Target Coming to Old OSH Building (and to La Brea & San Vicente)

Target stores seem to be popping up with Starbucks-like frequency these days.  A post on NextDoor.com yesterday alerted us that the company has apparently leased the old OSH store at 415 S. La Brea, with plans to open in 2020.  And, yes, this is apparently in addition to the new Target that is currently under construction and will open this year just nine blocks south at 1302 S. La Brea (the SE corner of La Brea & San Vicente). Both locations are confirmed on Target’s corporate website.

Traditionally, Target has focused on “big box” stores – some really big (“Super Target” stores can be more than 175,000 square feet) – but in recent years, the company has started to diversify its retail model and include much smaller, and – apparently – more numerous stores in its retail mix. This strategy is often cited, as in a recent story by CNBC, as a response to competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com:

“Target…began scaling its small-store model in 2018 to reach customers in urban regions and draw young shoppers into its buildings. The big-box chain has plans to open 130 of these brick-and-mortar establishments — usually about 40,000 square feet compared to its traditional 100,000-plus-square-foot stores — by the end of 2019.”

According to Target, the 415 S. La Brea store will be approximately 59,000 square feet, while the 1302 S. La Brea store will be about 23,000 square feet. (Also, that store will share its new building with a Sprouts market and two restaurants.  The Sprouts website says its store will open on July 10.)

Both Target stores are part of the chain’s effort not just to downsize, but to diversify and tailor its offerings more closely to various communities. According to the company:

“Last year, we opened 30 small-format stores—doubling the number we’d opened up to that point—and we’ll open about 30 more each year over the next few years.

Just how small do our small-format stores get? They’re all different, starting as small as 15,000 square feet or less, though the average small-format Target is around 40,000 square feet, about one-third the size of our full-size 130,000 square-foot store. Fun fact: our newly opened store in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood is the smallest to date, spanning just 12,800 square feet. The size of each one is based on what we think will best fit and serve the neighborhood.

Because these spaces cover a lot less ground, our teams have to be extra efficient when planning how to fill each one. We do plenty of research to understand the surrounding community and its needs—such as noting which other businesses are nearby and conducting listening sessions with local guests, groups and community leaders—and design our merchandise plans to match. So a small-format located near a bustling tourist shopping destination might have a vastly different assortment than another just six blocks away, located in a residential area with lots of families with kids and babies.

Inside each small-format, guests will find many of the categories (like Home, Apparel, and Food and Beverage) they’d expect to see in a full-size store, but with smaller assortments curated for their local neighborhood. For example, we’ll carry paper towels in our urban stores, but in smaller pack sizes so it’s easier for guests to carry home and store in smaller spaces. It’s all about listening to our guests in each neighborhood and bringing customized shopping experiences to life.”

The Buzz has reached out to both Target and CIM (which owns the 415 S. La Brea buidling) for further information on the two new stores, but neither has responded so far.