Get ready to see the already-ubiquitous jewelry brand even more.
For its latest “partnership,” Target has notably not chosen a runway fashion designer. Instead, it’s teaming up with BaubleBar, the popular “fast fashion” jewelry line, for a collection called SugarFix by BaubleBar.
“Since starting BaubleBar, we have focused on building a strong design and product development engine,” BaubleBar cofounder Amy Jain tells Racked. “Our goal has always been to use that engine to bring jewelry and accessories to an even broader range of women, likely with varying needs, through new brands.”
The 180-piece collection will launch on January 31st online and in Target’s 900 stores, bringing an already-ubiquitous jewelry brand into even more locations. According to WWD, it’s Target’s first partnership with a jewelry and accessories brand.
As Refinery29 notes, the “partnership” is similar to the one Target struck with WhoWhatWear, in which the popular fashion site puts its name on a product line sold exclusively at Target in a longterm deal instead of a one-time “collaboration.”
But BaubleBar has the advantage of already being a popular online brand that shoppers are also used to seeing in stores like Nordstrom, Anthropologie, and Bloomingdale’s. And with prices around $30-$60, it’s a brand that the Target shopper probably feels pretty comfortable with.
Most importantly, BaubleBar is doing a lot of the things other less successful brands or retailers can’t seem to nail these days. It’s aced the fast fashion model with a speedy supply chain (as short as four weeks), reportedly launching 50 to 70 new products a week; it’s found a price point that’s palatable to customers who are shopping for new trends at a higher frequency; and it’s leveraging brick and mortar (still the most preferred way of shopping for many) while not relying on it. There’s a reason the company, started by two female Harvard Business School grads, just raised $20 million in a Series C funding.
For Target, the fast fashion mentality is key to keep it competing with retailers like Zara and H&M for trendy shoppers’ dollars. And SugarFix by BaubleBar will be even more affordable than regular BaubleBar: BaubleBar’s average price point is $50, according to cofounder Daniella Yacobovsky, while the average SugarFix price is $14.99.
“We know our customer shops and buys small things for herself at Target,” Yacobovsky tells WWD. Now the customer can scoop up even more trinkets for less on a even more frequent basis. We have a feeling plenty of women will be buying.
Update: January 25th, 2017, 4:04 pm
This article has been updated with comments from BaubleBar cofounders Daniella Yacobovsky and Amy Jain.