Target Corporation Organizational Change

Target Corporation was founded in 1902 by George Dayton in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was originally called “Dayton Dry Goods Company” and then later became Dayton Company in 1910. By 1962, Dayton Company opened its first discount store in Roseville, Minnesota by the name of “Target”. By 2000, all Dayton Hudson Corporations changed their name to Target Corporation. It opened three operating divisions including Target, Mervyn’s and the Department Store Division. In 2001, Target’s division generated about 80 percent of retail sales and operating income while Mervyn’s generated only 12 percent and the Department Store Division only generated 9% of sales therefore Target merged their e-commerce team and direct merchandising unit into one organization creating Target Corporation opening 74 new stores within the same year. Target’s operating strategy is built on providing great value to their consumers. They distinguish themselves from the competition by differentiating their inventory from other competing retail stores such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart. They are also known as
These stores on average employ 150-250 persons with a planned square footage of 128,000 square feet. The Super Target as the name implies is designed and constructed on a larger and grander scale and is located in large population areas with upscale demographics. The typical Super Target Store provides all the offerings of The General Merchandise Store with the added accompaniments of a full grocery store including fresh organic produce, deli, and bakery. These stores employ on average 200-300 persons and are constructed to be between 180,000 and 190,000 square feet. Target will locate these stores in suburban and urban markets with the urban market stores being single level raised elevation