Target to Focus 2015 Growth on Small Formats, Urban Stores
MINNEAPOLIS — Reaching guests in urban centers with new formats, while offering new experiences, merchandising layouts and innovations in its general merchandise stores is the focus of Target Corp.’s strategic store growth planned for this year.
In the wake of its announcement that it would close all of its Canada stores, Target has announced plans to open 15 U.S. stores in 2015 around three distinct store formats: eight TargetExpress locations, one CityTarget and six general merchandise stores.
“Our store growth looks different today than it did five years ago, driven by guests’ expectations for ease and personalization in their shopping experience," said Tina Tyler, the company’s executive vice president and chief stores officer. "Smaller formats like TargetExpress and CityTarget offer customized assortments and services to meet the needs of guests who are increasingly moving into urban centers. In our general merchandise stores, we’re embracing a test and learn philosophy, innovating with layouts and experiences and bringing digital and bricks and mortar together like never before.”
In addition to previously announced openings in San Francisco, San Diego and St. Paul, Minn., Target intends to bring two TargetExpress stores to the greater Washington, D.C., area and one to Chicago.
The retailer will continue to test TargetExpress stores, which span approximately 20,000 square feet, to learn more about operating small-format locations and further enhance and customize the guest experience, including merchandise assortment localized for each community.
Target currently operates one TargetExpress location in Minneapolis, which opened in July and has already made adjustments based on guest feedback and operational insights.
Beyond 2015, Target said it is exploring a number of opportunities to bring TargetExpress to other select major markets across the country, including the greater Philadelphia area, Los Angeles, the greater Washington, D.C. area, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay area.
This year, Target will also open its first East Coast CityTarget store in Boston near Fenway Park, followed by a location in Brooklyn, N.Y., that will open in 2016 in the City Point development.
CityTarget debuted in 2012 to bring the Target experience to urban guests who previously had to travel outside the city to one of Target’s suburban store locations. CityTarget offers an edited assortment of its best-selling merchandise with urban dwellers in mind, including smaller pack sizes.
CityTarget stores are typically 80,000-160,000 square feet, and are some of its highest-traffic locations in the company. There are currently eight CityTarget stores, including three in Los Angeles, two in San Francisco, one in Seattle, one in Portland, Ore., and one in Chicago.
Minneapolis-based Target Corp. operates a total of 1,790 stores across the United States.