Target Corporation

Company Profile and History

Target Corporation is an upscale discounter providing high quality, on-trend merchandise at attractive prices in a clean, spacious and guest friendly store. Target Corporation also operates their online business at Target.com . According to the company' history report Target began as Marshall Field & Co in 1881 then in 1902 George Dayton opened a Goodfellows in downtown Minneapolis. One year later they founded their first Dry Goods Store and in 1911 they became known as the Dayton Company. In 1962 they opened their first Target store selling discounted merchandise. In 1967, the Dayton Company had their first public offering of common stock, and then in 1969 they merged with J.L Hudson Company to become the Dayton Hudson Corporation. The seventies brought bigger and better things for the company; in 1975 Target became the number one revenue producer for the Dayton Hudson Corporation. Dayton Hudson Corporation became the seventh largest U.S. retailer in 1978 when they acquired Mervyn's.

In the eighties Target was able to introduce electronic scanning with the checkout to become more efficient in all of their stores by expediting distribution center delivery processes. The nineties brought big successes for Target as they acquired Marshall Field's and opened their first Target Greatland in 1990. In 1995 with the introduction of their new credit card they also opened their first SuperTarget in Omaha, Nebraska. The new millennium brought about major change for the company as they changed their name in 2000 from the Dayton Hudson Corporation to Target Corporation. In 2004 they sold Marshall Field's and Mervyn's to solely concentrate on Target .

Target's Vision Statement

Target's mission statement is based on four key elements they believe is essential to their business: consistently delighting their customers, creating an efficient workforce, generating consistent growth for shareholders, and investing back in the communities. Target published for the first time in 2004 their Corporate Responsibility Report. This report provides information on Target's social, environmental, economic initiatives, and how well they are performing. Target's social programs vary from community to community but also are implemented from a global perspective.

Target's Objectives

To accomplish the aforementioned vision statement, Target has come up with many different ways to fulfill their goals. Target has been trying to delighting their customers for years. They are constantly looking for better prices to fulfill their credo of, "Expect More. Pay Less."

Target has incorporated three more designers into their merchandise line in the last few months, but at the low cost of what customers expect. More food and grocery are being offered at Target stores annually. Target is not only looking on how to improve the merchandise for the customer but also the shopping experience: faster checkout lines with better technology, more floor staff to help customer find what they are after, and cleanliness are all crucial to the customer's frequency.

By creating an efficient workforce Target has been able to grow. Target currently employs 300,000 employees nationally. Target believes that a diverse workforce is an efficient workforce; Target is a participant in Project Equality, a program for diversity and equality in the workplace.

Consistent growth for the shareholders is the driving force of Target's strategies. By paying attention to trend and creating innovative products and strong communities Target has been able to keep growing. Recently J.P. Morgan analyst Charles Grom moved Target's stocks to the buy category because of good growth over 2005 and increasing potential. Target has been doing so well that on January 12, 2006 Target declared a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per common share. Also, a Target press release dated Feb 2nd stated that January's sales from continuing operations are up 14.1 percent.

Target believes in support of local communities. They put into effect many programs to help local charities and events. Target gives more then two million dollars each week to a variety of different programs, from education to the arts. Also there is the Target House, which helps family traveling to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Target is a firm believer in community building and it shows through there extensive community programs shown not only in their annual, but also in their corporate responsibility report.

Company Trends

Target has become the number two ranked retailer in the U.S. behind only Wal-Mart. Their top three competitors are Wal-Mart, Costco Wholesale, and Kmart. Some of the competitors we do not normally think about are Home Depot, and EBay. In 2005 the rankings among total revenues were Wal-mart 287 billion, Home Depot 73 billion, Costco 52 billion, Target 46 billion, and EBay at 3 billion. Gross profit were as follows, Wal-Mart made 68 billion, Home Depot at 24 billion, Target at 15 billion, , Costco Wholesale at 6 billion, Kmart at 5 billion, and EBay at 2 billion .

On October 7, 2005 Target announced its largest mass opening in their history as they opened sixty new stores ranging from California to Virginia . Target in trying to keep up with its biggest competitor Wal-Mart, and is following suit by opening SuperTargets; these stores contain everything from clothing to groceries. Some controversies have come up because many people feel these giant stores shut down local home based businesses. But some welcome SuperTargets; in the coming months Target is planning to open a SuperTarget store in Indio California. From an article in The Desert Sun a resident Bill Reiser says "About time they put in a grocery store, that's for sure." Having a store closer would be nice he adds, as these people living along I-10 usually have to drive to La Quinta for a gallon of milk. With the addition of a SuperTarget in their area Indio's residents will no longer have to go out of their way to get basic groceries .

Target continues to grow year after year and eventually they will probably end up like McDonalds, one on every corner. The fact they strive to be the best and continue to gain more and more respect shows their commitment to excellence. Target continues to increase sales every year and give more and more back as well. Target is located in 47 states excluding Hawaii, Alaska, and Vermont with 1400 stores. There are 158 SuperTargets in 21 states with 23 regional distribution centers and 3 import warehouses.

Products and Service

Target