Financial Analysis of
Target Corporation
Group Nine
Oscar Escobar,
Maricela Garcia,
Manjinher Ghotra,
Sarah Gonzales,
Tyger Hughes,
Vidush Kumar
May 8, 2007
Accounting 120B
Professor Chan Du
1. Business Analysis – Company Background Information
Target Corporation, originally known as the Dayton Dry Goods Co., is a retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1902. In January of 2000, Dayton Hudson Corporation changed its name to Target Corporation and now operates over 1,500 stores in 47 states. It is among the top largest retailers in the United States, coming in sixth place by its sales revenue.
Target Corporation's main retailing subsidiary, Target Stores, are a discount department stores that are about 95,000 to 135,000 square feet (12,000 m²) and carry hardlines ("regular" products and goods), softlines (clothing), and a limited amount of groceries, usually non-perishable goods. Target operates these traditional Target Stores, Target Greatland, and Super Targets throughout the U.S. As of January 4, 2007, Target operated 182 SuperTarget stores in 21 U.S. states.
Target Corporation’s direct competitors are mainly Wal-Mart and Kmart; Kohl’s, Big Lots, and Costco also sell some of the same kinds of merchandise, although in a different environment than a Target store. Since its founding Target has intended to differentiate its stores from its competitors by offering more upscale, trend-forward merchandise at affordable prices, as opposed to the traditional concept of focusing on low-priced cheap goods. This served as the prototype, and it changed how consu ...