Dive Brief:

• Target this week unveiled two new apparel lines, a women's private label dubbed Wild Fable and a men's line called Original Use.
• Both brands, aimed at younger fashionistas and available online and in stores as of Friday, have inclusive sizing, according to a company blog post. Wild Fable accessories and shoes are meant to mix and match, all priced under $40 per piece and sized 0 to 26W. Target calls Original Use "street-meets-vintage-modern," with prices ranging from $10 to $40 and available in big & tall sizes. 
• The news comes a day after Target said that it's ending its longstanding deal with Hanesbrands' Champion brand, a lower-priced assortment dubbed C9 that is exclusive to the retailer.

Dive Insight:

Two more private labels from Target signal how serious the company is about its pledge last year to revamp its in-house designs and assortments in apparel and home goods. The retailer said it would develop 12 new labels in a year and a half, using the same extensive research and design approach applied to developing the Pillowfort and Cat & Jack kids lines, both launched in 2016.

Apparel is a key part of that, and Target has work to do to appeal to younger customers older than kids. Target’s popularity is solid among apparel shoppers ages 30 to 44, but it "tails off rapidly beyond" that age group, according to Coresight Research, though it outpaces Amazon with those shoppers. T.J. Maxx is the only one of the biggest retailers seeing the highest shopper penetration among the 18 to 29 age group, according to Coresight. Meanwhile, Gap’s shoppers are mostly younger than 45 years old.

These new labels could move the needle. Glamour magazine gave Wild Fable a rave this week, saying that its "look feels almost like a punk-chic departure from Target’s existing wares, but it shares the accessible price point of all other in-house lines."

Target has been criticized for leaving plus sizes in many of its collections for sale only on its website. Since then, the retailer has added in-store inclusive sizing for designer collections and in its marketing and displays, which will not only help assuage critics but also take advantage of what more brands are realizing is a significant market segment.

In announcing the new collections and touting their appeal to younger customers, Target executive vice president and chief merchandising officer Mark Tritton in a company blog post also dropped the name of the retailer's new Heyday private-label electronics. "We’ve been on a journey to reimagine our portfolio of owned and exclusive brands for more than a year now, and we’ve built a ton of momentum with guests of all ages,” he said.