Target Unveils $7B Plan To Overhaul Stores, Digital Operations

Target executives on Tuesday unveiled a series of initiatives designed to reverse the big box retailer’s same-store sales declines, including an investment of more than $2 billion of capital in 2017 and more than $7 billion over the next three years. The company will use about $1 billion of operating profits this year to improve brick-and-mortar and digital operations, according to a conference call transcript from Thomson Reuters StreetEvents. CEO Brian Cornell said much of the investment will go to adding more than 100 small format urban stores over the next three years, as well as overhauling existing locations using aspects of the retailer’s LA25 concept store that have tested well. Stores are also being reconfigured to more efficiently serve as fulfillment hubs for online orders. The company is also dedicating teams to introduce more than a dozen new brands over the next two years, with the research and design approach used for the retailer’s new Cat & Jack kids apparel and Pillowfort kids home decor brands. “We will touch more than $10 billion of current volume with the expectation that we will accelerate growth within our most differentiated and profitable categories,” Cornell said. For commodity products like food, consumables and household products, Target plans to compete better on price, executives said. Read more at Retail Dive.