Target

New York City -- Despite ongoing concerns about the economy, retailers fared surprisingly well in September, helped by the tail end of back-to-school shopping and cooler temperatures. Overall, Thomson Reuters, which tracks same-store sales for a group of 23 national chains, said the group was expected to post a 4.6% increase in same-store sales for September. Retailers surpassed expectations, with a 5.1% rise led by strong performances from Target, Limited Brands, Zumiez and Costco Wholesale, among others. Walgreens, however, disappointed with a 3.1% rise in same-store sales, missing analysts’ expectations. Still, the U.S. consumer in September "showed resilience in

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp. announced Friday plans to redevelop four shopping centers by adding two new Walmart stores in Florida and expanding two existing stores in Ohio and Puerto Rico. "These projects will deliver desired growth opportunities to the world's most successful retailer and further strengthen DDR's relationship with its largest tenant," said Paul Freddo, senior executive VP leasing & development for DDR. At DDR's The Shops at Midtown Miami, a 645,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use center in Miami, Walmart plans to build a 160,000-sq.-ft. store on a currently undeveloped five-acre parcel adjacent to the existing center which currently features Target,

Target has announced partnerships with several fashion designers for limited edition women's wear, handbags, lingerie, lounge wear and accessories. Target signed designer Josie Natori for its first limited edition collection of lingerie and loungewear.

Broken links, missing baby and wedding registries, and carts with a mind of their own are just a few of Target's problems six weeks after the retailer unshackled itself from Amazon. But irate customers unable to complete purchases and Facebook and Twitter feeds littered with angry comments, all during a period when nearly 40 percent of consumers are shopping for the holidays, may have Target execs wondering if its newfound freedom cost too much.

New York City -- Costco Wholesale Corp. turned in a strong September performance, leading the category with a 12% rise in same-store sales for the month. Wall Street expected a 10.1% rise. However, the warehouse club operator cautioned that margins were negatively impacted during the period and that it would be raising its membership fees to compensate. Target Corp., helped by strong sales of groceries, beauty products and clothing, saw September same-store sales rise 5.3%, beating the projected 3.9% increase. Sales for the period rose 6.5% to $5.9 billion. “We’re very pleased with our September comparable-store sales, which were

MINNEAPOLIS — Target report a moderately better than expected 5.3% same-store sales increase for September that was driven by broad-based gains in all categories and geographic regions, the company reported Thursday. The increase was almost entirely due to larger average transaction sizes and came on top of a prior year increase of 1.3%. The company also noted that customer traffic as measured by comparable-store transaction increase a little more than 1%. “We’re very pleased with our September comparable-store sales, which were somewhat ahead of our expectations,” said Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel. “We experienced strong sales results

Its wildly successful Missoni line is still in stores, but Target is already looking ahead. The discount chain announced that it will next collaborate with fashion designer Jason Wu, who shot to fame after First Lady Michelle Obama wore one of his dresses to the 2009 Inaugural Ball.

After a decade at the helm of Target's marketing, Michael Francis is leaving the company to join J.C. Penney. Francis will join J.C. Penney as president, effective immediately.

Photos of first lady Michelle Obama strolling away from the checkout counter at a Target store in Alexandria, Va. circled the globe Sept 30. The images were unusual and striking, depicting the elegant first lady in an unglamorous disguise shopping at a discount store familiar to millions of Americans.

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