Disney To Add Buzz To Target – Forbes

Disney’s opening of dozens of shops inside Target will add buzz to the retail giant’s brand. It will bring more traffic to Target stores and add to the company’s revival already underway.

Last week, Target reported strong in-store and online sales, thanks to big investments in technology and in-store pick up services.

That’s a strategy to merge online sales with in-store sales and help Target push back against Amazon, as discussed in previous pieces here.

Industry analysts are in full agreement on the many benefits Disney’s shops will bring to the retail giant.

“It’s a fantastic idea for Target to add Disney shop-in-shops to its stores,”says retail equity analyst John Zolidis. “Disney is a great brand.  It’s a traffic driver.  The shops will feature product that is exclusive to Disney stores.  The Disney demographic (young families) is right in Target’s sweet spot.”

Target’s strategic alliance with Disney is another “brick” in building its competitive advantage against Walmart, Amazon and the like. “While small by itself, Disney shops are one more brick in the defensive wall that Target is building around its business,“ he says.

Michael Maher 1^st, Chief Idea Officer @ Cartology, agrees. “Target is trying to compete in the e-commerce game, without many real differentiators, and this could give them an edge…”

Stanley Philipose 1st, author of the book Retail Apocalypse; The Death of Malls, Retailers, & Jobs, also agrees. “This is a great strategy for Target and it could certainly attract new shoppers,” he says. “We’ve seen the strategy successfully employed by other retailers. Best Buy has offered brands a “store within a store” for a fee. It’s cheaper for Disney to partner with Target than having a stand-alone store. It’s a win-win for the retailer and the brand. Walmart also leases space to brands within its massive Supercenters.”

Meanwhile, Disney’s stores will help Target better utilize its store space, according to Zolidis.  “This is potentially the start of a solution for underutilized real estate within Target, such as movies, music and books.  (Yes, most Target stores still sell DVDs and CDs.),” he says.

While Disney will bring great benefits to Target, it will reap some benefits as well. “From a strategic standpoint, building out Disney shop-in-shops reinforces Target’s differentiation and increases the percentage of products in its stores that cannot price-compared at e-commerce competitors,” says Zolidis.

Wall Street cheered the move, sending the shares of both companies higher.

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