On 'Target' with value, style
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 10, 2002
Minneapolis, Minn. — While Target generates plenty of buzz for the unique, often cool styling of its housewares, the company is still a discounter.
The furniture assortment in the 900-plus Target stores — featuring Sauder's QBits modular erector set and a proprietary wood group designed by Michael Graves — reflects the company's commitment to high style and low prices.
Although the size of the department fluctuates with the size of the store, in the larger Super Targets, about 160 linear feet of display gondolas are dedicated to furniture. The displays generally are easy to understand, with boxes on shelves with prices below the gondolas. Each display model is labeled, and the items are not squeezed together, which frequently happens to a confusing degree at other major discount chains.
Aiming for the young and the young at heart, Target offers about a half-dozen distinct style collections for home office, entertainment, kitchen and small dining and bedroom. As one might expect, the core of the furniture department is paper-laminate RTA packaged under the proprietary Furio Home or the Renovations by Thomasville labels. Surprising and impressive variety comes, though, in collections constructed from metal and glass, solid wood and wood and chrome.
Target, which declined requests for interviews, is not trying to be all things to all people: The scaling of the collections is small for apartments and starter homes, and the pricing is tight, from $14 for a small shelf to $109 for a wood bookcase.
Sauder Woodworking's new QBits modular furniture system, endorsed by celebrity designer Lynette Jennings, is a major recent addition to the Target mix. The company has given up to 24 feet of gondola to QBits.
Other than what's on the boxes, there is no point-of-purchase literature explaining the design-it-yourself nature of QBits. The presentation of cubes, tops, shelves and hardware is straightforward, with finish options of white, maple and dark alder.
Component pricing runs from $19.99 for a 14.5-inch open cube to $34.99 for a 19.5-inch CombiCube. A simple desk with drawers can be put together for about $100, but this system can be customized countless ways, and the uses are not limited to office.
For tighter budgets, the company has more than 20 feet of KD Basics, a variety of simple shelves, boxes, single drawers and carts priced from $14.99 to $49.99.
The stores have one gondola dedicated to chairs and stools, mostly imported by Linon Home Décor. The wood chairs with upholstered or rush seats are priced at $39 and $49.
Another side of an aisle features lifestyle accent pieces such as metal-and-glass nesting tables, metal-and-muslin screens and other items. The kitchen category is addressed by chrome-and-wood items such as a serving carts and bakers racks.
The Dolce living room collection, solid wood in a dark contemporary finish imported from Thailand, has been on display for several months.
Using those pieces as a model — end table, console table, coffee table, coatrack and large bookcase — Target has recently introduced the Robin Collection designed by Michael Graves, the new high end of Target's furniture presentation. With a cognac finish over solid wood, the design has brushed nickel oval hardware to accentuate the curving legs and supports. Prices start at $24.99 for the hanging rack, but the tables run from $64.99 to $89.99. The 63-inch bookcase is priced at $109.99.
| Target's large format stores have up to 160 linear feet of furniture display. |
| The Robin Collection designed by Michael Graves is made from solid wood and imported from Thailand. |
| Simple but solid, this home office collection also was imported. |
-
Formal dining appeals to affluent
Jan 22, 2012 -
Fresh product being shown at Vegas market
Jul 20, 2008 -
Home office vendors tap core strengths
Oct 26, 2011 -
Array of product on tap for Vegas market
Jan 20, 2008 -
New product on tap for Las Vegas Market
Jan 25, 2010
Featured Company
-
Brandwise Inc.
Brandwise serves a model - not just an industry - by integrating, automating, and optimizing the entire sales channel, from wholesale Suppliers to their Reps and the Retailers they service. In short, our software helps Reps and Suppliers sell more and create... more
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
