Kantar Retail has issued its “2012 PowerRanking” report on retailers and consumer products manufacturers. Among the wealth of insights contained in the study is ample confirmation of Target’s standing among the leaders in terms of meeting the needs of consumers.

Kantar Retail has issued its “2012 PowerRanking” report on retailers and consumer products manufacturers. Among the wealth of insights contained in the study is ample confirmation of Target’s standing among the leaders in terms of meeting the needs of consumers.

The company, which practices a unique form of upscale discounting, finished a close second, behind Walmart, among all merchants in the poll of 600 retail and supplier respondents. Target was tops in several important subcategories, including branding stores to customers (where it had a 63.1% to 35% advantage over No. 2 Walmart), best category management/buying team, most innovative marketing and merchandising approach, and best use of digital, mobile and social networking platforms in joint efforts with manufacturers.

The results of Kantar’s research point to Target’s prowess in connecting with customers and tailoring its offerings to satisfy and, in many cases, exceed their expectations. The company’s growing commitment to multiethnic consumers, which was featured at a recent event for beauty editors in New York City, exemplifies that approach.

Hosted by style and lifestyle expert Tai Beauchamp, the event highlighted the extent and quality of the retailer’s beauty care assortment for multiethnic shoppers. “Target really is committed to understanding the fact that women have unique beauty needs and desires,” says Beauchamp, who recently served as guest stylist on the retailer’s Tumblr site, on the dot. “That is reflected clearly in its assortment of offerings. It’s very diverse and very relevant to the multiethnic and multicultural woman.”

Central to the mix in the department, which at some stores includes as many as 1,000 items, are exclusive products, the result of an ongoing program inaugurated in 2008 with Shea Moisture that has since been supplemented by additional suppliers. Half of the retailer’s 1,781 stores now include a multiethnic beauty section, with the size of the department ranging from 8 feet to 36 feet.

Target’s work in this area shows that its merchants are cognizant of shifts, including the country’s changing demographics, in the market and determined to fine-tune the mix accordingly.
That orientation makes it a good bet that another of Kantar’s findings will be borne out — 15 years from now Target will remain one of the power retailers.