Target tries to be cool
It’s been almost a year since the data breach that sent some Target customers packing. And Target, which reports earnings Wednesday, is trying a number of strategies to get them back.
For one, it has a new CEO, Brian Cornell. And he’s not above admitting the company has problems. He says Target needs to be cool again.
“What does it mean to be Target in today’s retail landscape?” says Amy Koo, a senior analyst at Kantar Retail. She says Target is trying to beef up customer service. “They’re doing beauty advisers, they’ve expanded to do baby advisers. You know, ask us if you need help.”
Target is also experimenting with smaller stores in cities.
One experiment that didn’t go so well? Opening stores in Canada. Canadians complained about the prices, and shortages of popular products. Some analysts are weighing whether Target should close those stores.
“If they can’t get it to be a profitable venture then they’re going to do what’s best for the shareholder,” says Sean Naughton, senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray.
Naughton has already calculated how much it would cost Target to pull out of Canada: about $1.2 billion.
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