Target has expanded its Black History Month collection, including items from Black-owned businesses and winners from the retailer’s inaugural Historically Black Colleges and Universities Design Challenge.
The items, many curated by Target’s in-house design team,will be across the store from apparel and home to beauty items.
It is the largest assortment the Minneapolis-based retailer has ever featured for Black History Month, and the collection of more than 100 products is available online and at 1,400 stores. Last year, only about 700 stores carried the collection.
“This month is an opportunity to really honor the past and the journey of our ancestors, while celebrating the present and manifesting and investing in Black futures,” said Flora Ekpe-Idang, Target senior brand marketing manager, in a company blog post.
Ekpe-Idang, who is Black, is one of several Target employees that helped with the Black History Month collection.
Many of the products featured in the Black History Month assortment are available year-round, but some apparel and accessories items are only available for a limited time, she said.
Items range from Barbie collector dolls of prominent Black woman like Maya Angelou and Rosa Parks; calendar and stationery from local Black illustrator Jena Holliday of Spoonful of Faith; and a “They Go Low We Go High” sweatshirt commemorating the words of former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Target has steadily expanded its network of diverse suppliers. Between 2016 and 2018, Target increased its business with diverse suppliers by nearly 65%. Much of Target’s diversity efforts can be easily found in its beauty aisles which features a growing wider range of products made by Black-owned companies like Shea Moisture.
This month, Target is hosting activities including a business fair designed to give Black-founded and -owned — as well as women-owned businesses — the opportunity to virtually network with Target buyers, and sourcing and supplier diversity employees, Ekpe-Idang said.
Last year, as a result of race relations discussions that began in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, Target established its Racial Equity Action and Change committee (REACH) of senior leaders across Target. As part of its mission to create lasting impact for Black employees and customers, the group pledged to help advance Black businesses and source and design more products from Black creators.
The newly renovated Lake Street store in Minneapolis was the first of nearly 1,870 Targets in the country last year to begin to carry the Black Excellence clothing line designed by Minneapolis barber and apparel creator Houston White.
Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495
Twitter: @nicolenorfleet