Neiman Marcus Partners With Target To Offer Holiday Shoppers Luxury At A Discount
By Alicia Fiorletta, Associate Editor

It’s official — the holiday season has begun! Although I’ve gotten older and the mystique of Santa Claus is long gone, I still treasure all the amazing things synonymous with this time of year: delicious food, amazing decorations and purchasing great gifts for my loved ones.

I agree that the holiday season hype has gotten a bit out of hand, especially around Black Friday. But still I get a thrill out of seeing all the great inventory collections, must-have gift lists and marketing campaigns retailers are executing to win holiday purchases.

Some brands are formulating partnerships to extend their reach to new audiences by creating unique product assortments and compelling marketing campaigns. Retail TouchPoints recently published a story about the co-branding partnership between Hallmark and Life is good, which will allow the companies to work together to create new merchandise.

Now Target and Neiman Marcus are teaming up just in time for this holiday season. Through the partnership, the merchants will release a unique assortment of designer products, which will be sold at a discount. Featuring 24 leading designers in the luxury market, the collection will be available on December 1 in all Target and Neiman Marcus stores and online at Target.com and NeimanMarcus.com.

                        
Personally, I think this partnership is a great way for Target and Neiman Marcus to “share the wealth,” allowing shoppers to buy luxury products at a lower price. Not only does this boost satisfaction among affluent shoppers (who doesn’t love a deal, right?), but it also extends the collection to middle-class consumers who don’t typically shop at Neiman Marcus.

From luggage, to accessories, apparel and even lunchboxes and thermoses, this collection seems to cover all tastes and styles, and satiates the desires of “luxury designer junkies” such as myself. Designers I’m especially excited are involved include Alice + Olivia, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Marchesa, Oscar de la Renta, Robert Rodriguez and Tory Burch.

As some of you may know, Target has seen a lot of success with other designer partnerships and collections. The Shoppes At Target always drive a lot of buzz, and give shoppers the extra incentive to visit locations and see the newest mini in-store boutiques.

But it was the collection from Missoni that really shook the big-box retailer. Sure, the partnership definitely helped boost purchases for Target, but a lot of shoppers were angry because the spike in online traffic hindered e-Commerce site performance. And as we have covered on Retail TouchPoints before, web site scalability is imperative to success. Additionally, many consumers were snatching up inventory at a rapid pace, preventing other shoppers from getting their hands on clothing and accessories before they sold out.

To keep pace with demand and prevent any digital shopping “hiccups” from taking place, Target and Neiman Marcus will limit purchase quantities of the limited-edition collection and apply a shortened return policy.

Target is a great example of a retailer that is harnessing a unique partnership and limited-time assortment to drive engagement and purchases. Most importantly, though, the retailer efficiently pinpointed past successes and failures to refine and optimize strategies to ensure success this holiday season.

What are you doing to create unique and compelling experiences through New Years Day?