The Target-Neiman's Collab Launch Was Kind of a Bust

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The much-hyped Target-Neiman-CFDA collabapalooza launch that happened over the weekend was a bit of a bust, according to the Wall Street Journal. Far from the web-site crashing frenzy of Missoni for Target, the initiative landed with a bare flurry of excitement.

On Target's end, both the website and stores remain well stocked. Currently, the only item sold out online is the zebra version of the Judith Leiber compact, and our sister site reports that the Rodarte wrapping paper is the only item to bite the dust in New York. A retail analyst told the WSJ he thought the collection prompted Target customers to shop in other parts of the store, which was one of the program's intentions, but 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," he said.

Neiman Marcus's did manage to freshen up its brand image through the collaboration, but the WSJ reports that some store locations appeared over-prepared for the number of shoppers that actually arrived at 8am Saturday morning. One North Dallas store handed out wrist bands in anticipation of staggering the number of shoppers allowed into the store, but the crowd barely reached 50 total.

However, Racked sites in Chicago and Los Angeles reported decent crowds at Neiman Marcus in both those cities, not to mention the added bonus of male models and bro bands.

"For our brand, it has been a good partnership," a Neiman Marcus spokesperson told the WSJ. "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."

Target, too, defends the partnership. "The largest misconception is that this was intended to be a one-day shopping event," said a spokesman.

Sales aside, what do you think? Is excitement over collabs beginning to wane, or is the high-low still going strong? Speak your mind in the comments?

· Hype Better Than Sales for Target-Neiman Marcus Tie-Up [WSJ]
· Neiman Marcus Is Quickly Selling Out of Collab Merch, Target Remains Fully Stocked [Racked]