The wall street journal said the collection isnt selling quickly.
The unusual designer fashion collaboration between
Target Corp.
TGT -0.44% and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. began with a whimper this past weekend, according to analysts, far from the bang the companies were counting on to improve holiday sales.
The discounter and luxury-goods stalwart both defended the much-hyped plan to jointly sell a 50-piece collection of clothing and household accessories, such as a leather-flower embellished pink dog collar leash designed by Oscar de la Renta for $39.99. The collection, created by 24 high-end designers, was intended to pump up visitor traffic at both store chains in the weeks between Black Friday and Christmas.
But Wall Street analysts and customers alike expressed surprise that crowds weren't bigger and sales not stronger at many locations, despite a spate of high-profile advertising, including prime-time television commercials.
The tie-up clearly fell short of the buying frenzy that Target saw last year when it offered a limited collection by high-end Italian design house Missoni that sold out in most stores within minutes and drew so much traffic online it crashed Target's website.
Citibank retail analyst Deborah Weinswig, in a research note titled, "Don't Believe the Hype: Target + Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection Disappoints," took issue with Target for placing the collection in the back of the store. Shelves were full and messy and generating too little visitor traffic, an observation that echoed nationally, she said.
Target said it was unfair to compare the record-setting Missoni sales to the current design collection. It said the Neiman Marcus partnership was conceived as a holiday gift collection designed to last longer, so it was more deeply stocked.
Customers also were only allowed to buy five of a single item, compared to unlimited amounts of Missoni last year, to prevent people from buying up items and reselling them online.
"The largest misconception is that this was intended to be a one-day shopping event," said Joshua Thomas, a Target spokesman.
Both Target and Neiman Marcus said they did brisk business online. Judith Leiber crystal compact mirrors that sold for $59.99 were best sellers on both websites. Neiman Marcus had also sold out of a Diane Von Furstenberg yoga mat, a Tory Burch lunchbox and Rodarte ornaments.
Neiman Marcus declined to discuss sales in detail but said it was generally pleased so far. Still, stores appeared to gear up for more customers than the number that showed up at the 8 a.m. Saturday opening.
In one North Dallas store, staff handed out wrist bands in anticipation of only allowing 50 shoppers in at one time, but the crowd barely reached that number.
"For our brand, it has been a good partnership," said Neiman Marcus spokeswoman Ginger Reeder. "It has gotten high visibility among consumer groups that haven't thought of Neiman Marcus as a place to go for high quality affordable gifts."
Katie Hall, a 25-year-old intern at a Dallas theater, expected a much bigger crowd for the collection at the Target store she visited Saturday in McKinney, Texas. She snapped up a Proenza Schouler sweatshirt for $30 and was surprised that the limited amount of women's clothing available mostly sold for $100.
"I was upset there wasn't more affordable clothing," she said.
J.P. Morgan retail analyst Christopher Horvers said he thought the collection prompted Target customers to shop in other parts of the store, which was one of the program's intentions. But he still said sales were less than expected.
"A [Target] employee commented that they expected the collection to sell out by the end of the weekend, but based on our early reads that felt unlikely," Mr. Horvers said. ann zimmerman/wsj.com
i'm waiting for potential sales. i bought a lot of the margiela for H&M items on clearance - so i should wait.
