Target 2022

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storewanderer
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Re: Target 2022

Post by storewanderer »

ClownLoach wrote: November 4th, 2022, 8:48 am Went to what is known as the "Disneyland Target" yesterday in Garden Grove, CA. Location on Harbor Blvd. About two miles south of the park. This is a very busy store, the Target my parents took me to shop in when I was a kid. Store was recently remodeled again and I saw a few interesting changes.

First, this location went to concrete floors and they are probably the worst ones I've seen in any Target. The building is one of the original California Target stores, I believe it was a FedMart. Nobody in their right mind would try to dig up that nasty subfloor. Trenches, pipe caps and all sorts of actual trip hazards especially around the front end although they somehow managed to remove the glue lines from the linoleum. Zero shine or polish. Really made me wonder what was the point of the conversion. This was worse than some of the horrific Ralphs and Fred Meyer conversions where they wound up going back and putting linoleum back down.

Second, this store is the first I've seen in California to implement the full next generation RFID system that they were testing in Las Vegas. It's an even newer version. There are giant 24 inch wide Zebra RFID antennas spread across the entire ceiling, wide RFID readers hanging over every door, etc. So Target must have found a way around the California laws that supposedly restrict the usage of this technology if it could be considered "customer tracking.". With the implementation they have which includes overhead door canopy readers, and even readers over the bathroom hallway, they can easily combine camera surveillance/facial recognition plus the triangulation of RFID tags to track exactly what items you have in your possession in the store. The implementation is clearly more than just for easier tracking of inventory (with this in place theoretically there is no longer a need to scan the shelves as they're constantly being counted by this system, and it also helps the store employees locate missing or out of place items like a GPS). And a shoplifter can easily be identified as they can say that they walked out the door with X items in their possession and didn't pay for them - which really bends the rules of the classic "5 steps to apprehension.". So I wonder if they will widen the usage of this system in California since they seem to be able to get away with using it here, and they wouldn't have spent millions of dollars installing it just to "test the waters" or "see if anyone notices and says something."

Finally - they have implemented levels of security that would probably be in place in San Francisco or other tough areas. For the first time Target seems to be significantly increasing the usage of glass case security. In the remodel they added Ulta Beauty, but nearly everything is behind full height glass doors. The entire laundry detergent aisle, all brands, was behind glass doors. Same for all the cell phone accessories and I saw glass cases scattered around in other departments where I had not seen them before at Target. I didn't have a reason to purchase anything that would be locked up in one, but they had what appears to be a electronic locking mechanism built into the base deck of the gondola and has a large key lock. It appears to be something that they can enable or disable. The doors are not sliding like traditional glass cases but open outwards like a cabinet. I am not even sure if they were actually locked in that laundry detergent aisle. Could be something that they lock and unlock depending on the time of day, if for example they have lots of theft at night they could just lock the doors at 7pm. Each door had two uniformed LP agents, self checkout was supervised at each end by a uniformed LP agent (who can't do anything to assist the customer on the register as they don't have a login), and there were at least two roaming the store again in uniform. By far the most glass cases and security I've ever seen at a Target and felt more like I was shopping at a red painted Walmart. Clearly Target, which historically has tried to protect ease of shopping for the customer, is suddenly moving to aggressively toughen their security levels to reduce shrink.
This sounds terrible. Is this a store that sees a significant amount of tourist traffic? I am very surprised Target with its image would want to present a store like this to tourists, especially families going to Disneyland.

What about the HBA/OTC/drug area, was that all still open/self serve? We have seen those Wal Marts where that entire section is locked and anything you want from it goes into one of those giant plastic security boxes...

I've never seen a Wal Mart with all of the laundry detergent locked up...

If you have to have multiple additional LP assigned just to self checkout, I start to question if it makes sense to have the self checkout or just pay for additional cashiers at that point and eliminate the self checkout...
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Re: Target 2022

Post by ClownLoach »

storewanderer wrote: November 5th, 2022, 10:58 am
ClownLoach wrote: November 4th, 2022, 8:48 am Went to what is known as the "Disneyland Target" yesterday in Garden Grove, CA. Location on Harbor Blvd. About two miles south of the park. This is a very busy store, the Target my parents took me to shop in when I was a kid. Store was recently remodeled again and I saw a few interesting changes.

First, this location went to concrete floors and they are probably the worst ones I've seen in any Target. The building is one of the original California Target stores, I believe it was a FedMart. Nobody in their right mind would try to dig up that nasty subfloor. Trenches, pipe caps and all sorts of actual trip hazards especially around the front end although they somehow managed to remove the glue lines from the linoleum. Zero shine or polish. Really made me wonder what was the point of the conversion. This was worse than some of the horrific Ralphs and Fred Meyer conversions where they wound up going back and putting linoleum back down.

Second, this store is the first I've seen in California to implement the full next generation RFID system that they were testing in Las Vegas. It's an even newer version. There are giant 24 inch wide Zebra RFID antennas spread across the entire ceiling, wide RFID readers hanging over every door, etc. So Target must have found a way around the California laws that supposedly restrict the usage of this technology if it could be considered "customer tracking.". With the implementation they have which includes overhead door canopy readers, and even readers over the bathroom hallway, they can easily combine camera surveillance/facial recognition plus the triangulation of RFID tags to track exactly what items you have in your possession in the store. The implementation is clearly more than just for easier tracking of inventory (with this in place theoretically there is no longer a need to scan the shelves as they're constantly being counted by this system, and it also helps the store employees locate missing or out of place items like a GPS). And a shoplifter can easily be identified as they can say that they walked out the door with X items in their possession and didn't pay for them - which really bends the rules of the classic "5 steps to apprehension.". So I wonder if they will widen the usage of this system in California since they seem to be able to get away with using it here, and they wouldn't have spent millions of dollars installing it just to "test the waters" or "see if anyone notices and says something."

Finally - they have implemented levels of security that would probably be in place in San Francisco or other tough areas. For the first time Target seems to be significantly increasing the usage of glass case security. In the remodel they added Ulta Beauty, but nearly everything is behind full height glass doors. The entire laundry detergent aisle, all brands, was behind glass doors. Same for all the cell phone accessories and I saw glass cases scattered around in other departments where I had not seen them before at Target. I didn't have a reason to purchase anything that would be locked up in one, but they had what appears to be a electronic locking mechanism built into the base deck of the gondola and has a large key lock. It appears to be something that they can enable or disable. The doors are not sliding like traditional glass cases but open outwards like a cabinet. I am not even sure if they were actually locked in that laundry detergent aisle. Could be something that they lock and unlock depending on the time of day, if for example they have lots of theft at night they could just lock the doors at 7pm. Each door had two uniformed LP agents, self checkout was supervised at each end by a uniformed LP agent (who can't do anything to assist the customer on the register as they don't have a login), and there were at least two roaming the store again in uniform. By far the most glass cases and security I've ever seen at a Target and felt more like I was shopping at a red painted Walmart. Clearly Target, which historically has tried to protect ease of shopping for the customer, is suddenly moving to aggressively toughen their security levels to reduce shrink.
This sounds terrible. Is this a store that sees a significant amount of tourist traffic? I am very surprised Target with its image would want to present a store like this to tourists, especially families going to Disneyland.

What about the HBA/OTC/drug area, was that all still open/self serve? We have seen those Wal Marts where that entire section is locked and anything you want from it goes into one of those giant plastic security boxes...

I've never seen a Wal Mart with all of the laundry detergent locked up...

If you have to have multiple additional LP assigned just to self checkout, I start to question if it makes sense to have the self checkout or just pay for additional cashiers at that point and eliminate the self checkout...
The majority of the Ulta HBA product was in full glass cases. Lots of glass cases thrown into the gondolas in aisles all over the store. Seemed like they had given up on other security like keeper boxes and spider wraps (they really don't work anymore as the tools to unlock are easily acquired or improvised), anything that would normally have that kind of security in a normal Target was in a case. Most I've seen in a Target.

I got the impression that they were going to a new level with the uniformed security program. All the asset protection people had police-like uniforms, including a metal badge with a Target logo in center, and the word "SECURITY" in huge print across the back. This did not seem like the normal Target LP type dress code, but it also looked like it was well designed and something that came out of the home office in Minneapolis vs a renegade SM or some other person here.

This store definitely has a big tourist presence, hence the oversized Disney department front and center just like the Orlando stores (in fact they accidentally bought in a bunch of Disney merchandise that said Florida on it). This is not the same Disney department being added to select Target stores; it is merchandise that is intended for park visits such as the matching family shirts in all sizes from toddler to men's 3X that say things like "Disney Family Visit 2022", water bottles etc. I think the store probably got a larger remodel budget than most due to the Disneyland proximity, but it wasn't executed well (especially the horrific floor that I counted at least a dozen serious trip hazards on). Then for some reason it's getting hit hard by thieves causing them to overreact from a security perspective beyond anything I've seen.
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Re: Target 2022

Post by ClownLoach »

storewanderer wrote: November 5th, 2022, 10:54 am
ClownLoach wrote: November 4th, 2022, 8:27 am
storewanderer wrote: October 6th, 2022, 9:57 pm
Noticed a sign on the door that says they are reducing air conditioning use and reducing lighting to conserve energy. It is October and the daytime temperature is in the low 80s and at night it goes down to 45... Target has no windows other than its doors and no skylights. Not sure what they're doing but must desperately need to cut expenses. The lights all seemed to be on.

Store I went into was poorly stocked throughout home category like it has been in this area for a while but the store was neat and organized.
California, due to their poor management of the electric grid, has a program in place for retail big box stores called "demand response" where they were required to raise the AC temp to 78 and reduce lighting during all state mandated power "flex alerts.".
The Target store I visited with this sign posted (and it is still posted......) was in Nevada, not in California. There are no power grid issues in Nevada where this store is located. Nobody was ever asked to conserve energy in that area/county.
Then I really don't know why they would post the sign. Maybe they have some HVAC units down awaiting parts at that store (pretty common problem right now, took 6 weeks for a compressor for one of mine at home) and they searched the Target intranet for a sign that was relevant? They're supposed to use company signs if available before attempting to make their own. Air conditioning is controlled by the corporate office and clearly there was no company direction to cut air conditioning use or it would have been cut in every store. Target is only struggling with comps and too much inventory otherwise their financials are stellar and cutting air conditioning doesn't help improve either one. Also it's already been proven that raising the thermostat then lowering it actually uses more energy in well insulated buildings (like stores) versus maintaining a constant temperature.
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Re: Target 2022

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ClownLoach wrote: November 5th, 2022, 4:45 pm

Then I really don't know why they would post the sign. Maybe they have some HVAC units down awaiting parts at that store (pretty common problem right now, took 6 weeks for a compressor for one of mine at home) and they searched the Target intranet for a sign that was relevant? They're supposed to use company signs if available before attempting to make their own. Air conditioning is controlled by the corporate office and clearly there was no company direction to cut air conditioning use or it would have been cut in every store. Target is only struggling with comps and too much inventory otherwise their financials are stellar and cutting air conditioning doesn't help improve either one. Also it's already been proven that raising the thermostat then lowering it actually uses more energy in well insulated buildings (like stores) versus maintaining a constant temperature.
Probably the same reason I have a Safeway in Reno that has posted signs all over its service deli that condiments and utensils are only available per request due to CA AB 1276. Someone based in CA sent a message to "all stores" under their jurisdiction to post signs, and the stores complied without questioning it. Same goes with the Target A/C and Lighting sign.

Would have thought these chains would know better after the varying "state by state" requirements with masks and such during COVID to pay more attention to making sure relevant signs and policies are being rolled out across state lines.
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Re: Target 2022

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ClownLoach wrote: November 5th, 2022, 4:07 pm
The majority of the Ulta HBA product was in full glass cases. Lots of glass cases thrown into the gondolas in aisles all over the store. Seemed like they had given up on other security like keeper boxes and spider wraps (they really don't work anymore as the tools to unlock are easily acquired or improvised), anything that would normally have that kind of security in a normal Target was in a case. Most I've seen in a Target.

I got the impression that they were going to a new level with the uniformed security program. All the asset protection people had police-like uniforms, including a metal badge with a Target logo in center, and the word "SECURITY" in huge print across the back. This did not seem like the normal Target LP type dress code, but it also looked like it was well designed and something that came out of the home office in Minneapolis vs a renegade SM or some other person here.

This store definitely has a big tourist presence, hence the oversized Disney department front and center just like the Orlando stores (in fact they accidentally bought in a bunch of Disney merchandise that said Florida on it). This is not the same Disney department being added to select Target stores; it is merchandise that is intended for park visits such as the matching family shirts in all sizes from toddler to men's 3X that say things like "Disney Family Visit 2022", water bottles etc. I think the store probably got a larger remodel budget than most due to the Disneyland proximity, but it wasn't executed well (especially the horrific floor that I counted at least a dozen serious trip hazards on). Then for some reason it's getting hit hard by thieves causing them to overreact from a security perspective beyond anything I've seen.
The reviews for that store for this past year 2022, are overwhelmingly negative (most positive ones just appreciate the lower priced Disney items) about the store, cleanliness, in stock, service levels, etc. It appears this is one of those Targets, like the Reno Target, that has fallen completely off track with poor management and bad employees.

My suspicion is the entire time Disney was closed or limited, this Target had massive sales losses and the corporation moved away the stronger management to busier locations. They did a full remodel to the store but neglected to get the right people back into the store to run it properly. It suffered massive shrink upon reopening due to being unprepared for the return of tourists and what you see now is the end result of that.

This looks worse than what they have going on in San Francisco with regards to the self checkouts. The self checkouts in San Francisco aren't being patrolled that heavily.
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Re: Target 2022

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Target posted a pretty bad earnings report, guided down for the holidays, and is clearly in poor shape.

But the biggest thing is they blamed $400 million of losses to "organized retail crime."

This should be obvious to anyone who has actually shopped in Target Stores over the past six months that the chain is tanking fast. Rather than taking responsibility for their poor in stock condition and having too much of the wrong merchandise they are suddenly complaining about theft. Yes theft is an issue but it is very interesting to hear them talking like this. They knew what they were getting into opening in these cities that won't prosecute and police won't show up... Also Target has some of the best loss prevention technology in retail so if they can't figure out how to stop this, nobody can.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

I expect after the holidays to see mass closures of the city locations/small format stores and a vague reminder of future development of the 150k square foot units "in the future" but doubt we will see more than a few of those actually built.
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Re: Target 2022

Post by Alpha8472 »

I have noticed Target has increased hours to close later at only a small number of stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of the stores have not changed from the normal closing time of 10 PM. These are busy stores, but they apparently are still afraid of closing late.

There are some in distant suburbs that are open until Midnight now for the holiday season.

The downtown San Francisco store and the Folsom store is now open until 8 PM. That at least is an improvement from closing at 6 PM. However, the other 2 San Francisco stores still close at 10 PM.
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Re: Target 2022

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Alpha8472 wrote: December 11th, 2022, 7:07 pm I have noticed Target has increased hours to close later at only a small number of stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of the stores have not changed from the normal closing time of 10 PM. These are busy stores, but they apparently are still afraid of closing late.

There are some in distant suburbs that are open until Midnight now for the holiday season.

The downtown San Francisco store and the Folsom store is now open until 8 PM. That at least is an improvement from closing at 6 PM. However, the other 2 San Francisco stores still close at 10 PM.
Many retailers are barely expanding their hours for the holidays this year. Macy's is keeping very long hours but even Kohl's has scaled way back on hours from what they used to do. If you go into the mall late at night various stores are closing earlier than the mall closes. Dillard's basically doesn't even have extended hours this year (a few days before Christmas and only until 9 PM then).

Theft may be a factor here but the real issue is just the hard reality that sales very late at night do not make it worth staffing, especially when it is already difficult to staff stores and labor costs are rising. Kohl's in the old days with open 24 hours or open until Midnight on a Tuesday before Christmas when there is below freezing temperatures all over and snow storms in some places never really made much sense, for example.
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Re: Target 2022

Post by ClownLoach »

storewanderer wrote: November 17th, 2022, 12:43 am Target posted a pretty bad earnings report, guided down for the holidays, and is clearly in poor shape.

But the biggest thing is they blamed $400 million of losses to "organized retail crime."

This should be obvious to anyone who has actually shopped in Target Stores over the past six months that the chain is tanking fast. Rather than taking responsibility for their poor in stock condition and having too much of the wrong merchandise they are suddenly complaining about theft. Yes theft is an issue but it is very interesting to hear them talking like this. They knew what they were getting into opening in these cities that won't prosecute and police won't show up... Also Target has some of the best loss prevention technology in retail so if they can't figure out how to stop this, nobody can.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

I expect after the holidays to see mass closures of the city locations/small format stores and a vague reminder of future development of the 150k square foot units "in the future" but doubt we will see more than a few of those actually built.
A few observations - first, I have not seen a single Target with an updated Holiday hours sign. So they have a posted 10pm closing time yet the store is actually open until midnight. Wonder how much of this is intentional (maybe the DM told them not to post it due to short staffing?).

Second - I still am not seeing store condition or in stock issues aside from a few sporadic displays that are known as global problems (like otc cold medicine). I was in the Murrieta store Friday night at 10pm and I would describe store conditions as just plain outstanding despite the fact that the store was busy - there were at least a dozen associates working on recovery and most aisles were already spotless. Seasonal sell through is very good - to the point that they really need to just consolidate their aisles into half the space they're taking and maybe fill the rest of the space in with gifts. Trees all sold out etc. But the regular aisles storewide are probably at a 98% or higher in stock rate. So Target definitely has some regionality to their operating performance. I'm going to see quite a few areas out of state over the next two weeks and I'm very interested in seeing if they're just running a better operation in SoCal vs elsewhere.
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Re: Target 2022

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ClownLoach wrote: December 12th, 2022, 10:03 am

A few observations - first, I have not seen a single Target with an updated Holiday hours sign. So they have a posted 10pm closing time yet the store is actually open until midnight. Wonder how much of this is intentional (maybe the DM told them not to post it due to short staffing?).

Second - I still am not seeing store condition or in stock issues aside from a few sporadic displays that are known as global problems (like otc cold medicine). I was in the Murrieta store Friday night at 10pm and I would describe store conditions as just plain outstanding despite the fact that the store was busy - there were at least a dozen associates working on recovery and most aisles were already spotless. Seasonal sell through is very good - to the point that they really need to just consolidate their aisles into half the space they're taking and maybe fill the rest of the space in with gifts. Trees all sold out etc. But the regular aisles storewide are probably at a 98% or higher in stock rate. So Target definitely has some regionality to their operating performance. I'm going to see quite a few areas out of state over the next two weeks and I'm very interested in seeing if they're just running a better operation in SoCal vs elsewhere.
I went into the Target in Sparks tonight. They have a sign under the store hours sign with holiday hours- it is a letter sized piece of paper printed in black and white that looks to be out of Outlook Calendar or something. No Target logo, etc. They are open until Midnight every night.

In this store I was surprised to see virtually no clothing on the floor and most of clothing was in good order. Going through the aisles there were some sections that were like 25% in stock, specifically ink cartridges and the entire Lego toy aisle. Other than that this place was in pretty good shape, I would estimate they are easily over 95% in stock if you look across the entire store but some sections had problems that we know about, like baby food/formula, cold/cough medicine, some pet food, also their home improvement area was no more than 60% stocked. But going into home categories, kitchen, decor, pillows, sheets, etc. in stock is easily over 95%. Grocery was also well stocked. Christmas still had plenty of product and already clearance signs at 15% off to 30% off.

I saw at least 15 employees on the sales floor late tonight either stocking or pulling orders.

What is funny is Target seems to have changed their dress code, now the employees just wear whatever and slap on a red vest. Looks like a K-Mart "uniform." But even Kmart had higher standards in the Super Kmart format where a white shirt/black pants were required with the red vest. I have no clue why an employee would want to wear a vest instead of a red polo shirt which was the old Target uniform.
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