Target Corporation

The Target Corporation, what used to be known as the Dayton Dry Goods Co., is an American retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902. In 1962, the first Target store was opened in Roseville, Minnesota. It is the fifth largest retailer by sales revenue in the United States behind Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Kroger and Costco. The company is ranked 33rd on the 2007 Fortune 500. Target operates its retailing business exclusively in the United States. It is a rival with Kmart and Wal-Mart. Target was listed in Internet Retailer's list of the top 500 retail web sites in 2007 also, this not only proves of brick and mortar sucsess but also online retail.

History

In 1902, George Dayton constructed a six-story building in downtown Minneapolis and began business. 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. In 1956, the Dayton Company opened another store in Southdale, the world's first fully-enclosed two-level shopping center in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The Dayton Company also became a retail chain by opening its second Dayton's store in Southdale.

In 1962, the Dayton Company, entered discount merchandising by opening its first Target discount store in Roseville, Minnesota, a suburb north of Saint Paul. 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 store, Target Stores, ended its first year with four units, all in Minnesota. 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 stores.

In 1968, Target changed its bullseye logo to the one currently in use, and expanded into St. Louis, Missouri, with two new stores. That year, Target Stores experienced a transition phase. 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. In 1970, Target Stores added seven new units, including two units in Wisconsin, and the 24-store chain reached $200 million in sales.

The Turnaround

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. 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. According to Business Daily, “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.[21][28] In 2002, it expanded to 1147 units, which included stores in San Leandro (Bayfair Mall), Fremont, and Hayward, California, 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. In May 2005, Target began operation in Bangalore, India, and these operations currently support all Target business units. In 2006, Target completed construction of the Robert J. Ulrich Center in Embassy Golf Links in Bangalore, and Target plans to continue its expansion into India with the construction of additional office space at the Mysore Corporate Campus. On January 9, 2008, Bob Ulrich, current CEO of Target Corporation, announced his plans to retire, and named Gregg Steinhafel as his successor. This is due to Target Corporation policy which requires its high ranking officers to retire at the age of 65. Ulrich's retirement as CEO will be effective May 1st, but he will remain the chairman of the board until the end of the 2008 fiscal year.”

Logistics

According to Retailin America.com, “Target is a chain of discount department stores that are about 95,000 to 135,000 square feet and carry regular products and goods, clothing, and a limited amount of groceries, mostly non-perishable. 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 or re-modeled in 2004 or later also include the expanded snack bar that is featured in Target Greatland locations. These generally include a Starbucks Coffee shop, a Pizza Hut Express, and a Taco Bell Express 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. The first few Target stores