Target Corporation
(
TGT
), the operator of general merchandise and food discount stores
in the United States, announced a string of measures to enhance
its long-term growth prospects.
The company is strengthening its position in regions where it
generates strong sales. Target announced the opening of its new
store in Huntington, New York. The new 150,000 square feet store
is slated to open in October 2013 and would hire 250 employees.
So far, the company has announced its plans to open 17 Target
stores in 2013.
The expansion of its store base facilitates the company to
effectively penetrate into its target markets and gain a
competitive advantage over its peers.
Alongside, Target is seeking promising expansion opportunities
in international markets such as Canada and Latin America and
revealed its plans to introduce smaller-format stores called
CityTarget, similar to that of its biggest rival,
Wal-Mart Stores Inc
. (
WMT
). The company will open its first store in Canada in 2013.
Moreover, Target announced its year-round price matching
policy with the aim of offering its patrons the facility to match
the prices being offered by online retail giants.
The company will match prices with
Amazon.com Inc
.'s (
AMZN
) Amazon.com, Wal-Mart's Walmart.com,
Best Buy Co. Inc
.'s (
BBY
) BestBuy.com, and Toysrus.com. Target believes that its price
matching policy coupled with REDcard reward program would provide
it an edge over its competitors.
Target is also focusing on store renovations and adding latest
products and services to enhance the shoppers' experience, which
in turn facilitates it in improving store sales productivity.
The company announced that it has selected Brightstar and
MarketSource as the new service partners for Target Mobile. The
company stated that the new partnership will boost its position
in the wireless retail marketplace.
Going forward, the company expects its fourth quarter earnings
to meet or exceed the lower end of its earlier announced guidance
range of $1.64 - $1.74 per share. Moreover, the company expects
low single-digit increase in its January comps.
Currently, we prefer to have a long-term 'Neutral'
recommendation on the stock. Moreover, Target holds a Zacks Rank
#3 (Hold).
AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis
Report
BEST BUY (BBY): Free Stock Analysis Report
TARGET CORP (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report
WAL-MART STORES (WMT): Free Stock Analysis
Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research