Target Essay ⋆ Business Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Target is an upscale discount department store that provides high-quality, on-trend merchandise at very competitive prices in the United States, and recently in Bangalore, India. Target Corporation ranks among the top 20 corporate contributors in the nation, giving back $2 million each week to the communities it serves. The company now has more than 1,600 stores in 47 states, and employs more than 300,000 team members.

The Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) was originally known as the Dayton Dry Goods Co., and was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902. In 1962, the first Target store was opened in Roseville, Minnesota.

On March 10, 2004, Target Corporation hired Goldman Sachs Group to analyze options for selling its Marshall Field’s and Mervyns chains of department stores. A few months later, on July 31, 2004, Target Corporation sold the Marshall Field’s chain and several Mervyns stores to St. Louis, Missouri–based May Department Stores.

In 2005, Target reached 1,397 units and $52.6 billion in sales, and in 2006 it expanded to 1,488 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 announced his plans to retire as CEO and named Gregg Steinhafel as his successor. This is because of Target Corporation’s policy requiring its high-ranking officers to retire at the age of 65. Ulrich’s retirement as CEO was effective May 1, 2008, but he remained the chairman of the board through the end of the 2008 fiscal year.

Target Stores In The United States

The breakdown of Target stores in the 47 states it operates in is Alabama (18), Arizona (47), Arkansas (6), California (225), Colorado (38), Connecticut (16), Delaware (2), District of Columbia (1), Florida (118), Georgia (52), Idaho (6), Iowa (21), Illinois (82), Indiana (32), Kansas (18), Kentucky (12), Louisiana (14), Maine (5), Maryland (33), Massachusetts (30), Michigan (58), Minnesota (72), Mississippi (4), Missouri (33), Montana (7), Nebraska (14), Nevada (15), New Hampshire (8), New Jersey (38), New Mexico (9), New York (59), North Carolina (45), North Dakota (4), Ohio (63), Oklahoma (11), Oregon (18), Pennsylvania (48), Rhode Island (3), South Carolina (18), South Dakota (4), Tennessee (31), Texas (138), Utah (11), Virginia (51), Washington (34), West Virginia (5), Wisconsin (34), Wyoming (2).

Target also has 218 SuperTarget Stores in 22 states: Alabama (6), Arizona (6), California (3), Colorado (17), Florida (34), Georgia (10), Iowa (8), Illinois (12), Indiana (7), Kansas (6), Louisiana (4), Minnesota (24), Missouri (3), Nebraska (6), North Carolina (8), North Dakota (1), Oklahoma (4), Tennessee (4), Texas (43), Utah (6), Virginia (4), Wisconsin (2).

Its distribution centers in 26 states are as follows: Fridley, Minnesota; Tifton, Georgia; Tyler, Texas; West Jefferson, Ohio; Little Rock, Arkansas; Oconomowoc, Wisconsin; Wilton, New York; Midlothian, Texas; Fontana, California; Albany, Oregon; Huntsville, Alabama; Topeka, Kansas; Pueblo, Colorado; Indianapolis, Indiana; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Lugoff, South Carolina; Bakersfield, California; Stuarts Draft, Virginia; Phoenix, Arizona; Amsterdam, New York; Cedar Falls, Iowa; Rialto, California; Woodland,

California; Midway, Georgia; Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; DeKalb, Illinois. Target also maintains four import warehouses (Lacey, Virginia; Suffolk, Virginia; Rialto, California; Savannah, Georgia), and one fulfillment center servicing its online operations in Woodbury, Minnesota.

Target Subsidiaries

Target Financial Services (TFS): Issues Target’s credit cards, known as the Target REDcard, consisting of the Target VISA and the Target Card, issued through Target National Bank for consumers and through Target Bank for businesses.
Target Sourcing Services/The Associated Merchandising Corporation (TSS/AMC): Locates merchandise from around the world for Target and helps import the merchandise to the United States. TSS/AMC has 27 full-service offices, 48 quality-control offices, and seven commissionaires located throughout the world. TSS/AMC employs 1,200 people.
Target Commercial Interiors: Provides design services and furniture for office space and has six showrooms in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, including a first-of-its-kind retail concept store and showroom in Bloomington, Minnesota, that opened on June 23, 2005.
Target Brands: Owns and oversees the company’s private label products, including the grocery brands Archer Farms and Market Pantry, Sutton & Dodge, their premium meat line, and the electronics brand Trutech.
Target.com: Owns and oversees the company’s e-commerce initiatives, such as the Target.com domain. Founded in early 2000 as target.direct, it was formed by separating the company’s existing e-commerce operations from its retailing division, and combining it with its Rivertown Trading direct marketing unit into a stand-alone subsidiary.

Bibliography:

Willard N. Ander and Neil Z. Stern, Winning at Retail: Developing a Sustained Model for Retail Success (Wiley, 2004);
Manfred Krafft and Murali K. Mantrala, eds, Retailing in the 21st Century: Current and Future Trends (Springer, 2005);
Laura Rowley, On Target: How the World’s Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull’s-Eye (Wiley, 2003);
Target corporate, www.target.com (cited March 2009).

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