Photo Credit: Roadsidepictures

Target Corp (TGT), the 10th largest global retailer and major competitor to, will be reporting 3rd quarter earnings tomorrow before the opening bell. WalMart (WMT) reported earlier this morning and beat analyst estimates, causing a surge in Target shares by a little over 1%. The retail industry has been weak, but Wal-Mart’s positive earnings surprise may just lead to a better than expected report from Target. The Estimize consensus has maintained EPS and revenue projections of $0.88 and $17.65 billion respectively. Wall Street analysts believe the overall suffering of the retail industry will affect Target, expecting EPS of $0.86 and revenue of $17.63 billion.

Target has announced that 13 US stores will be closed by January 31st, 2016. The Minneapolis based company declared that due to an unfortunate decline in profits, the stores would have to be shut down. To accommodate the direct effect of thousands of job losses, employees of the stores will have the opportunity to transfer to another store. Additionally, in May, the retailer closed all of its Canada locations.

However, Target has announced the widely anticipated opening of a second Manhattan location in Tribeca. This position is very advantageous as it serves the Financial District, Battery Park, and the 9/11 memorial, all gathering spots for tourists, and presents the opportunity to propel same store sales growth in the coming years. This new store is in-line with the initiative to open small-format urban stores. The location will be one-third the size of a traditional suburban site and doors will open in October of 2016.

Black Friday is right around the corner and the retail giant has been feverishly planning its strategy to attract a large percentage of holiday shoppers. The current plan is to introduce the 10 day deal bonanza. From November 22nd to December 1st, customers will be able to save big on electronics, appliances, toys etc. Furthermore, Target is stocking the shelves with the hottest items that are guaranteed to sell, like Star Wars merchandise (in anticipation of the release 8th installment of the series,) back to school supplies, and serious discounts on Apple products. Additionally, deals will be able to be exploited online as a part of a new campaign to develop online sales. Currently, online sales account for 3% of all sales, which, for Target, is a huge number considering the revenues are so large.

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