Ramstad: When a pop culture phenom like Kpop Demon Hunters calls, these Target experts answer

In the course of reporting today’s column, I’ve obtained the scoop of the year: The Funko Pop figurines of characters from the hit Netflix movie “KPop Demon Hunters” will arrive in Target stores on Feb. 3.

That development is the outcome of extremely fast but unexpected work. Until suddenly this summer, no one along the global chain of people who make and sell cool, fun, pop-culture products for the Minneapolis-based retailer had any idea this is what would dominate their coming months.

Having spent most of my journalism career covering businesses, I learned long ago how manufacturers, distributors and retailers work with each other for at least a year to put a product on a store shelf or online platform.

But most retailers also have a department that, like firefighters or ER doctors, hustles to respond to something no one saw coming — like the popularity of an animated musical about Korean superhero-singers who protect the world from demons.

At Target, that work springs up in several departments, but none more frequently than “Fun 101,” what Cassandra Jones calls her team.

“It’s because we buy all the fun stuff,” Jones told me, rattling off toys, books, music, entertainment and tech products.

“We’re focused on moving at the speed of culture. A lot of our routines are set up to be able to catch ongoing trends,” she said.

It was Jones’ group that sprang to action on Aug. 11 when Taylor Swift announced she would release a new album Oct. 3. Target had worked with Swift on exclusive albums and related products for more than a decade; the singer even performed at the company’s annual sales meeting in 2014.

This time was no different. In fewer than three weeks, Target and Swift’s team reached terms for exclusive vinyl and CD versions of “The Life of A Showgirl.” Swift even made a commercial for Target that captured her self-deprecating humor.

However, Target’s merchandisers take a far more sophisticated approach to Swift’s fans than a one-off event like an album launch suggests. Jones said she and her colleagues constantly monitor the clothes Swift wears, the events she attends and the way she appeals and responds to fans.

“Yes, we sell the Taylor Swift album. Yes, we work with Taylor’s team in order to bring exclusive, differentiated content,” Jones said. “But we also watch how people show up in stadiums to see her, how they’re interested in how she dresses, how they make bracelets for themselves and each other.”

In weekly meetings and sprawling Slack chats, Jones said Target’s culture-watchers are constantly assessing what’s happening in fandoms, whether for Swift, Harry Potter, Pokémon or hundreds of other cultural figures.

Already, aisles in most Target stores display a variety of “Stranger Things” products, including apparel and foods from brands that have struck their own licensing deals with the streaming service. That’s the outcome of a broader “pop culture” group at Target that cuts across merchandisers, marketers and store leaders.

“What’s cool about ‘Stranger Things’ is we did an original setup, but we’ll have continued product drops that time to moments in the show as people see the episodes,” Jones said.

The year’s most unexpected cultural phenomenon, “KPop Demon Hunters,” has presented both Netflix and retailers like Target with a huge challenge. In just weeks after its late-June release, it became the most-watched movie Netflix has ever produced.

Netflix created some merchandise but was unprepared for the movie’s popularity. Typically, either Mattel or Hasbro would get an exclusive license to an entertainment property. But to speed up production, the two toymakers agreed to share the master license from Netflix, with Mattel handling dolls and action figures while Hasbro took plush toys, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.

At Target, Jones’ team lined up an exclusive version of the movie soundtrack, on purple vinyl to match lead character Rumi’s hair. It reached stores last month, immediately sold out and is restocking soon.

Jones said she and her team recognized less than two weeks from the debut of “KPop Demon Hunters” that something big was happening. She compared its emotional resonance to Pixar’s “Inside Out” movies, which depicted competing feelings as characters.

With Halloween just around the corner, there wasn’t enough time to produce licensed “KPop Demon Hunters” costumes. Target’s apparel merchandisers looked at products the retailer was already selling and sent out an email in September with suggestions for pulling together the look of a singer/demon slayer from the girl group Huntrix.

While timing dictated that move, Jones said it also showed that not everything that appeals to fans of an entertainer or entertainment franchise has to be a licensed product. Swift’s DIY jewelry- and fashion-making fans have been proving that for years.