Coordinates | 29°57′53″N90°4′14″N |
---|---|
company name | Target Corporation |
company logo | |
company type | Public company |
traded as | |
foundation | 1902 (as Dayton Dry Goods)1969 (as Dayton-Hudson)2000 (as Target) |
founder | George Dayton |
location | Target Plaza North & Target Plaza SouthMinneapolis, Minnesota, |
area served | United States(except Vermont)Canada (starting in 2013) |
locations | 1,750 (January 2011) |
key people | Gregg Steinhafel(Chairman, President and CEO) |
industry | Retail |
revenue | US$ 67.390 billion (FY 2010) |
operating income | US$ 43.705 billion (FY 2010) |
net income | US$ 2.920 billion (FY 2009) |
assets | US$ 44.533 billion (FY 2010)}} |
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 30 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 index. Its bullseye trademark is licensed to Wesfarmers, owners of the separate Target Australia chain.
The company was founded in 1902 as the Dayton Dry Goods Company, though its first Target store was opened in 1962 in nearby Roseville, Minnesota. Target grew and eventually became the largest division of Dayton Hudson Corporation, culminating in the company being renamed as Target Corporation in August 2000. On January 13, 2011, Target announced its expansion into Canada. Target will operate 100 to 150 stores in Canada by 2013, through its purchase of leaseholds from the Canadian chain Zellers.
In 1968, Target changed its bullseye logo to a more modern look, and expanded into St. Louis, Missouri, with two new stores. That year, Target Stores experienced a transition phase: Target's president and founder, Douglas J. Dayton, went back to the parent Dayton Corporation and was succeeded by William A. Hodder, and senior vice president and cofounder John Geisse left the company. He was later hired by St. Louis-based May Department Stores, where he founded the Venture Stores chain. Target Stores ended the year with 11 units and $130 million in sales. In 1969, it acquired the Lechmere electronics and appliances chain that operated in New England, and expanded Target Stores into Texas and Oklahoma with six new units and its first distribution center in Fridley, Minnesota. The Dayton Company also merged with the Detroit-based J.L. Hudson company that year, to become the Dayton-Hudson Corporation consisting of Target and five major department store chains: Dayton's, Diamond's of Phoenix, Arizona, Hudson's, John A. Brown of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Lipmans. In 1970, Target Stores added seven new units, including two units in Wisconsin, and the 24-unit chain reached $200 million in sales. That year, Dayton-Hudson also acquired the Team Electronics specialty chain that was headed by Stephen L. Pistner.
In 1976, Target opened four new units and reached $600 million in sales. That year, Macke was promoted to president and chief executive officer of Target Stores. In 1977, Target Stores opened seven new units, and Stephen Pistner became president of Dayton Hudson, with Macke succeeding him as chairman and chief executive officer of Target Stores. The senior vice president of Dayton Hudson, Bruce G. Allbright, moved to Target Stores and succeeded Kenneth Macke as president. In 1978, the company acquired Mervyns and became the 7th largest retailer in the United States. Target Stores opened eight new stores that year, including its first shopping mall anchor store in Grand Forks, North Dakota. In 1979, it opened 13 new units to a total of 80 Target stores in eleven states and $1.12 billion in sales. In 1980, it sold its Lipmans department store chain of six units to Marshall Field's, which rebranded the stores as Frederick & Nelson. That year, Target Stores opened seventeen new units, including expansions into Tennessee and Kansas. It also acquired the Ayr-Way discount retail chain of 40 stores and one distribution center from Indianapolis-based L.S. Ayres & Company, which it reopened in 1981 as Target stores. That year, Stephen Pistner left the parent company to join Montgomery Ward, and Kenneth Macke succeeded him as president of Dayton Hudson. Floyd Hall succeeded Kenneth Macke as chairman and chief executive officer of Target Stores. Bruce Allbright left the company to work for Woolworth, where he was named chairman and chief executive officer of Woolco. Bob Ulrich also became president and chief executive officer of Diamond's Department Stores in 1981. In addition to the Ayr-Way acquisition, Target Stores expanded by opening fourteen new units and a third distribution center in Little Rock, Arkansas, to a total of 151 units and $2.05 billion in sales.
In 1984, it sold its Plums chain to Ross Stores after only 11 months of operation, and it sold its Diamond's and John A. Brown department store chains to Dillard's. Meanwhile, Target Stores added nine new units to a total of 215 stores and $3.55 billion in sales. Floyd Hall left the company and Bruce Allbright succeeded him as chairman and chief executive officer of Target Stores. In May 1984, Bob Ulrich became president of the Dayton Hudson Department Store Division, and in December 1984 became president of Target Stores.
In 1986, the company acquired 50 Gemco stores from Lucky Stores in California, allowing Target Stores to become the dominant retailer in Southern California as the chain grew to a total of 246 units. It also opened a fifth distribution center in Pueblo, Colorado. Dayton-Hudson sold the B. Dalton Bookseller chain of several hundred units to Barnes & Noble. In 1987, the acquired Gemco units reopened as Target units, and Target Stores expanded into Michigan and Nevada, including six new units in Detroit, Michigan, to compete directly against Detroit-based Kmart, leading to a total of 317 units in 24 states and $5.3 billion in sales. Bruce Allbright became president of Dayton Hudson, and Bob Ulrich succeeded him as chairman and chief executive officer of Target Stores. In 1988, Target Stores expanded into the Northwestern United States by opening eight units in Washington and three in Oregon, to a total of 341 units in 27 states. It also opened a distribution center in Sacramento, California, and replaced the existing distribution center in Indianapolis, Indiana, from the Ayr-Way acquisition with a new one.
In 1989, it expanded by 60 units, especially in the Southeastern United States where it entered Florida , Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to a total of 399 units in 30 states with $7.51 billion in sales. This included an acquisition of 31 more stores from Federated Department Stores' Gold Circle and Richway chains in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, which were later reopened as Target stores. It also sold its Lechmere chain that year to a group of investors including Berkshire Partners, a leveraged buy-out firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, eight Lechmere executives, and two local shopping mall executives.
In 1990, it acquired Marshall Field's from BATUS Inc. and Target Stores opened its first Target Greatland general merchandise superstore in Apple Valley, Minnesota. In 1991, Target Stores had opened 43 Target Greatland units, and sales reached $9.01 billion. In 1992, it created a short-lived chain of apparel specialty stores called Everyday Hero with two stores in Minneapolis. They attempted to compete against other apparel specialty stores such as GAP by offering private label apparel such as its Merona brand. In 1993, it created a chain of closeout stores called Smarts for liquidating clearance merchandise, such as private label apparel, that did not appeal to typical closeout chains that were only interested in national brands. It operated four Smarts units out of former Target stores in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Des Moines, Iowa, El Paso, Texas, and Indianapolis, Indiana that each closed out merchandise in nearby distribution centers. In 1994, Kenneth Macke left the company, and Bob Ulrich succeeded him as the new chairman of Dayton-Hudson.
In 1995, Target Stores opened its first SuperTarget hypermarket in Omaha, Nebraska. It also closed the four Smarts units after only two years of operation. Its store count increased to 670 with $15.7 billion in sales, and in 1996 to 736 units with $17.8 billion in sales. In 1997, both of the Everyday Hero stores were closed. Target's store count rose to 796 units, and sales rose to $20.2 billion. In 1998, it acquired Greenspring Company's multi-catalog direct marketing unit, the Rivertown Trading Company, from Minnesota Communications Group, and it acquired the Associated Merchandising Corporation, an apparel supplier. Target Stores grew to 851 units and $23.0 billion in sales. In 1999, it acquired Fedco and its ten stores in a move to expand its SuperTarget operation into Southern California. It reopened six of these stores under the Target brand and sold the other four locations to Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and the Ontario Police Department, and its store count rose to 912 units in 44 states with sales reaching $26.0 billion. On September 7, 1999, it relaunched its Target.com website as an e-commerce site and as part of its discount retail division. The site initially offered merchandise that differentiated its stores from its competitors, such as its Michael Graves brand.
Target Stores expanded into Maine, reaching 1053 units in 47 states and $33.0 billion in sales. Around the same time, the chain made a successful expansion into the Pittsburgh market, where Target capitalized on the collapse of Ames Department Stores that happened coincidentally at the same time as Target's expansion into the area. In 2002, it expanded to 1147 units, which included stores in San Leandro (Bayfair Mall), Fremont, and Hayward, California, and sales reached $37.4 billion, and in 2003 it reached 1225 units and $42.0 billion in sales.
On June 9, 2004, Target Corporation announced its sale of the Marshall Field's chain to St. Louis, Missouri-based May Department Stores, which would become effective July 31, 2004. As well, on July 21, 2004, Target Corporation announced the sale of Mervyns to an investment consortium including Sun Capital Partners, Inc., Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., Lubert-Adler/ Klaff and Partners, L.P., which was finalized September 2. Target Stores expanded to 1308 units and reached $46.8 billion USD in sales. In 2005, it reached 1397 units and $52.6 billion in sales, and in 2006 it expanded to 1488 units and sales reached $59.4 billion.
In May 2005, Target began operation in Bangalore, India, and these operations currently support all Target business units. In 2006, Target completed construction of the Robert J. Ulrich Center in Embassy Golf Links in Bangalore, and Target planned to continue its expansion into India with the construction of additional office space at the Mysore Corporate Campus and successfully opened a branch at Mysore
On January 9, 2008, Bob Ulrich announced his plans to retire as CEO, and named Gregg Steinhafel as his successor. This is due to Target Corporation policy which requires its high ranking officers to retire at the age of 65. Ulrich's retirement as CEO was effective May 1, but he remained the chairman of the board until the end of the 2008 fiscal year.
On March 4, 2009, Target expanded outside of the continental United States for the first time. Two stores were opened simultaneously on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, along with two stores in Alaska. Despite the economic downturn, media reports indicated sizable crowds and brisk sales. The opening of the Hawaii stores leaves Vermont as the only state in which Target does not operate.
In August 2010 and "after a lengthy wind-down", Target began a nationwide closing of its remaining 262 garden centers, reportedly due to "stronger competition from home-improvement stores, Wal-Mart and independent garden centers. In addition,starting September 2010, numerous Target locations have added a fresh produce department to their store. "
While many Target stores share a fairly common big-box store layout, the company has been flexible with its designs. Target operates unique stores across the country in urban locations or within malls, in which a standard one-story building would not be feasible. These stores encompass multiple floors with both sales floor area and off stage areas such as offices or storage rooms spanning a number of these floors. Vertical transportation is provided in the store by escalator, elevator, or Vermaport, a specialized escalator for carts.
The first Target stores included leased supermarkets in addition to general merchandise, which during the time was a common practice by discount retailers as they attempted to offer a one-stop shopping experience to customers. Douglas Dayton stated in 1967 that "we believe that the discount-grocery store is a necessary ingredient in what we offer the customer. After all, food sales are about 40% of all department store-type merchandise sales, so the two kinds of stores go hand-in-hand and are what people think of when they think of a discount store." However, by the end of the decade, Target started moving away from this general merchandise and leased supermarket practice. In 1969, Target opened its first store consisting of only general merchandise. As an effort to continue to compete and stand out in the competitive U.S. food market, meat and produce were placed with grocery in two general merchandise Target stores as a test project in early 2009, and many stores are now being expanded to new and re-modeled locations. In the past, the one-hour photo processing labs were not owned by Target but by Qualex, a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak, and were staffed by employees of Qualex, not Target. However, in June 2005, Target spokeswoman Brie Heath announced that Target Corporation will replace the Qualex photo labs with their own labs running Kodak equipment, and will staff them with Target employees. Unlike the previous Qualex labs, all photo processing is done "in house", including next-day, digital, and Kodak Perfect Touch processing, although a few labs have been replaced with "send-out" only service with a self-service Kodak Picture Kiosk. A select number of "test" stores are running with Fujifilm equipment instead of Kodak. Target has also partnered with Yahoo! Photos for online photo services, including ordering prints online for one-hour store pickup. This ended in September 2007. Target Photo now partners with Kodak Gallery, Shutterfly, and Photobucket.
By September 2010, Target Stores with garden centers had stopped stocking live plants and most garden supplies; in about 350 of its stores, Target used some of the space to stock an expanded selection of fresh food, meat and produce, with the remaining 700 stores gaining space for seasonal items.
The first Target Greatland opened in Apple Valley, Minnesota, in 1990, but has since been remodeled, expanded, and rebranded as a SuperTarget. From 2005 to 2008, the company reorganized the sales floor, allowing them to double the grocery space and move some departments to streamline the layout to better match a typical Target floorplan. Prominent features include double entrances on single level stores along with an expanded Target Café. The Target Café may include a Pizza Hut Express, Taco Bell Express, and/or a Starbucks. The construction of new Target Greatland stores has been phased out in favor of building general merchandise stores with a selection of perishable grocery items. Current Target Greatland stores are being converted to general merchandise Target stores or SuperTarget stores.
===SuperTarget=== SuperTarget is a chain of hypermarkets that are about and feature double entrances on one-story stores. The first SuperTarget opened in Omaha, Nebraska in 1995, and the second SuperTarget opened in Lawrence, Kansas the same year. , Target operated 218 SuperTarget stores in 22 US states, the majority of those are in Texas and Florida, with sizable numbers in Minnesota and Colorado.
Until 2006, the store logo spelled "Super" in green script, while newer locations are signed in red block letters in the Helvetica font in favor of a streamlined brand look. These stores offer everything found in a regular Target as well as a full grocery selection, fresh produce, bakery and deli, with most locations having a Target Optical. Many SuperTargets feature Starbucks Coffee, Pizza Hut Express, Taco Bell Express, Target Pharmacy, The Studio @ Target (a portrait studio), Target Photo, and a Wells Fargo Bank or U.S. Bank. In the past, some SuperTargets featured an E*TRADE trading station in place of a bank, though E*TRADE removed all of their SuperTarget branches in June 2003 without any prior notice. Mitchell Caplan, E*TRADE's CEO at that time, said that "We were not able to make it into a profitable distribution channel...[w]e're better off exiting." E*TRADE also sent a letter of notification to their customers informing them about this change. A select few stores in Maryland and the Twin Cities have a new Target Clinic concept. Unlike other hypermarkets, like Wal-Mart Supercenters, SuperTargets are not open 24 hours.
Building stores in these environments carries an elevated cost which is offset by the high potential for business that these stores can bring in. The Target store located on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis features a three-story glass entrance and a design that sets it apart from suburban Target stores. This urban store alone cost Target Corporation US$16.3 million. This concept has also been used to convert Super Target stores from former Bullock's, Montgomery Ward, J. W. Robinson's, Robinsons-May and Younkers stores.
The retail chain's first distribution center opened in Fridley, Minnesota, in 1969. It included a computerized distribution system and was known as the Northern Distribution Center. During this time, the chain consisted of seventeen stores after having expanded into Oklahoma and Texas.
On August 9, 2004, Target announced to their suppliers that they were going to perform a trial on the effects of radio frequency identification on the efficiency of supply chain management in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. This trial involved one Target distribution center and ten nearby Target stores. Here, RFID tags would be placed on the bar codes of pallets and cartons to track the goods from the suppliers to the distribution center, and from the distribution center to the stores. As of 2009 RFID has been phased out of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex stores.
On January 27, 2009, Target announced the closing of its distribution center in Maumelle, Arkansas, the second-oldest in the company. The reason cited was the need to ensure that Target remains competitive in the long-term.
As a result, Target stores tend to attract younger and more educated and affluent customers than Walmart, among other competitors. The median Target shopper is 41 years old, the youngest of all major discount retailers that Target competes directly against. The median household income of Target's customer base is roughly $63,000 US$. Roughly 76% of Target customers are female, and more than 45% have children at home. About 80% have attended college and 48% have completed college. 97% of American consumers recognize the Target Bullseye logo.
In October 2008, Target announced plans to fight the perception that their products are more expensive than those of other discount retailers. It planned to add perishables to their inventory, cut back on discretionary items, and spend three-quarters of their marketing budget on advertising that emphasizes value and includes actual prices of items featured in ads. Target also planned to slow its expansion from about 100 stores a year down to 70 stores a year.
Target stores are designed to be more attractive than large box-department stores by having wider aisles, drop ceilings, a more attractive presentation of merchandise and generally cleaner fixtures and store personnel. Special attention is given to the design of the store environment: Graphics reinforce its advertising imagery, while shelves are dressed with contemporary signage, backdrops and liners, often printed on inexpensive material such as paper, corrugated and foam boards. Some stores, particularly those in the vicinity of major airports, have a bullseye painted on the roof that can be seen from above: the stores in Rosemont, Illinois, near O'Hare International Airport and Richfield, Minnesota, adjacent to Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport are among such locations. Target doesn't use music in its stores, nor does it promote items or services through its public address system.
Some people jokingly give Target the pseudo-French pronunciation tar-, as though it were an upscale boutique. This trend is incorrectly believed to have been started by Oprah Winfrey, when she used the French pronunciation to refer to the store on her television show; it has actually been traced back to 1962, the year the first Target store opened; this was reinforced by a 1980s television advertisement starring Didi Conn. This pronunciation has also led some people to incorrectly believe that the company is French-owned. In recognition of the nickname's popularity and cachet, Target Corporation licensed its name and logo to Brand Central LLC in 2006, complete with accent over the letter "E", for a new line of clothing intended for more up-scale fashion customers. The line, "Targét Couture" was originally sold at Los Angeles-based store Intuition, which deals with high-end brands.
Target uses a practice that was derived in 1989 from The Walt Disney Company by calling its customers "Guests", its employees "Team Members", and its supervisors "Team Leaders". Also, managers are known as "Executive Team Leaders (ETLs)" and the Store Manager is known as the "Store Team Leader (STL)". Further up the "chain of command" are "District Team Leaders (DTL)," "Group Team Leaders (GTL)," Regional Team Leaders (RTL) (Sometimes also Regional Vice President), then corporate-level executives.
Target stores do not sell firearms. In the early 1990s, they ceased sales of toy guns that looked realistic and limited its toy gun selection to ones that were brightly colored and oddly shaped. They do not sell tobacco products and have not sold cigarettes since 1996. This is a key point of differentiation with Target's chief competitor Wal-mart which offers firearms and tobacco at many stores.
Target has many exclusive deals with various designers and name-brands, including Michael Graves, Isaac Mizrahi, Mossimo Giannulli, Fiorucci, Liz Lange, and Converse among others. To further increase their fashion profile, Target also created its fashion-forward Go International line, which hires famous designers to design collections available only for a few months. Target, after hiring architect Michael Graves to design the scaffolding used to renovate the Washington Monument and contributing $6 million USD to the restoration plan, introduced its first designer line of products in 1999, the Michael Graves Collection of housewares and home decor products. Wal-Mart and Kmart have followed Target's lead by signing exclusive designers to their stores as well. Target also partners with well-established national brands to create exclusive collections for its stores. Recently, Sony created a line of electronics under the Sony LIV name geared toward women. The collection included a CD player that resembled a purse and a CD player that was equipped to be mounted under the kitchen counter. Another example of this is Target having an exclusive deal with Food Network for selling DVDs of TV shows featuring popular chefs such as Rachael Ray, Alton Brown, and Paula Deen. In July 2006, Target started selling two-tone pink edition Apple iPods through a partnership with Colorware. Sometimes manufacturers will create red-colored items, exclusively for Target. In 2002, Nintendo produced a red special edition variant of the Game Boy Advance, which featured the Target logo above the screen.
In 2005, IFC began a partnership with Target to promote a selection of independent films, both in Target stores and on IFC Monday nights at 9:00 pm Eastern. Originally titled IFC Cinema Red, the promotion was rebranded on air asThe Spotlight in 2007. The in-store headers refer to the selected titles as IFC Indies – Independent films chosen for Target by the Independent Film Channel.
===GiftCards=== The Target GiftCard is the retailing division's stored-value card or gift card. Target sells more gift cards than any other retailer in the United States and is one of the top sellers, by dollars and units, in the world. The unique designs of their cards contribute to their higher sales, as well as Target's policy of no expiration dates or service fees. Past and current designs include lenticular, "scratch and sniff" (such as peppermint during the Christmas season), glow in the dark, LED light-up, a gift card on the side of a bubble blower, a gift card that can function as a CD-ROM, and even a giftcard that allows the sender to record a voice message. A current environmentally friendly giftcard is made from bioplastic manufactured from corn. Target rolled out a new MP3 player giftcard for the 2006 holiday season. It holds 12 songs and must be purchased with an initial value of at least $50.
Beginning in January 2010, Target Stores will roll out Mobile GiftCards, through which one can produce a GiftCard barcode on any web-capable cell phone. This data matrix barcode can be scanned at a Target POS like any physical card barcode, and balances can be stored, retrieved, and gifted with the convenience of a cell phone.
Some of these unique design ideas are patented, and these patents are assigned to the Target Brands subsidiary. For example, some such Target GiftCard designs feature a wooden front side. On May 24, 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted U.S. patent D505,450 for the "ornamental design for a credit or stored value card with wood layer" to inventors Amy L. Lauer and John D. Mayhew. U.S. patent 7004398, for the "stored-value card assembly including a stored-value card, an edible product, and a wrapper", was granted to Michael R. Francis and Barry C. Brooks on February 28, 2006. Both patents have been assigned by their inventors to Target Brands, Inc.
Target GiftCards are also collectors items. Some of the first gift cards issued are valued at over $300 (even though the card doesn't have any money on it). Every year Target introduces new Holiday GiftCards. In 2007, Target's Holiday GiftCards featured a wind-up flashlight, a musical gift card, a gift card that lights up, and a scented gift card.
Further evidence of Target's philanthropy can be found in the Target House complex in Memphis, Tennessee, a long-term housing solution for families of patients at the city's St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The corporation led the way with more than $27 million in donations, which made available 96 fully furnished apartments for families needing to stay at St. Jude over 90 days.
Target has a standard no-solicitation rule at its properties, as it seeks to provide a "distraction-free shopping experience for its guests." Exemptions to this policy were previously made for the Salvation Army red kettles and bell-ringers outside Target stores during the holidays through Christmas. In 2004, however, Target asked the organization to explore alternate methods to partner with Target. Target donates to local Salvation Army chapters through its grant program and annually to the United Way of America (the Salvation Army is a member of the United Way coalition).
In 2005, Target and the Salvation Army created a joint effort called "The Target/Salvation Army Wish List," where online shoppers could donate goods to the organization for Hurricane victims by buying them directly from Target.com between November 25, 2005, and January 25, 2006. In 2006, they created another joint effort called "The Target/Salvation Army Angel Giving Tree," which is an online version of the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program; in addition to donating proceeds made from the sales of limited edition Harvey Lewis angel ornaments within Target's stores. During the Thanksgiving holiday of 2006, Target and the Salvation Army partnered with magician David Blaine to send several families on a shopping spree the morning of Black Friday. The challenge held that if Blaine could successfully work his way out of a spinning gyroscope by the morning of Black Friday, then several families would receive $500 shopping certificates. The challenge was completed successfully by Blaine.
During disasters, Target has been a major benefactor for relief efforts. Target provided monetary and product donations during the September 11 attacks; it also donated money for relief efforts for the 2004 tsunami in South Asia and donated $1.5 million (US) to the American Red Cross in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It also allowed its store properties in the affected area to be used as command centers for relief organizations. It also donated supplies such as water and bug spray.
Target will often donate its unused, returned or seasonal merchandise (particularly clothing) to Goodwill Industries.
Target released a 13-page report in 2007 that outlined their current and future plans for becoming more earth-friendly according to LEED. Such efforts include installing sand filtration systems for the store's wastewater. Recycling programs will be aimed at garment hangers, corrugated cardboard, electronics, shopping carts, shrink wrap, construction wastes, carpeting and ceiling tiles and roofing materials. All stores in Oklahoma will be partnered with Oklahoma Gas & Electric to exclusively use wind power for all Target stores in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Stores nationwide use only LED and fluorescent lights and low-flow restrooms that reduce waste water by 30%. Some Target stores are installing roof gardens or green roofs, which absorb storm water and cut down on surface runoff, mitigate temperature fluctuations and provide habitats for birds. There are currently four green-roof Target stores in Chicago.
Target carries over 700 organic and alternative products from brands such as Archer Farms, Burt's Bees, and Method Products. They also sell clothes made from organic cotton, non-toxic cleaners, low-energy lighting and electronics, non-toxic and non-animal tested cosmetics, and furniture made from recycled materials. , Target has been offering reusable shopping bags as an alternative to disposable plastic bags. Target gift cards are made from corn-based resins. All of the stores' packaging is done with a modified paperboard/clamshell option and has goals for phasing out plastic wrap completely.
In collaboration with MBH Architects, Target's first "green" building was a 100,000+ square foot Target store built in 1995 in Fullerton, California. It was a part of the EPA Energy Star Showcase for its use of skylights that cut the original energy consumption by 24% with a 5-year payback. Target and MBH Architects were awarded the "Green Lights Partner/Ally of the Year Award".
Target is the only national retailer employing a Garment Hanger reuse program, which keeps millions of pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills. In 2007, this program prevented 434 million hangers from entering landfills.
On June 15, 2009, the California Attorney General and 20 California District Attorneys filed a lawsuit in Alameda County alleging that Target stores across the state have been illegally dumping hazardous wastes in landfills.
On October 1, 2009 Target Corporation agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty for importing and selling a variety of toys with lead paint levels which were higher than is legally allowed. The Consumer Products Safety Commission alleged that “Target knowingly imported and sold the illegal Chinese-made toys between May 2006 and August 2007.” A similar problem occurred a few months later in February 2010, when Target pulled Valentine's Day "message bears" from its shelves at the request of the California attorney general's office. The bears, which were manufactured in China, contained more lead than is permissible under federal law for children under 12.
In 2004, the company's decision to bar the Salvation Army from soliciting donations at its stores generated much negative publicity (see Philanthropy section above). In addition, Target refuses to let Toys for Tots collect toys on their properties. Target said that, in the face of rising requests from other charities, it could no longer justify the exemption for the Salvation Army.
In 2005, Planned Parenthood protested Target policy involving a conscience clause that allows pharmacists to refuse to dispense the emergency contraceptive, Plan B Levonorgestrel, based on religious beliefs, as long as the employee ensures that the prescription is filled by another pharmacist in a timely manner. Defenders of Target applaud the company for upholding the employee's freedom of conscience, while critics feel this policy fails to uphold the pharmacist's duty of care.
In July 2007, Target Corporation was fined $120,000 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for selling outlawed aerosol confetti string. The EPA said that the fine stemmed from Minneapolis-based Target's sale of Horrible Spooky String, a children's sprayable confetti product that violates the Clean Air Act because it contains banned hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC). Such chemicals deplete the ozone layer and their sale or distribution in "non-essential" products has been prohibited in the United States.
, the gay and lesbian community has been boycotting Target over donations to anti-gay groups and politicians. Among Representative Michele Bachmann's top 20 campaign contributors in 2010, Target was Number 1.
'Armed and Dangerous'
In July 2010, Target Corporation donated $150,000 to Minnesota Forward, a primarily-Republican political action committee funded by Minnesota corporations. Minnesota Forward began using these funds to run television ads, on behalf of 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Minnesota State Representative Ryan Winkler said it was unwise for Target Corporation to back Emmer, because his views on immigration, LGBT rights, and decreasing the minimum wage for restaurant workers could upset Target shoppers. The LGBT community and progressive groups expressed outrage at Target Corporation for its indirect support of Emmer, and some have called for a boycott of Target stores. Pop singer and LGBT advocate Lady Gaga responded to the news by revoking an exclusive deluxe release of her second studio album Born This Way.
The Target employee diversity program is called "The Strength of Many. The Power of One." It specifically seeks to work with vendors and contractors that are owned by minorities or women.
It has long extended domestic-partner benefits to straight, gay, and lesbian employees. However, it does not extend it's employee discount to domestic partners, or same sex spouses stating the reason is it uses IRS guidelines of who can be claimed on federal taxes to determine who is eligible for the discount. It had received a 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index Score, prior to donating funds to Minnesota Forward. In addition, Target Corporation was named one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" in 2004 by Working Mother.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has repeatedly given Target failing grades on its annual Economic Reciprocity Initiative report card, a measure of the company's "commitment to the African-American citizenry". In 2003 and 2005, the NAACP has rated Target an "F" on this report; in 2004, Target was rated a "D-". In 2006, when Target was asked why it didn't participate in the survey again, a representative explained, "Target views diversity as being inclusive of all people from all different backgrounds, not just one group."
In February 2006 the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) filed a class action discrimination lawsuit in Northern California's Alameda County Superior Court, claiming that Target’s commercial website, "contains thousands of access barriers that make it difficult, if not impossible, for blind customers to use." Target Corporation settled the lawsuit in October 2008 paying $6 million and agreeing to work with the NFB over the next three years improving the usability of the Target.com site.
On August 24, 2009 the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a discrimination lawsuit against national retailer Target Corporation for unlawfully denying reasonable accommodation to an employee with multiple disability-based impairments and substantially reducing his work hours due to the medical conditions. According to the claims in the U.S. EEOC press release, Target’s actions violated Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
Target owns the naming rights to the Target Center and Target Field in Minneapolis. It also is a long-time sponsor of the IndyCar and NASCAR racing teams of Chip Ganassi Racing. Target's relationship with Ganassi in IndyCar go back to 1990, sponsoring Eddie Cheever, and some of their most famous drivers in the 1990s include Arie Luyendyk, Michael Andretti and Bryan Herta. In the late 1990s, Target Chip Ganassi racing had a four-year run of winning championships in CART winning 1996 with Jimmy Vasser, 1997 and 1998 with Alex Zanardi, and 1999 with Juan Pablo Montoya. Ganassi won their first Indianapolis 500 in 2000, with Montoya dominating the race, leading 167 of 200 laps. The team moved full-time into the rival Indy Racing League in 2003, and won in it's first year of full-time competition, with Scott Dixon. Dixon won the championship again in 2008. The 2009 season marked the 20th Anniversary of the Target race program (1990–present). Franchitti won his second career IndyCar championship, and with Scott Dixon finishing second, gave Target a one-two sweep in the IndyCar Series. Dixon and Franchitti won 10 of 17 races (Dixon-5, Franchitti-5) and tied the team record from 1998 where Alex Zanardi and Jimmy Vasser combined to win 10 in the 19-race 1998 CART season. In 2010, Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 in commanding fashion. He also won series championship for the Target team, by 5 points over 2nd place finisher Will Power.
Target started sponsoring stock cars in 2001 with Sterling Marlin, when Chip Ganassi bought into the Felix Sabates stock car team. In the 2002 NASCAR season, the No.41 Chip Ganassi Target car was driven by Jimmy Spencer; and from 2003 to 2005, Casey Mears drove the car. In 2006, Reed Sorenson took over the No.41 when Mears moved to a different Chip Ganassi car on the same team. Sorenson drove the car through the 2008 season and Target has also had some major sponsorship time on the Ganassi Racing No.40 car with Dario Franchitti and Jeremy Mayfield who subbed for the injured Franchitti. The 40 team has since been shut down. For 2009, the Target sponsorship moved to the No.42 driven by Juan Pablo Montoya with the newly formed Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Target also sponsored Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's No.8 car driven by Aric Almirola , which it co-sponsors in some races with other sponsors such as Guitar Hero and TomTom until the team was disbanded in May 2009.
The Target Chip Ganassi car driven by Dario Franchitti won the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday May 30, 2010.
Target Corporation is a major sponsor of the annual Minneapolis Aquatennial, where it hosts the Target Fireworks Show. It is the largest annual fireworks show west of the Mississippi River, and the fourth largest annual fireworks show in the United States.
Target also sponsors the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, New York. It hosts Target Free Friday Nights, providing to all visitors free admission to the museum during Fridays after 4 pm The company also hosts Target First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum. A similar Target-sponsored program at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art called "Free after Five" provides free admission in the evening throughout the week. Tuesdays are free at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Illinois, courtesy of Target. In its hometown of Minneapolis, Target sponsors the Target Free Thursday Nights at the Walker Art Center, where admission is free after 4 pm as well as in its sister-city Saint Paul hosting "Target Third Free Sundays" at the Minnesota Children's Museum. In Boston, Massachusetts, Target sponsors $1 Friday Nights at Boston Children's Museum from 5:00 – 9:00 pm
Target is the founding sponsor of the Weekend America radio program. Target often supports major awards shows such as the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, and the Golden Globes. In the past, it has participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade with a corporate float.
Category:Companies established in 1902 Category:Companies based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Category:Retail companies of the United States Category:Discount stores of the United States Category:Publicly traded companies Category:Superstores in the United States
bg:Таргет de:Target Corporation es:Target Corporation fr:Target Corporation kn:ಟಾರ್ಗೆಟ್ ಕಾರ್ಪೊರೇಶನ್ la:Target lt:Target Corporation nl:Target Corporation ja:ターゲット (企業) pl:Target Corporation ro:Target Corporation ru:Target Corporation sco:Target Corporation te:టార్గెట్ కార్పోరేషన్This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Coordinates | 29°57′53″N90°4′14″N |
---|---|
name | Citizen Cope |
background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
origin | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
genre | Alternative rock |
occupation | Musician, disc jockey |
instrument | Turntables, guitar, keyboard, drum machine |
years active | 1993–present |
label | DreamWorks RecordsArista RecordsRCA Records |
associated acts | Basehead, Goodie Mob, Dido, Easy Star All-Stars |
website | www.citizencope.com }} |
Citizen Cope is the pseudonym of Clarence Greenwood, an American musician. Greenwood is a native of Memphis, TN, who relocated to Washington, DC for highschool. There he became the DJ for Basehead before moving again to Brooklyn, New York. He is a self-taught musician who grew up listening to Sly Stone, Willie Nelson, and Al Green. He provides lead vocals and production on his albums. He also plays a variety of instruments including guitar, keyboard and drum machines.
After releasing his demo tape, Cope was signed to Capitol Records, where he recorded Shotguns. In 1998, he was dropped from Capitol, without releasing the album.
In 2000, Greenwood signed with the DreamWorks Records label, which released his first album in September 2002, Citizen Cope. To promote the record, Greenwood toured as an opener for Nelly Furtado. He performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, in 2002.
The Washington Post did a large feature on Cope in early 2002, calling him "the city's most soulful export since Marvin Gaye."
In October 2002, Carlos Santana released his record titled Shaman. Greenwood wrote and produced one of the tracks on that album ("Sideways").
After the release of Citizen Cope, Greenwood felt that the label "mishandled" the record. Tension between the label and artist prompted Greenwood to buy out his contract with the label, using the advance he received from his next label, Arista Records and RCA Records, to do so.
In September 2004, Citizen Cope released his second record, The Clarence Greenwood Recordings. The album has sold more than 300,000 records to date, with over 700,000 single downloads. From 2004 through 2010, Citizen Cope has undertaken a heavy tour schedule.
In 2005, Cope continued to tour the United States promoting his second major-label record. In April, his song "Son's Gonna Rise" began appearing in a Pontiac commercial and was distributed as the album's second single.
On September 12, 2006, Citizen Cope released the album Every Waking Moment.
In early 2008, Citizen Cope parted ways with RCA records.
The song "Let the Drummer Kick" was featured in the 2008 Acura TSX commercial early that year.
In early June 2008, Citizen Cope announced a special one off solo show at the London Luminaire in Kilburn on the 2nd July.
He made an appearance on Dido's 2008 album Safe Trip Home, collaborating on a track called "Burnin' Love".
Throughout 2008, Citizen Cope sold more than 100,000 tickets in North America alone (festivals and colleges not included), performing more than 120 shows.
Cope finished his highly successful US solo acoustic tour in December 2008. The Rainwater LP, was released through his own label, RainWater Recordings, on February 8, 2010, elsewhere digitally February 9, 2010, with the physical CD released March 2, 2010. As of April 2011, he is touring the US on a solo acoustic tour.
Cope gave a solo performance and guest appearance at Eric Clapton's "Crossroads" Guitar Festival on June 26, 2010 in Bridgeview, IL.
Category:Living people Category:American singer-songwriters
es:Citizen Cope fr:Citizen Cope pt:Citizen Cope ru:Citizen Cope fi:Citizen CopeThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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