In Addition To The Analysis Of The Macroeconomic Events

With the down turn in the economy, many consumers have turned to Dollar General and Dollar stores; this has caused a decrease in Target’s revenue. Another threat is Wal-Mart and their ability to offer lower prices on their products compared to Target which makes them the low cost leader. (ehow.com)

Target sells its products from the high end of the market to the low end depending on the type of product in question. In regards to Electronics items where the caption rate is small, they price their items at the high end to ensure they meet their margins. However, in regards to Target’s name brand items, they price those at the low end, keeping the company as a discounted retailer. Target also sells designer items that range from mid to high range of the market. In 2013 Targets CEO Gregg Steinhafel adopted the philosophy “a penny saved is a penny earned”. He further mentioned that they company would be a penny higher in price than their competitors Wal-Mart (Davis, M 2013). Steinhafel stated that “We want to be a penny

Target Corporation’s (NYSE:TGT) share price declined nearly 7.5% in the last month alone, amid the potential threat of higher taxes from Donald Trump’s new administration. Aside from higher taxes, the company looks in a very solid position to expand its profitability and dividends.

Target Corporation is a retail chain specializing in household goods, clothing, food, and accessories at discounted prices. The retail chain’s history started back in 1902 as Goodfellows and in 1910 as The Dayton Company. Initially, the chain specialized in “furnishings, fabrics and decorations for business and other public institutions” (“Target Corporation,” 2016, p. 5). Eventually, Target went public in 1967 and on to acquire Mervyn’s in the 1970s where they became the seventh largest retailer in the United States. Target operates in the United States, where it is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and as of January 31, 2015 Target employs over 300,000 people. “The company recorded revenues of $72,618 million in the financial year ended January 2015, the operating profit of the company was $4,535 million, [and] the net profit was $2,449 million” (“Target

"We think of Macy’s today as the Great American Department Store because we have kept alive our heritage while also changing for the future, " (2016, Lundgren). When Macy’s first started, no one would have guessed that it would become one of the world’s largest retail operations in the world. The success of the store lands on many people’s hands. If they know how to work the system, they can help the company grow. Some of the people who are involved in making the company successful are first line mangers, even the top managers are involved. In this case they didn’t work very good making decisions which led Macy’s to go down as a company.

Based on the company’s 2013 annual report, Target’s fourth quarter reported net earnings of $520 million and total revenues of $21.5 billion. Compared to the results for the same period of the previous year, net earnings and total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2013 decreased by 46% and 5.3%, respectively. With regards to the second and third quarter of 2013, the fourth quarter is the only quarter which reported a decline in year-over-year revenue. 2013’s second and third quarter revenues all show higher total revenues compared to the previous year’s results. The only exception is in its 2013

As the holiday season approached, analysts had expected Target’s earnings to be flat compared to the previous year, 2012, when the Minneapolis-based retailer posted fourth-quarter earnings at $921 million. However, after news of the breach and its ongoing investigation became public, many consumers, uncertain about the extent of the breach, chose to shop with Target’s competitors during the holidays. Target’s best public relations efforts could not completely ease consumer concerns. Sales in the last week of the holiday season fell by nearly 4 percent, compared to other retailers, which devastated the traditionally strong retailer as holiday sales account for 20 to 40 percent of annual sales. Target ended the quarter with $520 million in earnings, down almost 45 percent from 2012.

This report examines Target Corporation’s performance in a detailed strategic audit. The audit includes an external, internal and strategic analysis as well as a recommended course of action. The findings of the audit recommend a robust on-line/mobile presence to complement in-store sales, and to increase future earnings to remain competitive by building upon physical assets, brand value and logistical capabilities.

The recent recession in 2016 has impacted Macy’s negatively because many shoppers have neglected full price stores and shop at discount stores, such as Marshalls, and TJ Maxx. According to Market’s Insider, “Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren acknowledged this trend last year and said on an earnings call that consumers — and especially millennials — are migrating toward lower-priced discount stores”. According to Business of Fashion, Customers also are gravitating toward online shopping, where you can compare all options to find the best one. Consumers are now driven by price and style, not necessarily the brand, which has created less loyalty among customers. Overall, consumers aren’t shopping as much as they used to. According to Business of Fashion,

Overall target looks pretty good against their industry as a whole with a strong dividend yield and ROE. The P/E Ratio is a little low compared to the average of the industry and the debt is much higher than the industry average. Overall, the debt is what needs to be looked at as well as expanding internationally and bringing the stock value up.

Target's book value (assets – liabilities) or net asset value, according to the financial statements, is $24,073 million (Target Corp. 10K). Target's market value ("the current quoted price at which investors buy or sell a share of common stock or a bond at a given time" – investopedia.com) is $45.27 billion (Forbes.com). According to investopedia.com market value also considers future growth potential.

Target’s cash flows from operating activities are $6.52 billion whereas net earnings for 2013 are $1.97 billion; the difference between these two numbers can be attributed to reversing the effects of depreciation and amortization ($2.2 billion), share-based compensation expense ($110 million), deferred income taxes ($254 million), bad debt expense ($41 million), gain on

Unfortunately for Target, they have had some bad press about the many stockouts that have had occurred in their stores (Marshall, Solomon, Stuart, 2012). This has taken an obvious toll on sales and customers are frustrated (Marshall, Solomon, Stuart, 2012). Target has worked to stock their stores with a vast variety of choices and it seems as though this has not worked in their favor.

For 50 years, Ralph Lauren 's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. However, in 2015, they reported a 5.3% drop in revenue from June 2014 to June 2015 (O 'Brien, 2015), and since then, the shares began a downward trend.

Target Corporation is having a very stable financial policy and dividend policy. From the historical financial data, Target had debt $11,044M, $11,202M, $10,599M, $17,471M, and $19,882M in the year of 2005,2006,2007,2008, and 2009 respectively. The long-term debt/equity ratio rises from 69.34% to 108%.