Target To-Go: (Possibly) Coming To A City Near You!

Target To-Go–the big box’s 2010 incarnation of the now-ubiquitous holiday pop-up shop–opens its doors in New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C. tomorrow, December 11 at 10am, locking them shut on Sunday, December 13 at 8pm. Each city’s dwellers (and visitors) will get a chance to shop the Rodarte for Target line one week before it hits stores. And they’ll also get to sift through an edited selection of Target’s top offerings for the holidays, including Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus, gift sets from Soap and Glory and toys like Nerf’s Dart Tag. Gifts will be wrapped in special holiday paper created for Target by interior designer Marcel Wanders.

And in the spirit of the season, Target will place 500 “over-sized and easy-to-identify” gift tags across each of the three cities. If you find a gift tag, return it to the Target To-Go location and you’ll receive a gift card for $10-$500. Each time a ticket is returned to Target, the company will donate $500 to The Salvation Army.

Sure, that all sounds great–especially the idea of shopping the Rodarte for Target collection just in time for the holiday parties I’m attending this week and next–but what I’m really impressed by is Target’s determination to reach beyond to the confines of New York City this time around.

While those of us who live in the area are lucky enough to enjoy the slew of pop-up shops, sample sales (many better than what’s offered online) and special events held in New York everyday, that’s not the case in most other U.S. metros. Target, by any stretch of the imagination, isn’t a New York-centric brand. While it’s smart to attract new customers this time of year, its core customer should be rewarded as well. That’s why To-Go shops in SF and D.C. make me so happy–they’re more inclusive while remaining exclusive. Here’s hoping Target brings this concept to even more cities next year.

P.S., here are the addresses for the three locations:

• New York City: Gansevoort and Washington Streets, at the High Line entrance
• San Francisco: Mint Plaza, 5th Street between Market and Mission Streets
• Washington, D.C.: M Street NW and Wisconsin Avenue NW in Georgetown