Essay on Target: Cheap But Fashionable Retail Giant Growing Globally

Target is the second-largest retail store in the United States, behind Wal-Mart. The company's success is due to its style of "cheap but fashionable" products unique in the industry. It currently has 1,806 stores throughout the United States. Its store formats include the retail store Target, the hyper format called "SuperTarget" and the "flexible format" called CityTarget and TargetExpress. Target intends to expand globally over the next years (Page, 2019). Although the company had tried expanding to Canada but failed miserably, it has learned from the failure and has new expansion strategies. It is acting more carefully to preserve the capital of the local brand and its customs, rather than imposing the Target culture everywhere.

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First, it intends to invest in other companies instead of operating stores abroad, placing special emphasis on online commerce. Known for focusing on its domestic market, Target is becoming an investor in foreign distributors. E-commerce is not a fad, it's the evolution of the sector, and Target does not plan to be left behind (Heller, 2018). Target has already purchased Shipt to enhance its same-day delivery services. Target is also developing and implementing a series of technological tools, in order to adapt to this new era. Target is at the forefront of new data collection innovations with the introduction of connected shopping carts or scanning service via mobile phone (Meyersohn, 2018). The collection of these valuable data allows the company to better know the preferences of its customers, their consumption patterns and a range of information allowing them to manage their suppliers more efficiently and anticipate the desires of its clients. Target also intends to have distribution centers in countries where it will expand and it will tailor its websites according to each country.

All these expansion strategies will be financed by the company's capital and profits will also be plowed back into the business. The company has decided to invest $7 billion in capital to revamp and improve its supply chain systems, develop new brands, and delve into the digital sector (Bird, 2018). The company also invested $1 billion of its 2017-2018 annual operating profits to help its less profitable stores (Bird, 2018). Through its brand introductions, its online strategies, and acquisitions, it is expected that Target will experience significant growth in the next five years and beyond.

References

Bird, J. (2018). Target Hits The Mark By Going Beyond Cheap And Chic. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonbird1/2018/08/26/target-hits-the-mark-by-going-beyond-cheap-and-chic/#4755dfb71b75 on 18th July 2019.

Heller, L. (2018). How Target is building a digital future. Retrieved from https://www.retaildive.com/news/how-target-is-building-a-digital-future/518144/ on 18th July 2019.

Meyersohn, N. (2018). Target's new strategy is paying off big time. Retrieved from https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/22/news/companies/target-walmart-amazon-costco/index.html on 18th July 2019.

Page, V. (2019). How Target Can Expand Internationally (TGT). Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/120815/how-target-can-expand-internationally.asp on 18th July 2019.