Although other retailers haven’t been able to lure shoppers with mini stores, Target is hoping to succeed where others have failed, and seems pretty confident about its plan to open a slew of mini stores in new markets. Markets filled with — you guessed it — millennials.

Target executives say they’ve shifted from the big box store model it’s used in the past with its new mini stores, which are putting down roots in college towns and urban areas with younger shoppers milling around, looking to spend money.

This is in contrast to Walmart’s failed Walmart Express Stores, which were mainly located in suburban and rural areas.

“We had become really good at stamping out the same store in different markets,” Chief Operating Officer John Mulligan told The Wall Street Journal in a new interview. “For these formats, we are rethinking everything.”

Each store will cater to local tastes — so for example at a mini store near the University of Minnesota, there will be ping-pong balls and beer, and nary a stroller or teething toy in sight. At a store in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, there will be baby items to appeal to families living nearby, as well as a Chobani Cafe. Because nothing says city-living like a yogurt cafe, right?

Target has been fighting sluggish sales amid slowing traffic at its 1,800 or so stores, but Cornell says the new stores will help boost the company’s overall performance in the next two years.

“It brings us into neighborhoods where we don’t exist today and where there is demand for our brand,” he said.

Target Goes After Younger Market With Small, Focused Stores [Wall Street Journal]

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