Target Corporation

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{{Infobox_Company | company_name = Target Corporation | company_logo = ] | company_type = [Public company ({{nyse|TGT-->) | company_slogan = ''Expect More. Pay Less.''| foundation = 1902 ([Minneapolis, Minnesota) | location = [Minneapolis, Minnesota, [United States | key_people = [Bob Ulrich, chairman and
chief executive officer | industry = Retail | num_employees = 352,000http://sites.target.com/themes/main/images/corporate/about/pdfs/corp_factcard_030807.pdf Corporate Fact Card (PDF), Target Corporation, March 8, 2007. | products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, home decor, housewares, furniture, lawn and garden, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, sporting goods, and pet products.| homepage = http://www.target.com/ www.target.com (Online store)http://www.targetcorp.com/ www.targetcorp.com (Corporate) | revenue = {{profit-->$59.490 billion United States dollar (2006)[http://investors.target.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=65828&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=967693 Target Corporation Fourth Quarter Earnings Per Share $1.29, Target Corporation, February 27, 2007. | net_income = {{profit-->$2.787 billion USD (2006)| -->Target Corporation (), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the fifth largest retailer by sales revenue in the United States behind Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Kroger and Costco. Top 100 Retailers: The Nation's Retail Power Players (PDF), Stores, July 2007. The company is ranked 33rd on the Fortune 1000. It sells more Stored-value card than any other U.S. retailer and is the fifth largest U.S. seller of music. Target operates its retailing business exclusively in the United States.

Target was listed in Internet Retailer's list of the top 500 retail web sites in 2007. Internet Retailer Top 500 Retail Web Sites. Internet Retailer, 2007 edition. Formerly traded as Dayton Hudson, Target is a component of the Standard and Poor's 500 index.

History 1902-1962: Dayton's In 1902, George Dayton constructed a six-story building in downtown Minneapolis and convinced R.S. Goodfellow Company to move its Goodfellows department store into it. The store's owner, Reuben Simon Goodfellow, retired and sold his interest in the store to George Dayton.Rowley, Laura (2003) On Target: How the World's Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull's-eye John Wiley & Sons; Hoboken, New Jersey. ISBN 0-471-25067-8. In 1903, the store changed its name to the Dayton Dry Goods Company, and it changed its name again to the Dayton Company in 1910. In the 1950s, it acquired the Portland, Oregon-based Lipmans department store company and operated it as a separate division. Lipman Wolfe and Co., June 24, 2006. In 1956, the Dayton Company opened Southdale Center, the world's first fully-enclosed two-level shopping center in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Dayton's and Southdale Stores, Rudder & Finn, October 7, 1956. The Dayton Company also became a retail chain by opening its second Dayton's store in Southdale. In 1962, the first Target store was opened in Roseville, Minnesota.

1962-1971: The founding of Target In 1962, the Dayton Company, using a concept developed by John F. Geisse, entered discount merchandising by opening its first Target discount store in Roseville, Minnesota, a suburb north of Saint Paul, Minnesota. The name "Target" originated from Dayton's publicity director, Stewart K. Widdess, and was intended to prevent consumers from associating the new discount store chain with the department store. The new subsidiary, Target Stores, ended its first year with four units, all in the Minneapolis area. Target Stores lost money in its initial years, but in 1965 it reported its first gain with sales reaching $39 million, allowing a fifth store to open in Minneapolis. In 1966, Bruce Dayton launched the B. Dalton Bookseller specialty chain, which became the largest hardcover bookseller in the United States. The bookseller chain was named after the founder, but with the "y" in Dayton replaced with an "l". Target Stores expanded outside of Minneapolis by opening two stores in Denver, Colorado, and sales exceeded $60 million. In 1967, the Dayton Corporation was established and it went public with its first offering of common stock, and it opened two more Target stores in Minnesota resulting in a total of nine units. From Roseville to Greatland, Target still hits the mark, Discount Store News, September 17, 1990.

In 1968, Target changed its bullseye logo to the one currently in use, and expanded into St. Louis, Missouri, with two new units. That year, Target Stores experienced a transition phase: Target's president and co-founder, Douglas J. Dayton, went back to the parent Dayton Corporation and was succeeded by William A. Hodder, and senior vice president and cofounder John Geisse left the company. He was later hired by St. Louis-based May Department Stores, where he founded the Venture Stores chain. Target Stores ended the year with 11 units and $130 million in sales. In 1969, it acquired the Lechmere electronics and appliances chain that operated in New England, and expanded Target Stores into Texas and Oklahoma with six new units and its first distribution center in Fridley, Minnesota. Lechmere, Inc. company history, FundingUniverse.com. The Dayton Company also merged with the Detroit-based Hudson's that year, to become the Dayton-Hudson Corporation consisting of Target and five major department store chains: Dayton's, Diamonds of Phoenix, Arizona, Hudson's, John A. Brown of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Lipmans. In 1970, Target Stores added seven new units, including two units in Wisconsin, and the 24-unit chain reached $200 million in sales. That year, Dayton-Hudson also acquired the Team Electronics specialty chain that was headed by Stephen L. Pistner. Ulrich moving up at DH: speculation mounts about naming a successor - Robert Ulrich becomes chairman of Dayton Hudson Corp, Discount Store News, Richard Halverson, May 2, 1994.

1971-1982: Turnaround is a single red ring with a red dot in the middle, and its wordmark uses the Helvetica font. The Helvetica Hegemony, Slate, Mia Fineman, May 25, 2007.In 1971, it acquired sixteen stores from the Arlan's department store chain in Colorado, Iowa, and Oklahoma. That year, two of those units reopened as Target stores, and in 1972 the other fourteen were reopened to make a total of 46 units. This caused the chain to experience another major transition phase: It reported its first decrease in profits since its initial years, as a result of the chain's rapid expansion and the top executives' lack of experience in discount retailing. Its loss in operational revenue was due to overstocking and carrying goods over multiple years regardless of inventory and storage costs. By then, Dayton Hudson considered selling off the Target Stores subsidiary. In 1973, Stephen Pistner, who had already revived Team Electronics and would later revive Montgomery Ward and Ames (discount stores), was named chief executive officer of Target Stores, and Kenneth A. Macke was named Target Stores's senior vice president. The new management saved the chain by marking down merchandise to clean out its overstock and by allowing only one new unit to open that year. In 1975, it opened two stores, reaching 49 units in nine states and $511 million in sales. That year, the Target discount chain became the company's top revenue producer.

In 1976, Target opened four new units and reached $600 million in sales. That year, Kenneth Macke was promoted to president and chief executive officer of Target Stores. In 1977, Target Stores opened seven new units, and Stephen Pistner became president of Dayton Hudson, with Kenneth Macke succeeding him as chairman and chief executive officer of Target Stores. The senior vice president of Dayton Hudson, Bruce G. Allbright, moved to Target Stores and succeeded Kenneth Macke as president. In 1978, the company acquired Mervyns and became the 7th largest retailer in the United States. Target Stores opened eight new stores that year, including its first shopping mall anchor store in Grand Forks, North Dakota. In 1979, it opened 13 new units to a total of 80 Target stores in eleven states and $1.12 billion in sales. In 1980, it sold its Lipmans department store chain of six units to Marshall Field's, which rebranded the stores as Frederick & Nelson. That year, Target Stores opened seventeen new units, including expansions into Tennessee and Kansas. It also acquired the Ayr-Way discount retail chain of 40 stores and one distribution center from Indianapolis, Indiana-based L.S. Ayres & Company, which it reopened in 1981 as Target stores. That year, Stephen Pistner left the parent company to join Montgomery Ward, and Kenneth Macke succeeded him as president of Dayton Hudson. Calling It Quits, Time, John S. Demott, May 20, 1985. Floyd Hall succeeded Kenneth Macke as chairman and chief executive officer of Target Stores. Bruce Allbright left the company to work for F. W. Woolworth Company, where he was named chairman and chief executive officer of Woolco. Bob Ulrich also became president and chief executive officer of Diamond's Department Stores in 1981. Leadership paves the way to company strength, DSN Retailing Today, April 10, 2006. In addition to the Ayr-Way acquisition, Target Stores expanded by opening fourteen new units and a third distribution center in Little Rock, Arkansas, to a total of 151 units and $2.05 billion in sales.

1982-2000: West and east coast expansion Since the launch of Target Stores to this point, it had focused its expansion in the Central United States. In 1982, it expanded into the West Coast of the United States by acquiring 33 FedMart stores in Arizona, California, and Texas and opening a fourth distribution center in Los Angeles. 1962-1992 Dayton's dream is on Target, Discount Store News, April 20, 1992. That year, Bruce Allbright returned to Target Stores as its vice chairman and chief administrative officer, and the chain expanded to 167 units and $2.41 billion in sales. The 33 units acquired from FedMart were reopened as Target stores in 1983. Also in 1983, it founded the Plums off-price apparel specialty store chain with four units in the Los Angeles area, with an intended audience of middle-to-upper income women.

In 1984, it sold its Plums chain to Ross Stores after only 11 months of operation, and it sold its Diamond's and John A. Brown department store chains to Dillard's. Plums fall doesn't cause too many shock waves, Discount Store News, Sidney Rutberg, February, 1984. Dayton Hudson, sour on Plums, sells its 11-month-old off-pricer, Discount Store News, March 19, 1984. Dayton-Hudson In Dillard Deal, The New York Times, August 10, 1984. Meanwhile, Target Stores added nine new units to a total of 215 stores and $3.55 billion in sales. Floyd Hall left the company and Bruce Allbright succeeded him as chairman and chief executive officer of Target Stores. In May 1984, Bob Ulrich became president of the Dayton Hudson Department Store Division, and in December 1984 became president of Target Stores.

In late 1986, the company acquired 50 Gemco stores from Lucky Stores in California, allowing Target Stores to become the dominant retailer in Southern California as the chain grew to a total of 246 units. It also opened a fifth distribution center in Pueblo, Colorado. Dayton-Hudson sold the B. Dalton Bookseller chain of several hundred units to Barnes & Noble. In 1987, the acquired Gemco units reopened as Target units, and Target Stores expanded into Michigan and Nevada, including six new units in Detroit, Michigan, to compete directly against Detroit-based Kmart, leading to a total of 317 units in 24 states and $5.3 billion in sales. Bruce Allbright became president of Dayton Hudson, and Bob Ulrich succeeded him as chairman and chief executive officer of Target Stores. In 1988, Target Stores expanded into the Northwestern United States by opening eight units in Washington and three in Oregon, to a total of 341 units in 27 states. It also opened a distribution center in Sacramento, California, and replaced the existing distribution center in Indianapolis, Indiana, from the Ayr-Way acquisition with a new one.

In 1989, it expanded by 60 units, especially in the Southeastern United States where it entered Florida, Georgia (U.S. state), North Carolina, and South Carolina to a total of 399 units in 30 states with $7.51 billion in sales. This included an acquisition of 31 more stores from Federated Department Stores' Gold Circle and Richway chains in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, which were later reopened as Target stores. It also sold its Lechmere chain that year to a group of investors including Berkshire Partners, a leveraged buy-out firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, eight Lechmere executives, and two local shopping mall executives.

In 1990, it acquired Marshall Field's from BATUS Inc. and Target Stores opened its first #Target Greatland general merchandise superstore in Apple Valley, Minnesota. In 1991, Target Stores had opened 43 Target Greatland units, and sales reached $9.01 billion. In 1992, it created a short-lived chain of apparel specialty stores called Everyday Hero with two stores in Minneapolis. They attempted to compete against other apparel specialty stores such as Gap (clothing retailer) by offering private label apparel such as its Merona brand. In 1994, Kenneth Macke left the company, and Bob Ulrich succeeded him as the new chairman of Dayton-Hudson.

In 1995, Target Stores opened its first #SuperTarget hypermarket in Omaha, Nebraska. Its store count increased to 670 with $15.7 billion in sales, and in 1996 to 736 units with $17.8 billion in sales. In 1997, both of the Everyday Hero stores were closed. Target closes Everyday Hero in Mall of America, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, September 11, 1997. Target's store count rose to 796 units, and sales rose to $20.2 billion. In 1998, it acquired Greenspring Company's multi-catalog direct marketing unit, the Rivertown Trading Company, from Minnesota Communications Group, and it acquired the Associated Merchandising Corporation, an apparel supplier. MPR parent sells Rivertown Trading Co. to Dayton Hudson, Minnesota Public Radio, March 23, 1998. Associated Merchandising Corporation, The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand. Target Stores grew to 851 units and $23.0 billion in sales. In 1999, it acquired Fedco and its ten stores in a move to expand its SuperTarget operation into Southern California. It reopened six of these stores under the Target brand and sold the other four locations to Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and the Ontario, California Police Department, and its store count rose to 912 units in 44 states with sales reaching $26.0 billion. Target buys Fedco for SuperT, Discount Store News, July 26, 1999. On September 7, 1999, it relaunched its Target.com website as an electronic commerce site and as part of its discount retail division. The site initially offered merchandise that differentiated its stores from its competitors, such as its Michael Graves brand. Target may step up NE rollouts; debuts long-awaited e-tail site, Discount Store News, September 20, 1999.

2000-Present: Target Corporation In January 2000, Dayton Hudson Corporation changed its name to Target Corporation and its ticker symbol to TGT; by then, between 75 percent and 80 percent of the corporation's total sales and earnings came from Target Stores while the other four chains—Dayton's, Hudson's, Marshall Field's, and Mervyns—were used to fuel the growth of the discount chain, which expanded to 977 stores in 46 states and sales reached $29.7 billion by the end of the year. It also separated its e-commerce operations from its retailing division, and combined it with its Rivertown Trading unit into a stand-alone subsidiary called target.direct. Target is the name, Discount Store News, February 21, 2000. In 2001, it announced that its Dayton's and Hudson's stores would operate under the Marshall Field's brand, which was the most recognizable name in the Department Stores Division. Target Stores expanded into Maine, reaching 1053 units in 47 states and $33.0 billion in sales. Target Corporation 2000 Annual Report, Target Corporation. Target Corporation 2001 Annual Report, Target Corporation. In 2002, it expanded to 1147 units and sales reached $37.4 billion, and in 2003 it reached 1225 units and $42.0 billion in sales.

On March 10, 2004, Target Corporation announced it had hired Goldman Sachs Group to analyze options for selling its Marshall Field's and Mervyns chains of department stores. Three months later, on June 9, 2004, Target Corporation announced its sale of the Marshall Field's chain and several Mervyns stores to St. Louis, Missouri-based May Department Stores, which became effective July 31, 2004. On July 21, 2004, it announced the sale of Mervyns to an investment consortium including Sun Capital Partners, Inc., Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., Lubert-Adler/ Klaff and Partners, L.P., which was finalized September 2. Target Stores expanded to 1308 units and reached $46.8 billion USD in sales. In 2005, it reached 1397 units and $52.6 billion in sales, and in 2006 it expanded to 1488 units and sales reached $59.4 billion.

Subsidiaries . Target Lights create evolving Minneapolis landmark, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, April 11, 2003.Today, Target Corporation has its headquarters on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, near the site of the original Goodfellows store. It operates its main retail subsidiary, Target Stores, under the banner of 'Target'. The company owns several other subsidiaries, which include:



On Wednesday, September 12th, 2007, a public announcement was issued, hinting at a possible sale of credit card receivables, most likely as a result of investor pressure. The company issued an official statement: "... we will review ownership alternatives for our credit card receivables, as well as re-evaluate our use of debt in our capital structure and pace of share repurchases. The review is expected to be complete by the end of December. As a result of this announcement, we will analyze whether Target—or a financial institution—is better suited to own our credit card receivables and generate incremental financial returns." The move is widely seen as a public exercise to appease activist investor interest in a sale of receivables, with a probable outcome of no sale as a result of TFS accounting for 15% of total corporate profits, among many other reasons.



Target Stores Target Corporation's main retailing subsidiary, Target Stores, is a United States discount retail chain consisting of 1,502 stores (as of January 4, 2007). Fast Facts, Target Corporation, September 18, 2006. It has units in all states except for Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont, operating under the mastheads of Target, Target Greatland, and SuperTarget. The chain was founded by Douglas J. Dayton and John Geisse, and the first Target store "T-1" opened on May 1, 1962 in Roseville, Minnesota. That store was closed and demolished on January 8, 2005, to make room for a SuperTarget, which opened on October 9 of the same year. Target to open two new SuperTargets in Twin Cities, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, October 20, 2004. Target Corporation has aggressive plans to have 2,000 stores open by the year 2010, 2005 Annual Report (PDF), Target Corporation. including expanding to Alaska and Hawaii. Wasilla Target store no longer a rumor, The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Russell Stigall, March 30, 2007. Target plans expansion to Hawaii, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, February 13, 2006.

Target's retail operations are limited to the United States. Aside from the leased name and logo, the Target (Australia) is not related to Target Corporation.

Target Target is a chain of discount department stores that are about 95,000 to 135,000 square feet (12,000 m²) and carry hardlines ("regular" products and goods), softlines (clothing), and a limited amount of groceries, mostly non-perishable. Specifically, Target stores carry clothing, shoes, jewelry, health and beauty products, electronics, compact discs, DVDs, bedding, kitchen supplies, sporting goods, toys, pet supplies, automotive supplies, hardware supplies, and food. They also carry seasonal merchandise such as patio furniture during the summer and Christmas decorations during November and December. Many stores may also have one-hour photo processing, a portrait studio, an optical store, a pharmacy, and a garden center. Stores opened and re-modeled in 2004 or later also include the expanded snack bar that is featured in Target Greatland locations. These generally include a Starbucks shop, a Pizza Hut, and a Taco Bell in addition to Target's Food Avenue. It has also been reported that Cold Stone Creamery and Target have signed a deal to test in-store ice cream shops in four stores. Cold Stone Creamery to Open Test Stores in Target, Chain Store Age, May 5, 2006.

The first few Target stores included leased supermarkets in addition to general merchandise, which during the time was a common practice by discount retailers as they attempted to offer a one-stop shopping experience to customers. Douglas Dayton stated in 1967 that "we believe that the discount-grocery store is a necessary ingredient in what we offer the customer. After all, food sales are about 40% of all department store-type merchandise sales, so the two kinds of stores go hand-in-hand and are what people think of when they think of a discount store." However, by the end of the decade, Target started moving away from this general merchandise and leased supermarket practice. In 1969, Target opened its first store consisting of only general merchandise.

In the past, the one-hour photo processing labs were not owned by Target, but by Qualex, a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak and were staffed by employees of Qualex, not Target. However, in June 2005, Target spokeswoman Brie Heath announced that Target Corporation will replace the Qualex photo labs with their own labs running Kodak equipment, and will staff them with Target employees. Unlike the previous Qualex labs, all photo processing is done "in house", including next-day, digital, and Kodak Perfect Touch processing, although a few labs have been replaced with "send-out" only service with a self-service Kodak Picture Maker kiosk. A select number of "test" stores are running with Fujifilm equipment instead of Kodak. BJ's closes photofinishing kiosks, Photo Marketing Newline, June 22, 2005. Target has also partnered with Yahoo! Photos for online photo services, including ordering prints online for one-hour store pickup.

Target Greatland , New Jersey. Unlike smaller Target stores, Target Greatlands feature double entrances.

Target Greatland is a chain of general merchandise superstores that are about 150,000 square feet (14,000 m²). They carry a larger selection of general merchandise than a basic Target store; however, they do not have a full-line of groceries like meat, bakery, deli, produce and dairy. The first Target Greatland opened in Apple Valley, Minnesota, in 1990, but has since been remodeled and expanded, becoming a SuperTarget. Throughout 2005, the company reorganized the sales floor, allowing them to double the grocery space they had before. Prominent features include double entrances on single level stores along with an expanded snack bar. The snack bar may include a Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and/or a Starbucks. The construction of new Target Greatland stores has been phased out in favor of building SuperTarget prototypes or regular Target prototypes with expanded sales floors. The last Target Greatland opened in 2006 and is located in Staten Island, New York City.

====SuperTarget====, Utah. Shown is the merchandise loading lane between the double entrances on the front of the building.SuperTarget is a chain of hypermarkets that are about 175,000 square ft. (16,000 m²). Like Target Greatland, SuperTarget features double entrances on one story stores; some also have between the double entrances a merchandise loading lane as a prominent feature of the building. The store logo often spells "Super" in green cursive, but recently, newer ones are signed in red block letters in the Helvetica font that the word "Target" uses. They carry everything a Target or a Target Greatland does as well as a grocery store. Many SuperTargets may also feature a Starbucks shop, a Pizza Hut, a Taco Bell,(which is currently being phased out at SuperTarget locations) Jamba Juice, a pharmacy, a portrait studio, a one-hour photo processing lab, an optical store, or a Wells Fargo Bank. Unlike many other hypermarkets in the United States (such as Wal-Marts and Meijer), SuperTargets are not open twenty four hours.

In the past, some SuperTargets featured an E*TRADE trading station instead of a Wells Fargo Bank. However, in June 2003, E*TRADE decided to remove all E*TRADE branches from their SuperTarget locations E-Trade closes trading stations, San Francisco Business Times, June 6, 2003. without advance notice. This sudden move was not initiated by Target Corporation. Mitchell Caplan, E*TRADE's CEO, said that "We were not able to make it into a profitable distribution channel...e're better off exiting." E*TRADE also sent a letter of notification to their customers informing them about this change.

The first SuperTarget opened in Omaha, Nebraska in 1995, and the second SuperTarget opened in Lawrence, Kansas, later that same year. Target History Timeline (PDF), Target Corporation. As of January 4, 2007, Target operated 182 SuperTarget stores in 21 U.S. states.

Urban stores , downtown Minneapolis target, two stories with a varied facade to mimic multiple buildings; the tower in the background is Target Corp. headquarters.While many Target stores share a fairly common big-box store layout, the company has been known to be flexible with its designs. Target operates unique stores across the country in urban locations or within a mall where a standard one story building would not be feasible. These stores encompass multiple floors with both sales floor area and off stage areas such as offices or storage rooms spanning a number of these floors. Vertical transportation is provided in the store by escalator, elevator, or Vermaport, a specialized escalator for carts. Target currently operates 34 multi-level stores.

Target has used their urban store concept to open multiple story stores in city centers such as West Hollywood, California, Brooklyn, or Minneapolis, within the corporation's headquarters complex. Building stores in these environments carries an elevated cost which is offset by the high potential for business that these stores can bring in. The Target store located on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis features a three-story glass entrance and a design that sets it apart from suburban Target stores. This urban store alone cost Target Corporation 16.3 million United States dollar. Minneapolis Target store opens, but controversy doesn't end, Minnesota Public Radio, October 9, 2001. This concept has also been used to convert Target stores from former Montgomery Ward and Younkers stores. On the Bull's Eye, Buildings Magazine, June 2003.

Distribution centers As of January 4, 2007, Target Corporation operated 25 distribution centers across the United States. Target opened two new distribution centers in 2006 (Rialto, California and DeKalb, Illinois) to support the growth of its stores. With the exception of vendor supplied items, such as greeting cards and soda, these distribution centers ship items directly to Target stores. Also, unlike Wal-Mart, Target's grocery selection does not come from their own distribution centers, but from the companies that Target has partnered up with. For example, the produce carried in SuperTargets comes from Supervalu (United States) distribution centers, except in Colorado, which are serviced through FreshPack Produce Inc., of Denver Colorado.

The retail chain's first distribution center opened in Fridley, Minnesota, in 1969. It included a computerized distribution system and was known as the Northern Distribution Center. During this time, the chain consisted of seventeen stores after having expanded into Oklahoma and Texas.

On August 9, 2004, Target announced to their suppliers that they were going to perform a trial on the effects of RFID on the efficiency of supply chain management in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. This trial involved one Target distribution center and ten nearby Target stores. Here, RFID tags would be placed on the bar codes of pallets and cartons to track the goods from the suppliers to the distribution center, and from the distribution center to the stores. Target Meets With Suppliers About RFID Plans, InformationWeek, August 10, 2004.

Differentiation Target Corporation competes directly against other discount retailers, mainly Wal-Mart and Kmart. Since its founding in 1962, it has intended to differentiate its stores from its competitors by offering what it believes is more upscale, trend-forward merchandise at low cost, as opposed to the traditional concept of focusing on low-priced goods. Douglas J. Dayton, one of the Dayton brothers, explained John Geisse's concept:

As a result, Target stores tend to attract younger and more educated and affluent customers than its competitors. Currently, the median Target shopper is 43 years old, which is the youngest of all major discount retailers that Target competes directly against. The median household income of Target's customer base is roughly $58,000 United States dollar. Roughly seventy-six percent of Target customers are female, and more than 40 percent have children at home. About eighty percent have attended college and 43 percent have completed college. Ninety-seven percent of American consumers recognize the Target bullseye logo.

Target refers to itself as a "discount department store" instead of just a discount store. Target stores do not play ambient music, commonly known as elevator music and often distributed by Muzak. However, several Target stores feature a Starbucks, and those do play music - but only in the Starbucks centers. It also does not promote items or services through its public address system. Target designs its stores to be more attractive than Wal-Mart by having wider aisles, drop ceilings, a more attractive presentation of merchandise and generally cleaner fixtures. In addition, special attention is given to the design of the store environment: graphics reinforce Target's advertising imagery and shelves are dressed with contemporary signage, backdrops and liners, often printed on inexpensive material such as paper, corrugated and foam boards. Some stores—particularly those around international airports—have a bullseye (target) painted on the roof that can be seen from above: The Alexandria, Virginia store, located near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is one such Target unit, as is the Rosemont, Illinois store next to O'Hare International Airport. Target on roof top via Google Maps. Accessed January 2007.

Some Target shoppers jokingly refer to a Target store as "Tar-zhay" or Targé (Tar-jé) (International Phonetic Alphabet: ), as though it were a French language word, a reference to its more upscale image compared to its competitors. This trend is incorrectly believed to have been started by Oprah Winfrey, when she used the French pronunciation to refer to the store on her television show. The pronunciation has been traced back to 1962, the year the first Target store opened. This pronunciation has also led some people to incorrectly believe that the company is French-owned.

Target calls its customers "guests", its employees "team members", and its supervisors "team leaders". It derived this practice in 1989 from The Walt Disney Company.

Target stores do not sell firearms. In the early 1990s, they stopped selling toy guns that looked realistic and limited its toy gun selection to ones that were brightly colored and oddly shaped. They do not sell tobacco products and have not sold cigarettes since 1996. Corporate Responsibility Report (PDF), Target Corporation, January 31, 2006. Unlike Wal-Mart, they sell "explicit" CDs and "racy" magazines such as Maxim (magazine) and FHM.

Target has many exclusive deals with various designers, including Isaac Mizrahi, Michael Graves, Mossimo, Fiorucci, and Liz Lange, among others. To further increase their fashion profile, Target also created its fashion-forward GO International line, which hires famous designers to design collections available only for a few months. Target, after hiring architect Michael Graves to design the scaffolding used to renovate the Washington Monument and contributing $6 million USD to the restoration plan, introduced its first designer line of products in 1999, the Michael Graves Collection of housewares and home decor products. Is Target making a Graves mistake?, Discount Store News, February 8, 1999. Wal-Mart and Kmart have followed Target's lead by signing exclusive designers to their stores as well. Target also partners with well-established national brands to create exclusive collections for its stores. Recently, Sony created a line of electronics under the Sony LIV name geared towards women. The collection included a CD player that resembled a purse, and a CD player that was equipped to be mounted under the kitchen counter. Another example of this is Target having an exclusive deal with Food Network for selling DVDs of TV shows featuring popular chefs such as Rachael Ray, Alton Brown, and Paula Deen. In July 2006, Target started selling two-tone pink edition Apple Computer iPods through a partnership with Colorware. Sometimes manufacturers will create red-colored items, exclusively for Target. In 2002, Nintendo produced a red List of Game Boy colors and styles#Special Edition Variants 5 of the Game Boy Advance, which featured the Target logo above the screen. Target Gets Exclusive New GBA Color!, Nintendo World Report, Billy Berghammer, November 25, 2002.

=====GiftCards=====The Target GiftCard is the retailing division's stored-value card or gift card. Target sells more gift cards than any other retailer in the United States and is one of the top sellers, by dollars and units, in the world. Target Corporation’s Third Quarter Earnings Release conference call, Securities Information from the SEC EDGAR database, November 11, 2004. The unique designs of their cards contribute to their higher sales. Past and current designs include lenticular, "scratch and sniff" (such as peppermint during the Christmas season), glow in the dark, LED light-up, a gift card on the side of a Soap bubble, a gift card that can function as a CD-ROM, and even a giftcard that allows the sender to record a voice message. A current environmentally friendly giftcard is made from bioplastic manufactured from corn. Target's Bioplastic Gift Card, treehugger, January 31, 2006. Target rolled out a new MP3 Player giftcard for the 2006 holiday season. It holds 12 songs and must be purchased with an initial value of at least $50.

Many of these design ideas are not used by any other retailer in the United States. It is noted that some of these unique design ideas are patented, and these patents are assigned to the Target Brands subsidiary. For example, some such Target GiftCard designs feature a wooden front side. On May 24, 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted US patent D505,450 for the "ornamental design for a credit or stored value card with wood layer" to inventors Amy L. Lauer and John D. Mayhew.: Credit or stored value card with wood layer, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. US patent 7004398, for the "stored-value card assembly including a stored-value card, an edible product, and a wrapper", was granted to Michael R. Francis and Barry C. Brooks on February 28, 2006.: Stored-value card with edible product, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Both of these patents have been assigned to Target Brands, Inc.

ClearRx In 2005, Target introduced a major revision of Prescription drug bottles, which it calls the ClearRx system. The redesigned bottles are color coded, flattened-out and turned upside down providing more room for the label. This system was based on the patent US patent application 20030214129: Medication packaging and labeling system, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. by student Deborah Adler and was named one of Time (magazine) Most Amazing Inventions of 2005. Best Inventions 2005: Healthy Options, Time, November 21, 2005.

Philanthropy Target Corporation is consistently ranked as one of the most philanthropic companies in the country. According to a November 2005 Forbes article, it ranked as the highest cash-giving company in America in percentage of income given (2.1%). The Most Charitable Companies, Forbes, November 14, 2005. Target donates around 5 percent of its pre-tax operating profit; it gives over $3 million a week (up from $2 million in years prior) to the communities in which it operates. It also gives a percentage of charges from its Target Visa to schools designated by the cardholders. To date, Target has given over $150 million to schools across the United States through this program. Target's corporate by-laws state it must give 5 percent of its pre-tax profits to charity.

Further evidence of Target's philanthropy can be found in the Target House complex in Memphis, Tennessee, a long-term housing solution for families of patients at the city's St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The corporation led the way with more than $27 million in donations, which made available 96 fully furnished apartments for families needing to stay at St. Jude over 90 days.

Target has a standard no-solicitation rule at its properties, as it seeks to provide a "distraction-free shopping experience for its guests." Exemptions to this policy were previously made for the Salvation Army red kettles and bell-ringers outside Target stores during the holidays through Christmas. In 2004, however, Target asked the organization to explore alternate methods to partner with Target. Target donates to local Salvation Army chapters through its grant program and annually to the United Way of America (the Salvation Army is a member of the United Way coalition).

In 2005, Target and the Salvation Army Target and The Salvation Army Announce Partnership, The Salvation Army, November 14, 2005. created a joint effort called "The Target/Salvation Army Wish List," where online shoppers could donate goods to the organization for Hurricane victims by buying them directly from Target.com between November 25, 2005, and January 25, 2006. In 2006, they created another joint effort called "The Target/Salvation Army Angel Giving Tree," Target Launches Multi-Faceted Christmas Partnership With The Salvation Army, The Salvation Army, November 14, 2006. which is an online version of the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program; Salvation Army Giving Tree, Target.com. in addition to donating proceeds made from the sales of limited edition Harvey Lewis angel ornaments within Target's stores. During the Thanksgiving holiday of 2006, Target and the Salvation Army partnered with magician David Blaine to send several families on a shopping spree the morning of Black Friday (shopping). The challenge held that if Blaine could successfully work his way out of a spinning gyroscope by the morning of Black Friday, then several families would receive $500 shopping certificates. The challenge was completed successfully by Blaine.

During disasters, Target has been a major benefactor for relief efforts. Target provided monetary and product donations during the September 11th terrorist attacks on the U.S.; it also donated money for relief efforts for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in South Asia. Most recently, Target donated $1.5 million (

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