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Target tests if Facebook-driven deals bring shoppers into stores →
Target Corp is rolling out Cartwheel, a service that combines social networking and discounts, the latest attempt by a US retailer to lure shoppers into its physical stores rather that seeing them buy from online rivals.
Target said its new programme relies on shoppers using their Facebook accounts. However, shoppers can only redeem the offers they choose in Target’s US stores, not online.
With Cartwheel, shoppers select the deals they want online and then bring a barcode - either on paper or on a mobile phone - to a Target store to …
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Social media firm growing in Minneapolis | RetailingToday.com →
Social shopper media firm Collective Bias may have been founded in Walmart’s home town of Bentonville, Ar., but the firm has big plans to help suppliers to Target achieve their social media objectives.
Collective Bias established a presence in Minneapolis last year and more recently tapped Kristen Brown to lead the firm’s growth efforts. Brown spent five years with NPD in the company’s Minneapolis office where she served as….
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Twin Cities Business - Target to Showcase Wired Editors’ Gadget Picks →
Through a partnership with “Wired” magazine, Minneapolis-based Target Corporation has placed kiosks at its stores that offer “Wired” editors’ picks for music products, tablet and photography accessories, and personal fitness gadgets, among others.
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Kohl’s steps up e-commerce game | RetailingToday.com →
Kohl’s has opened a new IT office in the Silicon Valley to support its online sales growth and strategic focus on omni-channel initiatives, including process automation and the re-platforming of Kohls.com.
The 52,000-sq.-ft. office space in Milpitas, Calif., will be an extension of the IT team at the company’s Menomonee Falls, Wis., corporate office and will initially employ 30-plus Kohl’s associates with the potential to accommodate future growth, said the retailer.
“We know consumers are seeking a seamless experience and instant access to information whether shopping online, on their mobile device or in store,” said Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s CEO. “We have made significant investments in our IT and omni-channel initiatives to ensure we have the platforms, technology and tools to allow customers to shop when they want and from where they want.”
In addition to the new West Coast IT office, Kohl’s said it continues to expand its operations to support its long-term growth across all of its corporate facilities, including the Wisconsin headquarters, New York design office and Santa Monica, Calif., design office. The company also reiterated its plans to add 12 stores and remodel 30 in 2013. -
Target lowers Q1 sales and profit forecast | RetailingToday.com →
Softer than expected sales trends prompted Target to lower its first quarter earnings outlook Tuesday morning.
The company said it now expects first quarter comps to be flat, after previously forecasting a range of flat to 2% growth. The softer than expected sales prompted the company to revise first quarter adjusted profit expectations to an unspecified level of “slightly below” earlier guidance of $1.10 to $1.20.
The reduced guidance was offered as part of a financial update connected to the company’s recent settlement of a debt tender offer and credit card portfolio sale. According to the company, factors contributing to the reduction…
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http://www.startribune.com/business/200044181.html#.UVHMJfMU4jM.tumblr →
Supervalu said Tuesday it is eliminating 1,100 corporate jobs nationwide, including 600 in Minnesota, after selling about half of its operations last week to…
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Lowe's CEO shares pricing strategy | RetailingToday.com →
Lowe’s is competing in the price wars — especially with Internet retailers — by using the merchant mind-set of “dead net pricing.”
Speaking at the UBS Global Consumer Conference Wednesday, Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock described his company’s improvements in the price wars.
“In 2010, late 2010, 2011, we did some pricing work. And we determined that our pricing had gotten…
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Target’s Canadian problem: empty shelves →
Target Corp. is struggling with a problem that few retailers face: too much demand for too little inventory, risking dampening customers’ enthusiasm as the U.S. discounter gets ready to open a new wave of stores.
Target will open an additional 17 stores on Tuesday, after having launched its first three Canadian outlets two weeks ago, but it hasn’t been able to keep its shelves stocked as shoppers flocked to its stores.
“We definitely were slammed,” said John Morioka, senior vice-president of merchandising at Target Canada. “We thought there would be an initial bump. The bump has not levelled off to the degree that we thought.”
Some retailers, such as technology giant Apple Inc. and yoga wear phenomenon Lululemon Atheltica Inc., keep supplies of certain products deliberately scarce to keep customers coming back. Target stocks limited-edition lines of affordable designer collections, such as last year’s styles by Jason Wu, to entice shoppers to its stores and get them buying other products.
Nevertheless, the retailer said its Canadian inventory shortages weren’t by design but rather as a result of unexpectedly high demand. With 124 outlets planned for Canada by the end of the year, the American chain is betting it will be able to replenish its shelves with enough of the basics – from milk to mittens – to ensure customers don’t flee to rivals.
“In-stock positions remain a challenge, particularly following a very busy weekend,” Mark Petrie, a retail analyst at CIBC World Markets, said after a visit last week to Target’s test store in Guelph, Ont. “The store was crawling with employees stocking shelves.”
Yet, even with empty shelves, Target already is making “a strong impression with customers in every market it enters,” Mr. Petrie said.
Mark Satov of retail specialist Satov Consultants said Target has created such a huge buzz through social media and word-of-mouth that “everybody is dying to try the store.”
Target has a “military-like” focus on planning and will inevitably get the replenishment right once it understands market demand, he added.
Target grappled with keeping such items as milk – a top seller – and apparel on its shelves in its first two weeks, Mr. Morioka said on Monday. The 24 stores opening this month in Ontario – four more will roll out on March 28 – are pilot outlets to let the company test the Canadian waters. It will formally launch the stores in early April.
Still, it has had to wrestle with Facebook and Twitter postings from people complaining about empty shelves and high prices.
“We opened them probably a little earlier than we would have thought typically,” Mr. Morioka said, after leading a media tour of a Toronto store opening on Tuesday. “We’ll be better prepared for these store openings. But I won’t guarantee anything, as the response has been overwhelmingly positive.”
The company has already made changes to its replenishment systems and is starting to get its goods from trucks to store floors more accurately, he said. For example, it is having milk shipped to stores more often, spokeswoman Lisa Gibson said.
Mr. Morioka said opening more stores will bring “a bit of relief” to the first three outlets, evening out customer demands. He also said the new wave of stores will handle checkouts more smoothly. Target cross-trains store staff in different areas, including the cash register, so that they can be assigned to the checkout when crowds thicken, Ms. Gibson said. If more than a couple of people are in line, another lane is opened, she said.
Mr. Morioka said some prices are higher in Canada because of steeper labour and transportation rates and fewer economies of scale, but Target will be competitive within the domestic marketplace. Other prices, such as those of the upcoming limited-edition clothing line of celebrity stylist Kate Young, will be at par with those south of the border, he said.
The limited-time Canadian Roots athletics wear collection, meanwhile, may sell out sooner than Target expected, he added. “Based on what I’ve seen so far, it’s going to be very limited. I think it’s going to not last as long as we thought it could last.” Its Roots hoodies, for instance – at $34.99 – are less than half the price of those in regular Roots stores, Target executives have said.
As for some negative postings about Target on social media, “we pay attention to all those comments,” he said. “We want guest feedback. … We’ll take the good with the bad and we’ll continuously improve.”
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Target To Buy Two Online Culinary Businesses →
Discount retailer Target Corp. said Thursday that it has agreed to buy CHEFS Catalog and assets of Cooking.com in two separate deals to expand its presence in the growing cooking and kitchenware market.
Financial terms of both the deals, which are expected to close within 30 days, were not disclosed.
CHEFS Catalog, currently a portfolio company of private equity firm JH Partners, LLC, is a direct-to-consumer specialty retailer of top rated cookware, bake ware, cutlery, kitchen tools and cooking utensils aimed at home chefs to create delicious and new recipes. Cooking.com is a culinary e-commerce company, which offers over 30,000 products for the kitchen as well as recipes, cookbooks and a growing library of member-submitted cooking content.
Following the closings, the two businesses will be combined to create a new, wholly owned subsidiary of Target. Both brands will continue to operate under their current names.
Target believes the deal will not have any meaningful financial impact on its 2013 results.
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Target Completes Credit Card Portfolio Sale To TD Bank Group →
Target said Wednesday that it has completed the sale of its entire consumer credit card portfolio to TD Bank Group for $5.7 billion, the gross value of the outstanding receivables at the time of closing.
The two companies have previously entered into a seven-year program agreement under which TD will also underwrite, fund and own future Target Credit Card and Target Visa receivables in the United States. Under the program agreement, TD will control risk management policies and oversee regulatory compliance and Target will continue to perform account servicing functions…
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