Last week, Jason Wu’s new line for Target came out and within hours, it sold out. For Target and Jason Wu, a success, but it was a huge bummer for those who wanted to purchase, with resellers clearly picking up a lot of the merchandise, including nearly all of it in a store in Miami. It’s a good deal for resellers – if they can’t sell at a profit on eBay, they have 8 weeks to return it to the store. But who are the people who buy off eBay and, more importantly, what can Target do to take advantage of all that untapped desire. After all, the resellers are the ones fully maximizing demand while raising ire at both them and Target
Buyers come into two types. a) People who really want a particular item and b) people who are really excited about having something from a designer. That second group is the one that I think Target can really gain more from.
Obviously, Target doesn’t want to make a lot of product, diluting either Jason Wu’s brand or the concept of Designer for Target. But what if they made one item in larger numbers, say the cat t-shirt that while emblematic of Wu’s style doesn’t imitate the items he regularly sells. Enough stock means that it’s less appealing to resellers* and that items stay in stock long enough for more fans to purchase; people who are excited about the line instead of a particular item get to purchase from Target.
I’m sure there’s a reason why Target does do it that way – designer pressure maybe – but it’d be interesting to see them try it out and see the fan reaction, which is currently not so high.
* Looks like the demand price on eBay, two weeks out, is around $5 more than the set price, where most resellers seem to want around $15 more ($25 vs $35). Price pressure for the bags seems to remain high
Aesthetic Snafu 