Dayton heir opens Twill, aims for ‘my own era’ in retailing history

Target Corp., the company that retired his family’s name from local retailing, handed Scott Dayton a gift of sorts in mid-summer: They announced an end to casual dress policy at their corporate headquarters in Minneapolis.

“Target was the pioneer of workday casual. It’s a pretty indicative statement. I think it’s fabulous for me,” says Dayton. He was set to open Twill at the end of July, his new menswear store in The Galleria in Edina. “Men’s clothing is back.”

Dayton grew up absorbing retail lore at Harold, the one-time women’s specialty store owned by his father, Robert, who in 1977 was the last Dayton family member to leave the retail giant.

“People say I have retail in my blood, and that’s true,” he says. He went through Marshall Field’s management training program, spent two years at the Southdale Dayton’s in management, and “had my hands on every aspect.”

Then he got an MBA and wrote a business plan for Twill, but waited to open it until he believed the timing was right.

Dayton says he learned that location is everything for retail. He set his sights exclusively on The Galleria, even though it’s more expensive than many other locations and he was only able to get 1,300 square feet, less than he wanted.

“It’s the No. 1 location in the Twin Cities. You have to pay a premium to get the No. 1 location,” Dayton says. “My negotiation was selling myself and my concept as the best store for them.”

He also believes that timing is critical. “I took a year and a half to do this. I just wanted to do it right. I’ve never said ‘that’s good enough’ in this process. I’ve always said, ‘that’s perfect,’” Dayton says.

Finally, he stresses the importance of his vendor list. “I really carefully hand-selected each vendor,” he says, then went deeper into the lines of each to get more items and private-label offerings.

Dayton says “it was a very sad day for me” when Target Corp. changed the Dayton department stores’ name to Marshall Field’s in 2001. He is now the only Dayton involved in retailing.

“I don’t think it hurts,” Dayton says about his surname. “The Dayton name, it was synonymous with retail. Everybody remembers Dayton’s. But I’m planning on writing my own chapter and my own era in retailing.”

Scott Dayton, Twill: 763.443.1494; sdayton@mn.rr.com; www.galleriaedina.com