"30% of Kmart's shoppers did not have bank accounts." But "Target is focused on a family of four earning $50,000 a year," in contrast "Wal-Mart's customers make $40,000 a year. Kmart's make $32,000. You tell me which chain is more attractive in the long run." (Mitchell, 2004)
Not only are Target's consumers more able buy big-ticket items, but also more affluent consumers are more apt to make impulse buys. Target stores have thus "recently started stocking more consumables - everyday products like soap and paper towels - and has put them near cash registers and in other high-traffic areas." (Mitchell, 2004) Target soon followed with Target Great land stores, which were bigger than regular stores and sold some groceries; in 1995, it opened its first Super Target, which includes a full supermarket. Cautiously it expanded, but surely.
Regarding the merger, one Target executive stated, "Kmart's chairman, Edward S. Lampert, hired Aylwin Lewis away from the fast-food operator Yum Brands to run Kmart just last month. Mr. Lewis has no retail experience but has been lauded for his knowledge of operations. But while he is credited...
he did this largely through cost cutting, closing stores and casting off real estate. Same-store sales continued to tumble on his watch." What this operations manager does not understand is that one must invest in individual stores as well as cut costs in failing stores, said the Target representative. Through expansion by introducing Target Great land and Super Target, Target has attracted more customers, unlike Mr. Lewis of whom one Target executive stated: "here's another thing he cuts: customers." If Mr. Lewis pursues his strategy, "Target may have more reason to celebrate than to worry." (Mitchell, 2004)
Works Cited
Mitchell, Dan. (November 21, 2004) "Who's afraid of K-Mart and Sears? Not Target." The New York Times. Business News. Retrieved 21 November 2004 at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/business/yourmoney/21targ.html?pagewanted=2&oref=login
Norris, Frank. (November 18, 2004) "Trying to get big enough to battle Wal-Mart." The New York Times. Business News. Retrieved 21 November 2004 at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/18/business/18place.html?fta=y
