Lilly Pulitzer is Too Hot for Target

Target sold out most of its hotly anticipated Lilly Pulitzer resort wear collection within hours of the line’s April 19 launch.The luxury designer’s mass-market items quickly disappeared from store shelves and target.com, with tens of thousands of the pieces reappearing on Ebay often at exorbitant mark-ups. The overwhelming online traffic caused long delays and other issues on Target’s website, though the retailer says it did not completely crash as it did during the mass merchant’s 2011 Missoni for Target launch.The less-than-stellar experience provoked a volley of ire on social media from consumers who were shut out of being able to buy the product, in some cases minutes after it became available.“What’s unique about this line is how quickly our [customers] shopped and how much they purchased. We anticipated having enough product to offer the collection for several weeks,” Target's chief merchandising and supply chain officer, Kathee Tesija, responded through a post in the retailer’s online magazine, A Bullseye View. “We saw heavy traffic to our website and lines outside of many of our stores across the country … and the product quite literally flew off of our shelves. By midmorning, it was essentially sold out.”The 250-item Lilly Pulitzer line spanned everything from beach cover-ups to home decor in bright, bold patterns. Products were priced from $2 to $250. A few days post launch, some stores welcoming shoppers with Lilly Pulitzer ceiling banners still had a few scant leftover items stocked on otherwise bare, dedicated racks.Full-page print ads running in magazines such as Time Inc.'s In Style, Conde Nast's Vogue and Hearst Communications' Elle, as well as online display and video ads on websites such as bet.com plugged the collection. Adding to the ire of consumers who missed out, supporting TV spots are still airing. (See below.)

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