Case Study: Kids Furniture
In 2024 I had the opportunity to reinvent the Pillowfort furniture assortment by introducing a new complete furniture collection into the assortment. The last collection before this was added in 2018, long before I had joined the team. In order to make sure the collection would have the greatest impact, I spent over 6 months doing research into the Pillowfort guest, the kids furniture market, and what makes parents invest in these large scale pieces.
We started to notice a pattern…
Among Target’s owned brands, Pillowfort has exceptional brand recognition, guest retention, and a great reputation for value and design. Unfortunately, this reputation doesn’t carry into it’s furniture assortment. Guests often say Pillowfort furniture is low quality and over priced, driving guests to purchase larger furniture pieces from competitors. On top of that, our assortment - especially soft seating - is vast and duplicative, making it difficult for guests to find what they’re looking for in a sea of sameness.
How can we right size our assortment to offer relevant, thoughtful solutions that are a great value to all guests?
Value vs Lifestyle
The more research I did, the more I realized there are two camps; value and lifestyle brands. Value brands offer cost effective, affordable pieces that focus on functionality before aesthetic. Lifestyle brands offer pieces made from premium materials with the emphasis being on style, with function following close behind.
What does that balance of thoughtful design at an approachable price look like?
Finding the Voice
We know what the Pillowfort guest likes; light colors, modern design elements, and playful forms. With that, we started finding the voice of the collection, how we wanted it to look and feel. We identified our material palette quickly; all natural wood with a finish that would let the material shine through.
Building the Collection
With the aesthetic identified, I started iterating on the pieces we identified in our research as the key building blocks of a kids space. Finding the balance of thoughtful solutions that offered style and functionality was key. We knew what our guest thought of our current furniture line up, this had to be different.
Refining Solutions
Now that the pieces were taking shape, we could chisel away to find the best version of each. Adjusting seat angles, tweaking designs to meet safety regulations, finding the perfect spots to add pops of color. All while being tested and approved by our target audience - kids!
With all that done, the final collection had come to life. Our first all new furniture collection in years, made with solid wood and natural finishes. Designed from the ground up to be not only beautifully made, but effortlessly functional.
