Dive Brief:
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Target on Tuesday announced the launch of a new home brand: Opalhouse. The collection, which will be available in stores and online beginning April 8, features more than 1,300 products in bedding, bath, decor, tabletop and furniture, with most items priced under $30, according to a post on the company's Bullesye blog.
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Target's design team traveled to cities like Paris, Lisbon and Mallorca for inspiration on the new "eclectic" line, which incorporates "pressed glass, jewel-tone silks and velvets." The line also incorporates more original artwork than any other Target brand, the company said.
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The new brand is part of a bigger private label push into the home category, which also includes the recent introduction of Project 62 (which launched in September) and Hearth & Hand with Magnolia (which debuted in November), Chief Merchandising Officer Mark Tritton wrote in the blog post.
Dive Insight:
Target is investing heavily in private label lines, and central to its strategy is the kind of differentiation that screams "Tar-zhay." In the home decor category, specifically, the company said its mission is to "help bring [shoppers'] Pinterest-worthy home design dreams to life." While Pinterest wants to enable consumers to curate their lifestyle, Target is hoping to do it for them, whether it's through Opalhouse or one of its other 12 new private label lines launched in 2017 that cater to various lifestyles.
This line goes a step further to incorporate artistry. Not only did designers draw inspiration from the various cities they visited, but they sketched what they saw onto products like the wallpaper shown below. "Our design team saw that bird on a street in Lisbon and the flowers near a market in Paris, and then painted that print while riding on a train to their next destination," the company said in the blog post.
![](https://www.retaildive.com/user_media/diveimage/opalhouse_2.jpg)
New lines like Opalhouse are part of Target's broader effort to rethink its brand assortment and will include shedding stalwart labels such as the men's and women's Merona brand and men's Mossimo line, which have grown too homogenized for consumer tastes. In an increasingly competitive environment where Amazon is eagerly gaining share, Target is doubling down on what it has always done best — curated, unique and fashionable styles that don't break the bank.
Apparel and home decor are where the big-box retailer has been leveraging its efforts most, which makes sense considering last year outgoing CFO John Mulligan said the categories account for about $26 billion in sales. The categories are also where the company has thrived, as shown by the success of kids apparel and home decor brands Cat & Jack and Pillowfort.
A focus on private label is only one of several things that have put Target back in the game after a string of disappointing quarterly earnings reports dating back to 2015. The company was also named Retail Dive's Turnaround of the Year thanks to its $7 billion investment in stores and revamped digital strategy.