Target feels at home in sophisticated Austin - Austin, Texas - The 'Great-Landing' of Target

Discount Store News, Dec 9, 1991 by Pete Hisey

      Austin, Texas
1990 Population:
City:                   465,622
MSA:                    781,407
Market Competition:
(Includes Hays, Travis and William-
son Counties)
Chain (No. of stores)
Wal-Mart                     (8)
Kmart                        (6)
Target                       (4)
Sam's                        (2)
Stein Mart                   (1)
50-Off                       (1)
  Source: DSN research

Austin is the most unTexan of Texas markets, a city dominated by college students, musicians, software developers and a pleasant, mountainous environment that provides a more moderate climate than is typical of the Lone Star State.

Its inhabitants are at once highly mobile (the average resident has lived in Austin for only eight years) and deeply rooted to the area, which is seen as one of the most desirable places to live in the country. That attraction has led to a population boom, with the number of residents skyrocketing nearly 50% in a decade, from 345,109 in 1989 to 465,622 in 1990.

Austinites are among the best-educated in the United States, with nearly a third reporting 16 years of schooling or more. This figure is affected, of course, by the large numbers of University of Texas graduates who choose to remain in the city. More high-tech companies have moved into the area, bringing their own highly educated employees along.

Predictably, income is also high; over 60% of households report income above $25,000, and 40% earn more than $35,000. And, despite a very high percentage of singles due to the large college population, Austin is a town of young, upwardly mobile families.

In short, this is a market made for Target, which now operates four units here. The fourth was added in October due to shifting population centers, as Austin grew to the southeast, changing from a roughly circular city to a teardrop shape.

And the new store, according to regional manager Ken Liberton, is better suited to serve the city's changing character. "The new store is larger than our others, but most of the extra space is given to wider aisles," he said.

Certainly, the grand opening of the new unit, off 1-35, the major route through Austin, appeared to be a major advertisement for the nuclear family, with moms and dads escorting rafts of offspring, from newborns to teenagers, up and down those new wide aisles, pushing new oversize shopping carts. The toy section was invaded by a literal army of the underaged, and the new Super Nintendo was nearly invisible behind ranks of anxious adolescents.

The newly stocked trading card display was quickly denuded, with 1991 sets of Upper Deck ($39.99), topps, Donruss and Fleer (each $24.99) flying off the shelves, along with packs of football cards from several vendors. Halloween costumes also blew out, along with party goods, infant and toddler apparel, snacks, and to a lesser extent, Trim-a-Tree.

And, with the University of Texas celebrating a major football win over heavy favorite Oklahoma, the college insignia apparel shop saw heavy action.

In addition to the wider aisles, the new Target prototype has also borrowed a few operational wrinkles from the Greatland concept. In snacks, a new cold drink section was a hit. "The sales per square foot are exceptional," Liberton said. "We see people sipping a drink while they're shopping, then paying on their way out."

A new self-scanner (in toys) came in for heavy use, as customers used it to get a better idea of how much they had already spent rather than simply to check a price. Liberton said that other self-scanning units will probably be placed elsewhere in the store after further testing.

Other changes include:

* A new food court (Food Avenue) with expanded and healthier selections, which Liberton said will make a shopping expedition more attractive by cutting out the traditional fast food stop on the way home;

* An "opportunity cart" at the entrance that allows the store manager to promote day-to-day without excessive set-up and tear-down time;

* Cross-merchandising and grouping related products (like hair care and hair-oriented small electrics) together;

* Gendered soft lines;

* Neon signage around the store;

* Easy-to-read, color-coded signage;

* A spill center attached to answer phones around the store that provide paper towels and cleaner to customers to clean up accidental spills.

As mentioned, this is a fill-in store, which Liberton said offers several advantages.

"In a new market, we have to move a whole management staff in from out of town," he said. "But here, we moved [store manager] David [Aguirre] over from another location, along with assistant and department managers from local sites, so we have managers who know the market. And with the demanding customers we have, that knowledge is important."

Austin customers are different, and demanding, Aguirre said. "They're young and smart," he noted. "And they're very fashion-conscious." That has led to tweaking of product selections in area Targets. Computer software is expanded, as is the book department, and higher-end goods dominate in areas like home electronics and soft lines.