In its never-ending quest to remain hip, Target has hooked up with one of the hottest fitness crazes du jour.
The retailer, which has been on quite the health kick under chief executive Brian Cornell, has teamed up with SoulCycle, the spinning studios that have developed cult-like followings in big cities such as New York and San Francisco. Just how cultish is it? So much so that hordes of women are willing to shell out $34 for a 45-minute class and the classes often quickly fill up.
In any case, SoulCycle is still only in a handful of cities. So Target is sponsoring a 10 city-tour, which includes a stop in the retailer's hometown of Minneapolis, to spread the gospel of the workout that includes dance moves and weights.
"It's about putting a Target stamp on getting healthy in the new year," said Katie Boylan, a Target spokeswoman.
As Target has put a bigger emphasis on health and wellness, it handed out Fitbits to all of its employees last year. In 2015, it also partnered with Life Time Fitness to launch a new fitness class called the "C9 Challenge," a tie-in to its private-label workout brand.
As for the SoulCycle collaboration, of course, Target being Target, it is also going to have a limited-edition collection of workout apparel -- hoodies, tanks, sweatpants -- co-branded with SoulCyle and Target available for sale at a pop-up shop at the events. Boylan said the line will also be available at Target.com, but will not be sold in Target's stores.
So is this tour a hint that SoulCycle may be expanding to some the cities on the tour? Not really. SoulCycle said through a Target spokeswoman that the chain doesn't have any plans to expand to Minneapolis at this time.
Other cities on the tour include Washington DC, Houston, Seattle, Atlanta, Nashville, Denver, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles. The tour will hit Minneapolis on February 12-14. During the three-day events in each city, SoulCycle will hold free classes six times a day. And yes, they are expected to fill up quickly. More details will be posted at Target.com/Soulcycle closer to the events.
