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 . ...
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...FO and Executive Vice-President. Each department such as: financial services, HR, stores, property development and technology, all have their own selected Executive Vice-Presidents that oversee those operations .
Analysis and Evaluation
In our opinion we find that the annual report is represented in an investor friendly manor. Target presents much of the information the way they sell their product, in a fun, entertaining, and modern setting. The annual report was mainly aimed at smaller investors then to larger firms. There were more explanations in the financial statements then you usually see. The amount of detail given in an entertaining way shows their commitment to the customer and investor, as they continue to try and knock down the 600 pound gorilla, Wal-Mart.
As I have outlined in the charts below, there are various similarities and differences between Wal-Mart and Target. Wal-Mart is Target’s primary competitor, and vice versa. Wal-Mart has a strong market presence in its global markets and has a diverse range of products and services that are affordable and available in stock. Target, on the other hand, does not have a strong market presence or efficient product supply; however, Target’s physical environment and innovative products further the brand’s image and value. Unfortunately, Target and Wal-Mart are both e-commerce laggards with major competitors such as Amazon. Target faces complications with their pricing strategies and their product availability, which hinders their strength when competing
There are thirteen departments in total: finance and accounting, human resource management, marketing, men’s clothes, women’s clothes, shoes, hardware and automotive, music including audio and video equipment, toys, home and garden, small and large appliances, sports equipment, and furniture..
Target has many competitors in the market, and the level of competition is highly intense. Some of its main rivals are Wal-Mart stores, Home Depot and Costco Wholesale Corp. All of them produce similar products as well as offer almost the same services to their consumers. Naturally, the organization would need a strategy that helps it to stand out and to distinguish it from its competitors, thus, Target 's positioning was based on more than just pricing; it combined quality and style. This was the differentiation strategy that have always been applied since the launch of the organization.
Target has seen consistent growth since its inception, and has confidence that future growth will continue (see attached financial statements). In 2004, Target sold two of there business units, Mervyn's and Marshall Field's for approximately $4.9 billion. This allowed for extensive aggregate pretax cash that will be used for future store sites (as well as upper management bonuses). Target's Board also approved a $3 billion share repurchase program which they expect to complete in two to three years.
The first Target store had been opened in the year 1962 in the suburb of Roseville, Minneapolis with a tough focus on the easy shopping at a competitive amount of discount prices. In the year 2013 in which the Target remains very committed for providing an easy shopping experience for the guests by delivering the distinctive merchandise and the outstanding value. The Target currently has been the second largest retailer in America with Target.com and it is ranked as the mostly visited retail web sites (Target Co, 2013).
1. The Discount Department Store. Target prefers to be called as the latter instead of just department store. Expect more, pay less. With this tagline, the customers expect to purchase more items and pay the least amount possible. Not like other retail industries like its competitor Kmart and Wal-Mart, Target maintains retail value in terms of product offerings. They are known in their designer’s items in clothes, exclusive beauty products, categorized and functional goods, and seasonal offerings. It also sells the greatest number of gift cards among its rival business.
When the artists designed Target’s logo they thought about the usage of symbol, typography, word and image. The logo simulates an actual target with the use of a simplistic bullseye as the symbol and it embodies the idea that, “Yes, this is the place I want to shop at!”. Its trademark is distinctive and influential which makes it memorable to people around the world and is easily recognizable as the company’s symbol. Typography also plays a key role and the designer choose Helvetica Neue Bold font to clearly display the word “Target”. Target is written in all caps and graphically bolded to make the word stand out. The minimal text and Target logo are cohesive because they are both colored
The Target Corporation formerly known as “The Dayton Dry Goods Company” is a major retailing company that was founded in 1902 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by George Draper Dayton. It is ranked the second largest discount retailer in the United States and ranked thirty- sixth on the Fortune 500 as of 2013. The Target Corporation has been serving this nation with the best price possible goods since their expansion from “Dayton” and is continuously winning the hearts of consumers with their dedication and service. A phenomenal merchandising strategy and cross channeling has enabled this upscale discounter to serve their purpose of customer loyalty and fulfill their promise of “Expect more and Pay less”.
Target offers products like household goods and sporting equipment. Target and Wal-Mart are similar in the items that are sold. Target offers products for families for kids of all ages, plus has shopping for adult clothing. Target offers movies, CD's, and DVD's. Target also offers vacuum cleaners, bed and bath supplies, and kitchen supplies. Target is another example of a one stop shop.
In 1995, Target began offering credit which was known as the Target Guest Card (Target Through the Years). This was a big step for the company in establishing customer loyalty and relations through the use of technology. By 2004, the cards were renamed REDcards and were able to create data portfolios to help Target figure out product demands and create different routes to satisfy their customers even more (Target through the Years). This was a huge step for Target and their use of technology to better their
The main one is the established and loved brand name that is well liked by customers. Along with this, Target has the perception of being a fun place to shop that comes with an experience. Unlike Wal-Mart, Target has the ability to position themselves as a middle class, hip and more fashionable store to shoppers of this generation (Target Corporation SWOT Analysis, n.d.). Target’s weaknesses include tis business model based on supercenters and other big box stores which make it more difficult for them to reach shoppers who appreciate the smaller convenient stores. Along with this, they have been unable to change their business model to adapting times (Target Corporation SWOT Analysis, n.d.).
Target Corporation being a retail industry, the structure by product grouped to a functional level practices works the best. This is necessary for the other functional levels to collaborate as a single team to produce a positive customer shopping experience. Target Corporation further divided the functional level into a geographic area to exercise management tasks effectively with the given authority. Each structure of the management at the geographic level has a strategy discussion, a line of communication, growth, and progress reporting according to the corporate reporting plan. Jana Potts who manages Target Corporation store has closer to 300, 000 employees working for her and the effective can be improved if the role is broken within domestic into channels, stores into broader segments and a separate global position. The rapidly growing online channel and global expansion are necessary to support Target Corporation's strategy of internal growth and sustain it for long term sustainability. These structural changes will allow Target Corporation to connect with its employee at a functional level and bring changes faster, track and monitor the
In 1945, Sam Walton opened his first variety store and in 1962, he opened his first Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas. Now, Wal-Mart is expected to exceed “$200 billion a year in sales by 2002 (with current figures of) more than 100 million shoppers a week…(and as of 1999) it became the first (private-sector) company in the world to have more than one million employees.” Why? One reason is that Wal-Mart has continued “to lead the way in adopting cutting-edge technology to track how people shop, and to buy and deliver goods more efficiently and cheaply than any other rival.” Many examples exist throughout Wal-Mart’s history including its use of networks, satellite communication, UPC/barcode adoption and more. Much of the technology that was utilized helped Sam Walton more efficiently track what he originally noted on yellow legal pads. From the very beginning, he wanted to know what the customers purchased, what inventory was selling and what stock was not selling. Wal-Mart now “tracks on an almost instantaneous basis the ordering, shipment, and delivery of literally every item it sells, and that it requires its suppliers to hook into the system, enabling it to track most goods every step of the way from the time they’re made and packaged in the factories to when they’re carried out store doors by shoppers.” “Wal-Mart operates the world’s most powerful corporate computing system, with a capacity (as of late 1999) of more than 100 terabytes of data (A terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes, or roughly the equivalent of 250 million pages of text.).
According to Schafer (2013), Target Corporation desire is to improve Target Brand and be a better version of Target with an incremental products and services. Target Corporation acquisitions counter any threat from other rival online retailers and allow Target Corporation to cross promote between Target and the new entity strengthening its
On the Target website, it is stated that their mission is to, ”…fulfill the needs and fuel the potential of our guests. That means making Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional experiences—consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less.® brand promise” (Target Corp). It has 1,799 stores in the United States alone and has locations in India. In 2014, they made $72.6 Billion. Similar to Wal-Mart, Target sells household essentials, apparel, groceries, pet supplies. health, beauty items, home furnishing, entertainment, and electronics. Both also have their own branded items to sell at a lower price than the commercial brands, and each corporation also has a