A Tiny Target Aimed At UChicago Students Is Coming To Hyde Park
By Mae Rice in News on Mar 16, 2016 6:11PM
Target plans to open a new store in Hyde Park—and catering to nearby University of Chicago students—in late 2016 or early 2017, according to the Tribune.
The planned store is small for the Minneapolis-based chain—about 21,000 square feet, compared to the largest Target’s 170,000 square feet—and is slated to open at 53rd Street and Kimbark Avenue in the Vue53 development. The mixed-use development has a truly ambitious copywriter, self-describing as “a modern take on living—combining downtown energy with Hyde Park ambiance” on its website.
Though the Wal Mart Express experiment failed in Chicago and nationwide, Target is still investing in smaller stores like the Hyde Park one. The company terms these “flexible format” stores, because their merchandise is tailored to the neighborhood.
Flexible format stores near colleges and universities tend to stock dorm room basics, like sheets, towels, and school supplies. They also stock plenty of beer pong necessities; Target CEO Brian Cornell told the Tribune these stores see “a lot of Solo cups and ping pong ball sales.”
The Hyde Park store will also have groceries, a pharmacy, electronics, apparel, and an extra-large selection of beauty products. No mention was made of selling shower curtains with Nietzche’s face on them—yet.