Men's look kept casual by Target

Discount Store News, Sept 17, 1984

MINNEAPOLIS -- Target is keeping its men's fashion focused on the casual looks.

"People don't shop us for dress clothes, they shop us for weekend wear and casual clothes," said Robert Floum, soft lines vp for the discount division of Dayton Hudson.

Floum's proof came in the unsuccessful test of tailored coordinates--polyester vests, jackets and slacks--the chain ran in several stores, including one in the city's College Town area, during the spring and summer.

A 25-store test-run during the same time put Michael Jackson jackets on the chain's cancel list for fall.

Target is currently clearing out the dress-up separates in the test stores. The only dress looks that will remain are binned dress shirts and ties. (Dress shirt sales surged 50% since the chain put them in Plexiglas bins.)

"If we can't be impactful, we don't want to be in it at all," said Floum. Target would have to devote four or five circular racks to tailored separates to make an impact on shoppers, he explained. But, the slow turns of the category would make volume fall short of the chain's sales-per-square-foot parameters, he added. Further Considerations

Making an impact in casual styles, however, doesn't mean sticking only to the high-turn basics. Take young men's. It was the focal point of Target's back-to-school department with a place on the front aisle. But, the category appeals to a limited number of shoppers in regard to both style and price.

"We'll never do even half of our business in young men's," admitted Floum. "Our customer is still Middle America and on a budget. In men's wear he's 25 to 45."

The important thing to Floum is that shoppers should see the same styles in Target they see when they go into a department store. "It gives us credibility," he said.

In men's wear the parachute pants, leather-look polyurethanes and distressed denism didn't push prices as high as the ladies' versions did in women's. The most expensive pants were retailing at $24.99 late in August.

Still, floum said in the future his merchandisers will be working harder to keep price points on trendy styles down.

To make an impact on a seasonal basis, Target switches adjacencies within apparel departments about five times a year. That way the high-demand goods can be pushed forward during the appropriate season.

Young men's, for example, will be moved from the front of the department to the back of the infield in mid-September, and activewear--warmer fleece separates--will be pushed forward, Floum explained.

With only two "lifestyle" shops--activewear and young men's--set up in men's wear, Floum said his chain is currently re-evaluating its presentation philosophy in men's wear.

"We are thinking of leaving the shop concept in men's wear because that is mostly a basic core business," Floum explained.

The alternative is to present goods more by classification which the chain has done, in part, in the University Avenue store in Minneapolis. All knit tops are in one area and all sweaters are in one area, with little emphasis on different styling.

Binning is an "impactful" presentation tactic that has taken hold at Target.

In men's wear dress shirts, jeans and even some low-price-point flannel shirts are binned in Plexiglas cubes. The chain's six-month-old house brand, Honors, is also binned in both men's wear and ladies' wear.

The chain's presentation of Honors is closer to the lifestyle shop approach than the classification strategy. Matching sweaters and shirts for men are on one bin fixture with bottoms on the surrounding circular racks. The bins for Honors have built-in grips so that the store people can move the shop, floum pointed out.