Target, Hunter Make Boots So Bad They Need to Be Destroyed

Target's collaboration with British manufacturer Hunter Boot has resulted in frustrated shoppers and the partners deciding to destroy their hotly anticipated women’s tall rain boots due to production issues.Target first announced it was collaborating with Hunter — best known for its Wellington tall boots — last month for a limited-edition lifestyle collection ranging from boots to rain coats. The Hunter for Target collection drummed up quite a bit of attention leading up to its April 14 release, due in part to its pricing. The 300-plus line of children and adult clothing, shoes, travel mugs and accessories was priced from $5 to $80 with boots priced at up to $40, a steal when comparing to traditional Hunter Women's tall boots that go for $150. When the collection launched, however, the retailer quickly faced a volley of ire on social media after various shoppers found many items were quickly sold out in stores and online. Twitter user @amittenkitten, for example, asked the retailer (via guest service account AskTarget) where to find items from the collection on the day of the launch as they appeared to be sold out everywhere, "but there [were] barely any to begin with." Target replied two days later, explaining the "#HunterxTarget collection was super popular, and has sold out of many items quickly. Stores will not be receiving additional shipments, but you may find #HunterxTarget items as other guests return or exchange items at the store. We apologize for any disappointment.""That's the nature of our designer collaboration — they are available for a limited time only and in limited quantities,” a Target spokesperson told Business Insider. “We don't restock the collection." Adding more salt to the wound, Hunter for Target women's tall rain boots were not sold in stores or online at launch as promised. A day before the launch, Target announced the boots would be delayed, but a week later the retailer issued a statement saying the boots would not be sold after all and will instead be recycled due to production issues. The product defect was not made clear. However, Hunter boots are typically made of natural rubber and are handcrafted from 28 parts, while the Hunter for Target line was mass-produced in a factory, using a preformed mold, according to the Washington Post."After thorough evaluation, we’ve decided not to make this item available,” said Mark Tritton, Target's chief merchandising officer and executive vice president, in an April 20 A Bullseye View blog post. “We’re very sorry, but the production simply didn’t meet our standards, Hunter’s standards, or the standards we want guests to have when they shop at Target. … While this collaboration has brought joy to millions of guests who have shopped it over the past week, the risk of further disappointing our guests is a risk we aren’t willing to take. Rest assured we’ll look into how this happened, and we’ll work hard to ensure it doesn’t happen again." According to some Twitter users, the women's tall boots were available in select stores when the collection debuted, with one user (@hensleycn) tweeting that the boots “were removed from my hand at check out along with numerous other customers and I was told 'we can't sell these to customers yet.'" An Institute editor found only one pair of short rain boots at Target's Champaign, IL, location two hours after the store opened on the day of the collection's launch. The marketing plan for The Hunter for Target collection included in-store table displays and rack headers, multiple YouTube videos, a free Hunter for Target Ultimate Family Festival in Pasadena, CA, March 25 (see video below), circular features promising REDcard holders early online access to some items, display ads on target.com, radio spots, an April 14 email blast, multiple A Bullseye View blog posts, and Twitter, Facebook and Instagram updates. The roll out for Target's latest collaboration is reminiscent of the retailer's Lilly Pulitzer resort wear collection, which sold out within hours of the line's April 19, 2015, release. The luxury designer's mass-market items quickly disappeared from store shelves and target.com, with tens of thousands of the pieces reappearing on eBay often at exorbitant markups. (About 555 Hunter for Target items are currently available on ebay.com ranging from $65 to $200.) The retailer also missed the mark with its Sept. 13, 2011, launch of an exclusive Missoni for Target designer collection, which not only sold out within minutes in stores but caused the retailer’s entire website to crash for more than a day. Since the debut of its Michael Graves Design Collection in 1999, Target has rolled out more than 175 lines from limited-time collaborations with established luxury brands such as Alexander McQueen and Jean Paul Gaultier, and up-and-coming designers such as Jason Wu and Prabal Gurung, according to the Washington Post. “These types of lines actually drive little in sales, but the real win is to drive people to stores and have them buy everything else they need,” Sucharita Kodali, an analyst for the market research firm Forrester, told the newspaper. “It’s perfect for Target.”

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

You May Also Like

Stanley Starts the New Year With Target Exclusives

Marks & Spencer Spends Another Holiday Season at Target