments, or even bulkier items that are tricky for shoppers to get from the shelf to their car to the door. And they don’t want brands/products that compete with their in-house brands.
Plus, it sounds like brands who already have good growth and visibility on Shopify have a leg up:
This has been aided by the fact that last year, Target partnered with Shopify to onboard new brands including newborn apparel brand Caden Lane and True Classic, which sells T-shirts and apparel. “With our partnership with Shopify, we’re able to more quickly identify new and emerging brands for our marketplace, as well as onboard partners and products faster and easier than ever before,” Sylvester said.
…all of that to say, don’t take it personally @HobbesIsMyTiger 
your brands just might be “too competitive” for Target.
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I too was given the thanks but no thanks from Target. Funny thing is they didn’t even sell my product types in their stores or online. So much for being a competitor to them…
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I find this fascinating.
From a customer standpoint I hated it when they started allowing third party on Target as to me that really dilutes Targets overall “branding image”. When I shop at a store it’s because I feel that they have done the research and decided that the product on their shelf is the best pick, from the most reputable brand. So I see it as “lazy” that they are going this route.
Now I totally understand why a company would do this. Spend a lot of time and money researching which widget out of six is the best fit? Allowing third party means now they can offer all 6 widgets, without investing in time, research or even money at this point passing on the risk of inventory issues to the third party vendor. What little issues they may have can be covered by the amount of money they save otherwise. What store wouldn’t want to do this? It seems like now days it’s every store! After all if it works for Amazon why not everywhere else?
The problem is if everyone is selling the same thing how do you differentiate yourself? Why should I buy brand widget from Amazon vs Target vs Walmart. At the end of the day you still have the original issue of getting people to pick your store.
Everyone wants a piece of the pie but I think Target is last to the table on this. I’m sure they will say “oh we are only picking and choosing” but if they are making money they will open the barn door wide open lol.
Clearly Target is hurting. They have focused too long on trending items instead of the basics. I don’t think it has much to do with the boycott but more of the recession. Trendy items are the first to get cut when you are broke.
I used to shop at Target weekly and loved their clearance endcaps for treasure hunting but most returns now go straight to salvage or boxed up to be sold by the pallet. Basics are cheaper at Walmart and I’ve found myself shopping more and more at Walmart now. There really isn’t a point to go to Target. I went to my larger target last week and I was shocked at how empty it was. Not sure if it was recession or boycott but it was dead.
I think they are really feeling it too. This whole target circle week seemed to come out of nowhere usually it’s to compete with amazon or Walmart but I haven’t see them amping up a spring sale? (I might have missed it as I’ve taken a big step back from my business for awhile). I know one of the threads we talked about boycotts and one of the signs of it working was more sales, but that can also be a sign sales are down.
Target is clearly struggling and it would not surprise me if they end up on the chopping block soon.
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Amazon is having a Big Spring Sale right now, also kinda out of the blue IMO and mainly not for 3Ps, but that’s why I figured Target is having a Circle Week.
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Retail is having a tough time of it. While some retailers doubled down on inventory to avoid paying tariffs, others have pressed their suppliers to reduce prices to cover some or all of the tariff amounts.
Many buyers bought more than they should have in the past year and are cutting back.
Some stuff sells, but it takes skilled buyers working for the retailers to get the right inventory of stuff that sells. As a result of the Covid pandemic, losts of buying talent was lost by retailers - it was a good time to retire.
Without a booming economy, there are not going to be good times for retail. I haven’t seen signs of a booming economy for more than 5 years no matter what some economists have claimed.
Will things get better? - yes. When will things get better? - that is above my pay grade.
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