If You’re Ready To Get Moving, Try Target’s Newest $1B Brand

Target
TGT
Corp.’s decision to launch All in Motion, an activewear and loungewear brand, couldn’t have been more prescient. Bowing in January of last year, just two months before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, All in Motion proved to be the type of apparel Americans wanted and needed while quarantining and working from home, and remote-learning – so much so that the brand hit the $1 billion in sales milestone in an unprecedented 12 months.

All in Motion is Target’s 10th brand to hit the $1 billion sales mark, which started with Cat & Jack, a children’s label that notched up the volume for other in-house launches, and gave Target the confidence to move away from legacy brands, powerhouses such as Mossimo and Merona, which were discontinued, paving the way for fatter margins and control of its own destiny.

Cat & Jack has done more than $2 billion in volume since bowing in 2016. Other members of the $2 billion club include Good & Gather food and beverage brand, Up & Up, a personal care and home cleaning brand, and Threshold, home furnishings.

Target has made a concerted effort to build its private brand stable, launching in the last five years more than 30 in-house labels, including A New Day, women’s apparel, Kona Sol, swimwear, Goodfellow & Co., men’s clothing and Project 62 for home goods.

“All in Motion provided a solution for the whole family at a time when comfort and value were (and still are) so important. As families started spending more time at home than ever before, activewear and loungewear became go-to’s –hello, leggings every day,” said Jill Sando, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer of style and owned brands at Target, adding that All in Motion exceeded industry growth and drove market share gains at Target.

“Our owned brands are truly a differentiator for Target,” Sando said. “In its first year, All in Motion stood out in the marketplace, providing guests incredible activewear and sporting goods for whatever their daily lives bring, at an only-at-Target value. We’re proud that our brands are meeting guests’ evolving needs and sparking moments of daily comfort and joy for the entire family when they need it most.” 

Target has been using feedback from consumers in the planning and design of apparel for some time, a practice that was first realized with Cat & Jack. Brian Cornell, CEO of Target, told me when the brand was launched in 2016, that it “was co-created with kids” who weighed in on everything from colors to designs, and that Cat & Jack was a blueprint for launching brands with the recommendations from real people.

All in Motion, which offers 700-plus items, leveraged Target’s in-house design team using intel from thousands of consumers to finesse All in Motion’s intuitive details. Sando said Target teams hit the fitness circuit to find out what consumers wanted, “listening and sweating alongside more than 15,000 men, women and kids across the country. One thing became abundantly clear, guests want quality activewear and sporting goods that they trust will perform.”

Using sustainably sourced materials and offering a range of inclusive sizes from XS to 4X for women, S to 3X for men and XS-XXL for kids, were consumers’ top priorities. Bestsellers include yoga mats, leggings and sports bras, which Sando conceded are very difficult to get right. The brand touts sustainability, saying that the majority of All in Motion activewear incorporates sustainable materials.

Target is still listening to guests one year after launching All in Motion. The retailer’s latest conversations and customer feedback led to Target’s first seamless collection, which was introduced in January. “Our guests asked for comfort, soft fabrics, versatility and performance,” Sando said, adding that the collection “on par with premium activewear brands.”

Target in All in Motion’s first year sold 21,000 pounds of hand weights and kettlebells, which the retailer said would be enough steel to build a second Eiffel Tower, and 7 million square feet of yoga mats, or enough to cover 122 football fields.

All in Motion prices range from $3.49 for a set of weights, to $120 for a men’s parka. The seamless range begins at $10 for a girl’s short sleeve ombre T-shirt.

All in Motion uses high-quality fabrics and incorporates features often associated with premium activewear brands including wicking, water-resistance, UPF50-plus protection and odor-control, along with details such as zippered pockets and thumbholes in sleeves.

Target is featuring models of different shapes and sizes wearing All in Motion online, underscoring its believe in inclusivity, and the retailer’s marketing campaign follows its policy of not retouching photos.