Target, a well-known American supermarket, opened a new 30000-square-foot store in Times Square in New York City on Sunday. Conveniently located between the two largest subway stations in New York City, the store is suitable for both tourists visiting Times Square and local shoppers.
Target first announced in 2019 that it would expand its business in New York City by opening a small store in Times Square.
At the time, Target described Manhattan as “the company’s priority growth market.” Currently, Target operates about 20 stores in New York City.
Target said the Times Square store was an example of its efforts to “open and operate stores in spaces of any size-including places where traditional stores may not be suitable”.
The company has mentioned in the past that small stores help drive higher-than-average sales and higher gross margins than large stores.
In March, Target said it would add 30 stores in 2022 to enter new markets, including medium-sized stores in the suburbs and small stores in the heart of the city.
Coupled with the renovation of 200 existing stores and the opening of additional Ulta stores, these are part of Target’s ambitious plan to invest $5 billion to expand its operations this year.
In addition, physical stores are also the hub and channel of Target distribution services. In the early stage of COVID-19 ‘s epidemic, the development of Target in the field of physical store distribution services has been greatly accelerated.
In the company’s latest earnings call, John Mulligan, chief operating officer of Target, said average sales per Target store had increased by 30 per cent over the past two years.
Taken together, these factors may be why Target has more incentive to open stores of all sizes.
“the purpose of continuous investment in our supply chain is to make our store the core of our customer service,” Mulligan said. Equally important is our continued investment in the physical store itself, and Target will continue to open about 30 new stores each year.
Target’s decision to further expand into the New York retail market is also one of the moves to differentiate itself from its big competitor Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart currently has no stores in Manhattan, although it does have a super mall on the outskirts of New York City.
In 2018, Wal-Mart announced its Jet.com business as part of a larger strategy to build shopping destinations for urban consumers.
Among them, New York City is its key market, offering including same-day and next-day arrival services, localized products and customized delivery services to meet the different needs of shoppers.
At the time, Jet.com was positioned as the next-generation shopping choice for city dwellers, but Wal-Mart shut down the business in 2020.
In front of the Target Times Square store, guests will see an 84-foot curved display, Target’s iconic puppy and its Logo.
Inside the store, the words “Times Square” are spelled out on the main wall of the lobby with glass mosaic tiles.
The walls behind the clearing counter are decorated with bold and flamboyant art patterns.