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Monday, October 27, 2008

Target Screws up yet again!

Monday, October 27, 2008

See I told you Target SUCKS!

This is for all you HQ weenie waggers in Minneapolis who look in every day. You are in a nice comfy office at HQ and probably don't even realize just what a bunch of jerks are out there working for your chicken shit little company - well here is a nice article that will fill you in on just what a bunch of morons work for your store.

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Jury orders Target to pay $3 million in civil case

By Eric Connor • STAFF WRITER Greenvilleonline.com • October 23, 2008


The jury ruled in favor of Rita Cantrell following a three-day civil trial in U.S. District court in Greenville, according to a judgment filed Thursday.
In 2006, Cantrell brought a civil defamation lawsuit against Target alleging libel and negligence.

The suit alleged that a Target loss-prevention employee was responsible for an email distributed to dozens of other businesses and law enforcement agencies that warned them to be on the lookout for her after she tried to buy items from two Target stores with a legitimate $100 bill, according to a complaint filed in Greenville federal court.

In its answer to the complaint, Target denied wrongdoing and said that the email communication was "made in good faith." The email led the U.S. Secret Service to question Cantrell while she was at work at a Belk’s department store in Greenville, where she was employed in the store’s loss-prevention department, the complaint alleged. Agents reviewed the bill -- which was an older, 1974 series $100 bill -- and determined she had done nothing wrong, according to the complaint.

The jury awarded Cantrell $100,000 in actual damages and penalized Target with $3 million in punitive damages, according to the judgment. The lead attorney for Target, Knox Haynsworth, referred questions about the judgment to Target’s corporate office Thursday.

The office couldn’t be reached to comment. In its answer, Target says that its employee sent the email only to a loss-prevention employee at another department store and who also served as theft task force’s communication liaison. In February 2006, Cantrell was a customer at Target’s locations on Woodruff Road and Wade Hampton Boulevard and was questioned at each location by employees when she tried to pay for merchandise with a $100 bill, which was rejected because it was a 1974 series bill, the complaint alleges. A loss-prevention employee for Target composed an email that was distributed to a group known as the Carolina Organized Retail Theft Task Force, according to the complaint.

The employee’s email -- the contents of which included images of Cantrell shopping and allegations that she had tried to pass a counterfeit bill and had shoplifted -- was sent to 31 members of the group, according to the complaint.

Members included local, state and federal law enforcement offices, malls, department stores, home-improvement stores and grocery stores, the complaint alleged. The Secret Service went to Cantrell’s work and subjected her to a "custodial interrogation," but after looking at the $100, determined the bill was genuine and cleared her of any criminal activity, the complaint alleged. Following the interview, Cantrell was provided a copy of the email, according to the complaint. "Every aspect of Rita’s life was harmed by Target," said Bozzie Boggs, a Greenville attorney who helped represent Cantrell during the trial.

Also take a look at another blog of mine, similar topics but a lot longer:
http://targetfiling.blogspot.com

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Mixed Signals Here?

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Target to Open 45 Stores on Sunday

Minneapolis (October 10, 2008)

Target is gearing up for the opening of 45 stores on Sunday, including the debut of two new prototype stores in Minnesota and the company’s first two stores in Alaska, according to The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Target will debut its first new general-merchandise prototype in Waconia, Minn. Meanwhile, a new store in Otsego, Minn., features the company’s new SuperTarget prototype.

Each of the new models is certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
The report also noted that the new general-merchandise stores will be 132,400 sq. ft. in size, roughly 6,000 sq. ft. larger than the current model. The new SuperTarget stores will be 186,000 sq. ft.

Target plans to roll out the 2009 prototypes at more than 100 locations nationwide next year.

Target also will open its first Alaska locations this weekend. One of the stores is in Wasilla, the town where Alaska governor and Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin was mayor from 1996 to 2002. The other will be in Anchorage.
As of Sunday, Target will operate 1,685 stores in almost all 50 states, with the exception of Hawaii and Vermont. However, it has plans to enter Hawaii next Spring.

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Target Trims Store-Opening Projections

Minneapolis (October 24, 2008)

Target Corp. is cutting back on its 2009 store-opening plans amid the economic slowdown, the company said on Thursday.

"We are not happy with the current pace of our sales, and we are working diligently to drive our top-line performance," said CEO Gregg Steinhafel, speaking at an analyst and investor meeting broadcast over the Internet.

In August, Target reported its fourth straight quarterly profit decline even as Wal-Mart Stores saw profits rise from consumers seeking out bargains.

Target said on Thursday it has reduced its 2009 store-opening plans, canceling some projects that no longer make financial sense.

"We'll now open about 70 net new stores in 2009, and we know we will open fewer still in 2010, although it's a bit premature to speculate just how many," said CFO Doug Scovanner.

In August, Target said that for 2009, it was projecting adding about 70 to 75 net new stores.

Target also told analysts it is working to improve results in its credit-card business.

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Friday, October 24, 2008

Target Tightens Credit Terms More for Card Holders

Last Edited: Thursday, 23 Oct 2008, 8:42 PM EDT
Created: Thursday, 23 Oct 2008, 8:42 PM EDT

Credit: MyFox By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
AP Business Writer


NEW YORK -- Target Corp., facing slower sales and rising delinquencies in its credit card business, said Thursday it's further tightening finance terms for its card holders -- even those with good standing.

The discounter also may become even more stringent if credit conditions keep deteriorating.

Executives told analysts at the company's annual investor meeting, held in Minneapolis, that it was tightening terms for all customers, from high-risk to safer customers, who live in areas such as California that have suffered the biggest blow from the housing slump.

Target is also moving quickly to tighten standards for inactive cardholders who suddenly start using their card again, who may already be struggling, company officials said. It's also being more aggressive in collection activity. Reflecting the overall tightening of credit in the marketplace, Target noted that it's seeing lower credit card usage among its shoppers for the first time since 2001-2003.

"This is a clearly challenging time," said Terry Scully, president of Target Financial Services, citing higher credit card delinquencies in areas like California, Arizona, Florida and Nevada. "This economic stress has resulted in reduced profitability."

Target executives stressed that one of the top priorities was emphasizing the "pay less" part of its "Expect More, Pay Less" slogan; the retailer said it will focus on price in its holiday advertising. That follows rival Wal-Mart's earlier move to renew its focus on prices.

Still, Target is not backing away from trendy merchandise from emerging designers; instead it will play up the offerings as attainable luxuries. Meanwhile, in an effort to fuel customer traffic, the company is testing in Minneapolis a new concept that is a hybrid between its regular and Super Target stores. The general merchandise store will offer pre-packaged perishable food such as bagged lettuce.

The cheap chic discounter faces a sales slowdown as frugal customers focus on necessities like groceries and diapers, instead of trendy clothes and housewares, its forte. With more than 40 percent of its revenue coming from nonessentials, Target said it is more vulnerable to the economic slowdown than competitors such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp., which have a higher penetration in food and other basics.

Target reported Wednesday that its annualized net charge-off rate rose to 10.1 percent in September. The company said Thursday that it expects its net write-offs as a percentage of receivables for the full year would be around 9 percent, up from the 8 percent to 9 percent it estimated in August during its last earnings conference call with analysts.

The company sold 47 percent of its credit card receivables to JPMorgan Chase for $3.6 billion in May.

Target, which posted a 7.6 percent drop in second-quarter profits, earned $74 million in its credit card operation for the three months ended Aug. 2. That's down 65 percent from a year ago.

Amid such challenges, Target's share price has suffered -- losing half its value since trading about $70 in July 2007, with the drop accelerating along with the broader market since the financial meltdown intensified last month. Target's shares rose 52 cents to close at $33.93 on Thursday near its 52-week low of $33.96.

The retailer also said it would open new stores at a slower pace in fiscal 2009 and 2010. John Griffith, executive vice president of property development, told investors that Target was planning to open 70 net stores next year. That's below the company's annual average of 90 to 100 stores.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Target to pay $1.7 million for overcharging customers at registers

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Target to pay $1.7 million for overcharging customers at registers

Wednesday, October 22, 2008(10-21) 17:12 PDT

SONOMA -- Target stores has agreed to pay a $1.7 million civil penalty for overcharging California customers through electronic cash register scanners that rang up too-high prices, the Sonoma County district attorney's office said today.The stores, without admitting guilt, also agreed to improve their pricing procedures for the next four years.

The case arose after weights and measures inspectors in Sonoma, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Cruz and Fresno counties found "numerous occasions where the price charged at the cash register was not the lowest posted price," according to a statement from the Sonoma County district attorney's office."

Customers should not have to worry about being charged the correct price," said District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua. "We believe the settlement sends a message."