Dive Brief:
- Target plans to launch a new private label luggage brand next week, according to a corporate blog post.
- Dubbed "Open Story," the line includes nearly 40 luggage products and accessories. Prices range from around $20 to $180, which the retailer says is 25% to 30% lower than "comparable" brands.
- Products include hard shell luggage, backpacks, garment bags and packing cubes. The brand launches in stores on Sunday and online Feb. 13.
Dive Insight:
Target isn't done with its private label blitz, which has proven one of the most effective tools the retailer has wielded to rebuild its sales growth in recent years.
Analysts, as well as Target's executives, have credited the retailer's owned brands with boosting its performance last year and increasing sales in a troubled apparel sector. CEO Brian Cornell told analysts in November that "curating" private label products to meet current fashion trends helped boost sales growth in apparel.
Most recently, the company launched an activewear line for women, men and children that took aim at pricier brands, which presumably would include athleisure giant Lululemon. ("Wellness may be everywhere, but a pair of quality leggings at affordable prices? Not so much," Target said in its press release for the new product line.)
With the Open Story luggage brand, Target is staking out similar ground — indeed rooting it in its longtime "Tar-zhay" strategy. With the luggage, the retailer is promising "high-quality assortment at Target-only prices," Julie Guggemos, Target's chief design officer, said in a release. She added that the line "help[s] us fill a white space within the category."
The design team aimed to engineer products that were stylish and functional, "with every detail accounted for," including built-in USB ports, Target said.
That positions the line as a low-cost alternative to luxury higher-end, higher-priced brands like Away. The direct-to-consumer brand has reached unicorn status and multi-channel growth through its high-quality luggage offering. The DTC company has also recently gone through management turmoil and faced claims of a toxic culture that threaten to taint its brand.
