In Target’s “Bullseye” retail environment, how a product shows up on the sales floor matters just as much as the product itself. The Bernard Group (TBG) collaborates closely with Target, translating ambitious brand concepts into tangible, scalable realities within their retail environment. As one of Target’s VDVP (Vendor Designed, Vendor Produced) partners, TBG has earned the trust to design and execute displays within Target’s ecosystem with consistency, speed, and care for the guest experience.

From major brand launches to large seasonal activations, our focus is simple: deliver distinctive, brand-elevating work that performs reliably and meets the standards Target teams depend on. 

Key Takeaways:

  1. We engineer multi-sensory, immersive shop-in-shops, such as the Cocoa Club, which are designed to transition seamlessly across seasonal holidays. This approach is instrumental in boosting guest dwell time.
  2. We create high-performance displays, from color-critical beauty launches like Blake Brown to sustainable steel endcaps for Goop. These solutions consistently deliver record-breaking sales velocity.
  3. We manage the “curb-to-aisle” journey, utilizing everything from bollard wraps to clear operational banners to reduce shopper friction and signal brand value.
  4. By utilizing intuitive engineering and QR-linked video guides, our methodology guarantees a low failure rate. This approach eliminates backroom rot, ensuring your return on investment starts the moment the shipment is delivered.

Project Feature Index:

To jump to a specific Target project, click on the brand or project name below.

What is a Target VDVP partner? 

The Bernard Group (TBG) is a trusted Target VDVP (Vendor Designed, Vendor Produced) partner. VDVP signifies Target’s high trust in a partner who not only designs fixtures (such as endcaps and gondolas) but also manages their complete production, overseeing manufacturing from fabrication to printing. This turnkey approach allows Target to efficiently outsource the technical complexities of store design and production, especially for new brands at Target.

As a full-service VDVP vendor, TBG specializes in high-end visual merchandising, shop-in-shop concepts, and fixture rollouts. TBG manages the entire retail experience lifecycle: design, engineering, in-house production (including wood, metal, acrylic, and print), and nationwide logistics.

Seasonal Activations and Experiences 


At Target, we leverage seasonal activations to boost traffic and increase dwell time. These experiences are designed to capture guests’ attention by offering delightful and surprising moments throughout their in-store shopping journey. At TBG, we turn creative intent into real, store-wide execution. We design, produce, and execute multi-element installations that combine advanced printing, material science, and structural engineering to transform the store environment into a cohesive branded experience.

A&A and RTW Seasonal Gateways

The A&A (Apparel and Accessories) department is a core focus for our production teams, where speed, material fluency, and structural discipline matter. We rapidly test and deploy a wide range of materials, including flat print, paper-pulp, fabric, and even real rope, to determine what performs best in the store environment. From the Evol Summer Dresses rollout at the Family Gateway to the Sail and Seagull elements at the A&A Gateway, we have executed structures that do more than mark a moment. These architectural features are configured to guide how guests move, pause, and engage, shaping the experience rather than simply decorating the space.

Seasonal Shop-in-Shop Programs

In 2025, we shipped over 50,000 kits for holiday activations with regional and tiered formats. We are skilled at large logistical programs, including:

  • Q2 Summer Sun and Beach Shop Carts & Towers: In Q2 2025, Target faced sustained pressure from double-digit declines in guests’ discretionary spending. Beach categories, including apparel, accessories, and dermatological products, showed growth, even as the broader business remained challenging. The Summer Sun and Beach Shop, anchored by more than 10,000 new items priced under $20, was designed to reintroduce value and momentum into the category. TBG, as a Target VDVP partner, supported this effort with life-sized graphics that cut through a crowded sales floor, drew guests into the shop, and helped reinforce demand during a slower traffic period.
  • Holiday Picnic Tables: Target creates shareable, interactive experiences to slow the shopper down and make the holiday trip feel personal rather than transactional. Elements like a wishlist writing station invite guests, especially families, to pause and participate together, turning shopping into a shared ritual. To support this, TBG produced a flat-packed kit that assembles easily into a child-friendly, safe pop-up moment at the front of the store. The result is an experience that extends dwell time, encourages organic sharing, and fits seamlessly into store operations while reinforcing Target’s role in shaping holiday traditions.
  • Family Sleep, Holiday Train Tracks: Floor space was activated using high-durability train track floor graphics to create a playful, intuitive path through the experience. Materials were selected with both performance and sustainability in mind, including baler-friendly corrugated and blue-bin recyclable aluminum floor graphics. The result was a durable, safe solution that held up to peak holiday traffic while aligning with store operations and responsible end-of-life recycling streams.
  • Cocoa Club, Merry Market Place, and Gondola: Target estimates that more than 20 million guests experienced its holiday activations in 2025. The shop-in-shop was intentionally designed to create emotional immersion and extend the guest experience beyond a single visit. Elements like a motorized gondola moving overhead and the Hot Cocoa Club’s subtle scent diffusion worked together to spark curiosity, nostalgia, and longer dwell time. The concept resonated so strongly with guests that Target refreshed the Cocoa Club for both Valentine’s Day and Easter, extending the experience across multiple seasonal moments.

See the Making of the Gondola Documentary 


Sip on the details of our latest Cocoa Club success.

Beyond the “TBG-wow” factor of seasonal launches, we provide the backbone of Target’s category-specific marketing. We specialize in both temporary POP and long-term displays. 

Beauty & Personal Care Focus

The Beauty department (D37 and D52) requires sophisticated finishing to match the premium nature of the brands. Recent projects include:

  • Blake Brown: Blake Brown Beauty, launched by Blake Lively at Target in August 2024, delivered the strongest hair care debuts in the retailer’s history. The brand posted a record-setting $5 million in its first three weeks, becoming Target’s largest hair care launch.

The rollout followed a tiered merchandising strategy that balanced elevated endcaps, standard endcaps, and chain-wide inline fixtures to scale visibility without overexposure. The elevated endcap led early promotional efforts, anchoring the launch moment and establishing premium credibility. The brand generated $16 million in earned media value within its first week and sustained weekly sales of approximately $300,000, 100X standard performance of $2,400, demonstrating that the in-store experience translated initial attention into durable performance.


Style Your Retail Knowledge with Blake Brown

  • Boots Soap and Glory & Boots No.7: Boots Soap & Glory and Boots No7 play an important role within Target’s beauty ecosystem by anchoring confidence, consistency, and repeat purchase behavior across the D52 and D37 sets. These brands balance Target’s mix of trend-forward discovery and trusted, efficacy-driven products, helping guests navigate routine and results with ease.


Execution matters at this level. For Soap & Glory, TBG delivers precise color matching across some of the category’s most difficult palettes, including saturated bright pinks and soft pastels that must remain consistent across substrates, lighting conditions, and fixture types. For No7, the challenge shifts to control and clarity, particularly with backlit graphics that rely on crisp white points and even illumination to convey clinical credibility.


In both cases, disciplined production ensures the brands show up exactly as intended, reinforcing trust, clarity, and performance at shelf.

  • Cantu Table Tents: Cantu table tents use small-format print to capture attention and drive immediate purchase decisions at shelf. Cantu is an important brand within Target’s beauty assortment because it serves a highly loyal, underserved guest seeking effective, affordable hair care for textured hair. As a Target VDVP partner,  TBG delivered this signage at a strong price value, ensuring clear, benefit-forward communication that supports conversion while meeting Cantu’s cost, speed, and scale expectations.
  • Goop Launch Endcap: The program was designed with sustainability and scalability built in from the start. The initial rollout utilized aluminum. For the second-year expansion, the structure transitioned to steel with more than 90% recycled content, selected because steel is the most widely recycled material and would receive TBG’s proprietary 100% closed-loop recycled magnet graphics. Wherever possible, decommissioned displays were put into Target’s own in-store commercial metal recycling program, allowing the program to extend material life while reinforcing a closed-loop approach aligned with Goop’s and Target’s sustainability initiatives.


Curate Your Glow: Explore the Goop Endcap at Target.

Essentials & Food/Beverage

We ensure that even the most functional aisles look curated.

  • Kitchen & Cookware: From the Our Place Endcap to the Culligan Endcap. We create hardware-intensive displays that engage customers and translate complex, higher-investment products into clear value propositions at the point of decision. This approach is especially critical for brands entering mass retail with premium positioning. For Culligan with ZeroWater at Target, we led with trusted performance credentials, including PFAS and lead removal, while clearly justifying price against lower-cost alternatives without diluting premium equity. Similarly, Our Place’s expansion of the Always Pan and core cookware line into Target built on strong brand momentum and a proven partnership established in late 2023. With reported sales growth of 92% in Q1 2025 year over year, the in-store experience continues to articulate differentiation and value in an increasingly competitive category
  • Food & Beverage: Recent highlights include the Flav City Endcap and the Pure Protein Endcap in the over-the-counter OTC/Essentials department. In both cases, our displays succeed by leading with protein content and taste, translating functional benefits into fast, confident purchase decisions. Functional beverage success at Target is driven by clarity, credibility, and immediate value communication. 


The FlavCity display leveraged Bobby Parrish’s 10M+ social following to create instant trust and awareness, reinforced by high-impact promotions such as the $100K Golden Ticket contest embedded in Strawberry Shortcake single-serve pouches. The result was exceptional sales velocity, with single-serve units exceeding 135,000 per month.

Similarly, Pure Protein drinks and shakes have performed strongly at Target by clearly articulating functional benefits at shelf. Messaging centered on 30 grams of protein, less than one gram of sugar, strong flavor variety, and everyday value positions the brand as a compelling option for on-the-go nutrition and a credible alternative to premium competitors.

Front of Store and Operational Signage at Target

The first and last things a guest sees are often the most critical. Our operational signage ensures the store functions at peak efficiency.

Storefront & Exterior Branding

We manage the “curb-to-aisle” experience with:

  • As one of Target’s VDVP (Vendor Designed, Vendor Produced) partners, we understand that the iconic red bollards outside Target stores are more than a safety feature. They are among the brand’s most recognizable exterior touchpoints and an opportunity to set the tone before a guest walks through the doors. 

By applying bold bollard graphics using Circle Week decals and seasonal fabric wraps, Target transforms these everyday structures into playful, high-visibility brand moments that extend storytelling to the parking lot and entry experience. The result is a welcoming, unmistakably Target expression that signals value, seasonality, and fun at the very first point of arrival.

  • Operational Signage: Clear communication for Extended Holiday Store Hours, Fresh Grocery, Talent Acquisition and Seasonal Messaging Banners.
  • TBG uses a-frames, banners, window clings, and posters to create clear, concise communication around extended holiday store hours and fresh grocery offerings. Each year, Target hires more than 100,000 seasonal team members to maintain service levels as traffic surges. Extended hours support last-minute shoppers and spread demand across the day, but only if guests know when and how to shop.

Informative, eye-catching operational signage ensures hours, availability, and fresh food messaging are immediately understood, all while maintaining Target’s joyful brand presence and reducing friction for both guests and store teams.

The TBG Installation Advantage

A poorly executed or delayed display installation negates the impact of a beautiful design. TBG distinguishes itself by maximizing visual consistency and minimizing downtime through a proprietary installation approach.

Our “Low Failure Rate” Methodology

TBG maintains one of the industry’s highest installation success rates. We achieve this through:

  • Proactive Engineering: We design displays with the “Target Team Member” in mind. If it’s too hard to put together, it won’t get put up. Our displays feature intuitive assembly wherever possible.
  • Comprehensive Kitting: Every shipment includes “dummy-proof” instructions and all necessary hardware, meticulously packed to prevent shipping damage. Printed instructions are supplemented with QR codes that link to instruction videos.
  • Logistics & Tracking: Using our proprietary online portals, we provide real-time visibility into where your displays are and when they’ve hit the floor.
  • The Result: Minimized “backroom rot” and a retail execution rate that ensures your ROI begins the moment the truck arrives.

Engineered for Simplicity

We provide comprehensive, illustrated instructions for every complex unit, including:

  • Hardware Rollouts: Projects like the Evolution Rollout and Project Ali (Tier 1 Brand Beacon) involve both hardware and graphics. We ensure they are engineered to fit perfectly the first time.
  • Stationary: West Village from Mead. Mead’s long-standing partnership with Target created a natural opportunity to introduce West Village by Mead as an additive brand. The line was positioned to succeed within Target’s “Expect More. Pay Less.” model by delivering stylish, trend-forward stationery at an accessible price point. Success depends on placing the assortment within Target’s back-to-school environment, where Gen Z and millennial shoppers expect a balance of trusted national brands and exclusive, trend-driven merchandise.

To support this strategy, TBG designed a four-foot inline display that captured incremental sales during back-to-school trips. Positioned for parents already shopping for school supplies, the inline expanded the basket with elevated stationery purchases, adding value without disrupting the core category flow.

Let’s Build Your Next Target Program

Success at Target demands both creative vision and rigorous operational execution, a balance TBG expertly provides. We serve as the driving force behind your brand’s journey at Target, managing every step from the initial 3D rendering to the final in-store placement.

Ready to see your brand in the Bullseye? Let’s connect.