A preppy miss for Target

My daughter and I knew we were in trouble when we saw a filled Target parking lot just before eight on a Sunday morning.

Then we saw the line of (mostly) women wind around the side of the store.

It was then we knew of plans of scoring some of the coveted Target-Lilly Pulitzer merchandise that both companies had been promoting for months was slowly fading into the pastel-colored horizon.

We actually knew about an hour earlier when I tried Target.com only to find the entire Lilly collection already sold out and the first reports of issues Target.com had overnight began to surface.

Now the great debate starts. Is this a PR and marketing success for both brands because of the instant sellout? Or is it a failure because of the building anger coming from core audience for both brands, women and their daughters?

Target for one seems to be spinning, almost out of control. Recently I had mentioned to my wife that the store seemed much emptier during prime weekend shopping times. My guess to myself is the company still was recovering from 2013’s security breach and the horrific way it handled the aftermath.

Based on the immediate quotes coming from Target spokespeople on Sunday, they still are putting the consumer last. Here are just some examples

Target.com: While Target.com never crashed the company obviously wasn’t prepared for the “extreme traffic” to the site and had to intentionally make the site inaccessible for 15 minutes so it could catch up.

After past IT issues you’d think there’d be now why for Target to underestimate the site traffic. But it did.

Underestimating the aftermarket: I witnessed people with overflowing shopping carts leave two stores and I imagine that scene being played out across the country. I’m sure they didn’t check the size of each item they bought. I’m also sure they won’t have any of those items in their closet in a week.

Within minutes Target-Lilly items were up for sale on eBay for five times more than they were selling for in stores. But the Target company line while saying “that’s really disappointing to us” also doesn’t shed a tear for the consumer saying Target is “not the first retailer that’s experienced its products being sold” in the aftermarket. The spokesman actually added that limited product lines “become like collector’s items.”

That’s all folks: And finally while online rumors of restocking started to spread around the internet, Target is quick to point out that there will be no new items available in stores or online. That’s all folks.

That’s a heck of a way to rebuild faith in a brand and get people to come back after you make their credit card information for all the world to see, isn’t it.

And for Lilly Pulitzer, it won’t escape the wrath of its core either. As you can see on its Facebook page, its attempt to make good with a mystery gift with a new purchase is being met by the wrath of the consumer.

But Target is the one with the bullseye on its back here. I know there will be many who will say this is no different than other designer sales the retailer has based its recent strategy on. I also know that the company recently beat expected earnings as it recovers from the security breach. But you have to wonder how many times consumers will excuse deaf ear the company seems to be turning in their direction.

I know this dad who had to pay on eBay more than twice what he expected to pay for a pastel-colored Shift dress will be taking his expendable income elsewhere for a while.

Would love to hear what you think. Please comment below.