Re: Target to close 11 stores before year end
Posted: January 15th, 2017, 9:59 pm
I have always felt Target was a bit of a joke. For all the bad reputations that Wal Mart has regarding many things (labor, putting small businesses out of business, etc.), Target operates in the same manner. What is even more interesting is typically Wal Mart's hourly employee wages are actually higher than Target, Wal Mart has more management in its stores than Target (higher paid positions), and Target has the same old thing of hiring mostly part time help, and all of the other things that Wal Mart is routinely "accused of doing" that are such bad things and make them an evil company.
With that said, Target throughout the 90's and into the early 00's seemed to be trend connected and have the right items at the right prices at the right time. They located stores in the right neighborhoods (never tried to serve any of the rough neighborhoods Wal Mart goes into, and in some cases has failed in) to capture this customer and it seems things worked out well for them for quite a while.
I believe Target lost its way when they started the "P Fresh" remodel program. The new store layouts did not make sense, the product mix stopped making sense, and the store remodels often did not flow well or present what used to be Target's stronger categories as well as previously. It seems like the trend right merchandise was in less demand as the economy faltered, and it was also not being presented as well in the store or highlighted as well, a double hit to that previous strong point.
Then there was Canada...
With that said, Target throughout the 90's and into the early 00's seemed to be trend connected and have the right items at the right prices at the right time. They located stores in the right neighborhoods (never tried to serve any of the rough neighborhoods Wal Mart goes into, and in some cases has failed in) to capture this customer and it seems things worked out well for them for quite a while.
I believe Target lost its way when they started the "P Fresh" remodel program. The new store layouts did not make sense, the product mix stopped making sense, and the store remodels often did not flow well or present what used to be Target's stronger categories as well as previously. It seems like the trend right merchandise was in less demand as the economy faltered, and it was also not being presented as well in the store or highlighted as well, a double hit to that previous strong point.
Then there was Canada...