Target has long been known for its killer collabs.  From Tory Burch, Lilly Pulitzer and Orla Kiely to Missoni, Hunter Boots and Vinyard Vines, Target (lovingly referred to as Tar-zhay) wins the Retailer Award of the Century titled “Plays Well with Others.”

Who can forget the epic 2013 holiday move when Neiman Marcus brought 24 ‘Couture’ labels in as the store-in-store concept sold out within hours of being set up across hundreds of Target Stores nationwide?!* 

From a bean-counter’s perspective, the “Designer for Target” collaborations all counted as ‘Target’ SKUs and Target Sales.  The product was created specifically for Target and profits were split via big licensing contracts.  Pretty cut and dry.

But let’s say you are a brand director at Urban Decay, Philosophy, Smashbox, or even MAC Cosmetics.  How do manage the complexity of loading product into Ulta, Target, and then Ulta Beauty at Target?  What sales do you count as truly incremental vs. swapsies?

The engineers at STOPWATCH lovingly refer to this challenge as Assortment Admix Attribution.  And this isn’t a challenge limited to several beauty brands who happen to sell to Ulta and now, by extension, Target via Ulta Beauty ship manifest.  This is an opportunity for brands of all shapes and sizes to think through what should be sold when, how, where, and why.  There’s a fine line, one that no brand can afford to miss.  We’ll unpack key measurement principles behind strong Assortment Admix Attribution within the context of the Target/Ulta playground. But these principles will ensure your brand hits a bullseye in Target and beyond.

*If you too were at the 1401 2^nd Avenue, Seattle Target on December 1, 2013, it is highly likely you likely experienced me excitedly screaming and crying tears of joy when the doors finally opened at 7am for the Neiman’s drop.