Target has a low-cost answer for a key luxury category
Published 11:30 am Monday, January 29, 2024
- A customer is seen at a Target store in Smyrna, Ga.
If you’re one of the millions of shoppers who frequent Target (TGT) – Get Free Report for anything from pet food to home decor, you’ve probably noticed the retailer’s ever-expanding lines.
Over the past several years, Target has made a herculean effort to develop its in-house brands like Threshold, Casaluna and All In Motion.
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The retailer has about 50 in-house brands, ranging from home decor to sustainable cookware to swimwear to party supplies. And many of its labels have been a success. All in Motion, Target’s athletic and leisure brand, brought in $1 billion of revenue a year after it launched. Its pantry-staple brands like Good & Gather and Favorite Day brought in revenue of $30 billion in 2021.
But it’s not successful only with its in-house brands. It’s clever with its collaborations, too.
Target works with celebrities like the interior designer Joanna Gaines while also bringing lesser-known labels to cater to consumers’ changing tastes. And the great thing about Target: Everything is reasonably priced, so you can regularly revamp your wardrobe or home decor without breaching the budget.
Clever Target brand taking social media by storm
One of Target’s lesser-known brands has prompted quite a bit of chatter on social media and is building something of a cult following.
The brand is called Fine’ry, and if you’re not familiar with it, you’re likely not alone. The Target-exclusive brand is usually tucked away in a corner of its beauty aisle, near the nail polish, body scrubs and facial toners.
Many users on TikTok and Reddit swear that the Fine’ry line includes near-perfect duplicates for some of the world’s most popular — and most expensive — fragrances right now. And even Target says the line is influenced by some of the finest scents.
“We take inspiration from the legendary fragrances that have shaped the history of perfume, to craft unique scent experiences and make them accessible to all,” Target’s site explains.
So far, it’s released about 10 key perfumes available in a variety of sizes and samples. And so-called fragheads, or fragrance enthusiasts, swear they’re stand-ins for some of the best scents out there. They are:
- Sweet on the Outside: Eilish by Billie Eilish
- Not another Cherry: Lost Cherry by Tom Ford
- Sunphoria: Soleil Blanc by Tom Ford
- Magnetic Candy: Sundazed by Byredo
- I’m a Musk: Cloud by Ariana Grande
- Before the Rainbow: Wood Sage & Sea Salt by Jo Malone
- Jungle Santal: Santal 33 by Le Labo
- Flower Bed: Chance by Chanel
- Midnight Cafe: Black Opium by YSL
Fine’ry fragrances, which are sold mostly as body mists, sell for about $30 per 2.02-ounce bottle. For comparison, a 1-ounce bottle of a Tom Ford fragrance sells for between $185 and $250.
And some eagle-eyed customers have claimed that they’ve seen their local Targets adding some new fragrances to the growing collection.
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“Popped by my local Target and saw them putting out new Fine’ry scents — I think there were 3 new ones, and I tested one called ‘Pistachio Please’ and one called ‘Without a Trace,'” one Redditor wrote on Sunday. The writer claimed the new scents smelled like Kayali’s Pistachio Gelato, a “soapy” unidentified one, and a possible duplicate for the cult-favorite Baccarat Rouge 540.
Target hasn’t officially released any new fragrances yet, but based on the sensation it’s created in just under a year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a few new products hit shelves sometime in 2024.
TheStreet has reached out to Target for comment.
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