Target to Remodel More Stores as Chain Seeks Edge Over Wal-Mart

MINNESOTA, United States — Target Corp. is stepping up its plan to remodel stores, a bid to regain its cachet and fend off incursions by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

The retailer now plans to revamp more than 1,000 locations by the end of 2020, part of a sweeping overhaul of its operations. The Minneapolis-based company had previously said it was remodelling 600 stores by 2019.

The changes include opening smaller-format stores in places like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia — and pairing the locations with e-commerce services. On Thursday, chief executive Brian Cornell helped unveil a store in Manhattan’s Herald Square, not far from the Macy’s Inc. flagship.

“Guests are rewarding us with more traffic and we’re driving increased comparable-store sales,” Cornell said at the event. “It’s given us confidence to move forward aggressively.”

Target is opening 11 small-format stores this week, as well as a traditional big-box location in Honolulu. The company also is rolling out its Restock program nationwide in 2018. That service lets customers have essentials like toothpaste delivered the next day.

Small-format stores generate at least twice as much in sales per square foot, though they’re costlier to operate — partly because they have to take deliveries more often. The company also has to pay more for real estate in city centres.

By Matthew Boyle; editor: Nick Turner and Jonathan Roeder.