How a Target Store Gets Ready for the Holiday Rush

Target is looking for a big win this holiday season, and it’s coming fast out of the gate.

Christmas Day is still more than six weeks away, but the trees, stockings, and gingerbread houses have already started popping up at Target stores across the US.

“Two weeks ago, this was still very much Halloween,” said Ben Kossack, the store director at Target’s West Madison location in Wisconsin, as he led Business Insider past the seasonal section near the back of the store.

“Then over here was very much transitioning into Christmas,” he continued, saying that Target has gotten much better at staying relevant to the current season while also letting early shoppers get a jump on the next one. “I think that’s where the company has really figured out how to win.”

Earlier in Kossack’s career with Target, store teams would have just a few days to get a store set for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In recent years, Target has taken more of a phased approach, with Halloween costumes and candy facing off against tree ornaments and twinkle lights.

Of course, two months is a long time in retail, and the increasingly early start to the season can leave stores looking a bit tired as they near the finish line.

Target says it’s planning to finish strong by having a steady cadence of fresh merchandise and store displays to keep shoppers interested.

“Typically, like we set this and we set this, and this lasts till Christmas,” Kossack said of a featured section of faux fur apparel near the front of the store that will only be up until Thanksgiving, after which something new will come in. “That would be the first time in my recollection that we’ll have two things of newness post-Halloween for this specific space. So really excited about that.”

Kossack said he’s already seeing shoppers at his store respond positively to the quick turnover, even if it might seem too early for some folks.

Kossack has also been steadily hiring over the past several months to build his staff and help make everything work. Even the seven green chandeliers near the front of the store took most of a shift for one of his team leaders to assemble.

There’s still a lot of work to do, but Kossack says he’s excited to create a memorable holiday experience for the families who shop at his store.

“If we do a good job with that as a company, and then we execute it well as a store, that’s what creates that inspiring moment,” he said. “It’s that extra piece. And if we do it right, we do it well.”