Target Case Ananlysis

Target Canada is the company’s first international expansion. However, Target’s expansion was not successful, as the company had initially planned for. Therefore, the company will be closing 133 Target Canada stores across the country and lay off approximately 17,600 employees. According to Target’s CEO Brian Cornell, he stated “After a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021.” Moreover, problems occurred immediately when Target opened up over hundred stores in the first year of its Canadian Expansion. For example, customers complained about the lack of basic goods, prices being too high, and the unavailability of U.S. brands in the stores. It was the start of Target accumulating losses as high as a billion dollars a year. In addition, there was also increasing competition with Wal-Mart being the biggest retailer in Canada. The already intimidating rival lowered its prices in order to fend off Target. Furthermore, Target Corporation’s cash costs to discontinue Canadian operations are expected to be $500 million to $600 million, most of which will occur in the Company’s 2015 fiscal year or later. The Company has sufficient resources to fund these expected costs, including cash on hand and ongoing cash generation by

Target’s mission statement: “Our mission is to make Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional guest experiences by consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less brand promise.” (target.com)

After evaluating the Super Project for General Foods, the two main things that management needed to address were the relevant incremental and non-incremental cash flows discussed below and incorporate the NPV and the net cash flows (yearly) to make a decision on whether to accept or reject the project. The start-up costs were determined by splitting up the costs of $160,000 in 1967 and $40,000 in 1968. To calculate the yearly cash flows, I used year 1 through 10, and the gross profit was calculated by subtracting out relative cash flows and the before tax depreciation. The NPV of $169,530 is positive for the 10% discount rate, which is less than the IRR of 11.4%.

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is the leading large-format general merchandise and discount retailer in the U.S., challenging Wal-Mart in electronics, toys and apparel while also seeking to differentiate with higher-end fashions and products for an upscale audience. As of the close of their latest fiscal year (FY2011), Target operated approximately 1,760 stores encompassing 233,000 square feet in 49 states and the District of Columbia. The company is divided into the retail and credit card divisions and moves the majority of its products through a highly integrated network of 37 different distribution centers, which include four food distribution centers. Target is one of the most well-entrenched large format retailers in the U.S., has the ability to manage their pricing strategies at a level of accuracy and precision that is comparable to Wal-Mart (Henderson, 2001). Unlike Wal-Mart, Target concentrates on a value-based message that concentrates on quality and price differentiation to sustain their gross margins while Wal-Mart concentrates on supply chain efficiency and a continual reduction of supplier and transaction costs (Krishnamurthi, 2001).

Team then commenced to apply some of the budgeting concepts discussed in class. First, NPV was calculated using the NPV function in Excel - approximately $419,000. In this calculation we found NPV to be a positive number thus indicating that the Super Project investment should be pursued by General Foods.

Whalen Court was a request for $119.3 million to build a unique single-level store scheduled to open in October 2008. The Prototype NPV could be achieved with sales of 1.9% above the R&P forecast level. The Whalen Court market seemed to be a rare oppurtuinity for Target to enter the urban center of a major metropolitan even though they currently operated 45 stores in this market. The opportunity provided Target with essentially free advertising for all passerby and brand visibility. Unlike the majority of Target stores, this store would have to be leased.

The first project proposal is Match My Doll Clothing line expansion consisted of expanding matching doll and child’s clothing and accessories. The second project proposal is Design Your Own Doll by creating customizable “one of a kind” doll features through the company’s website. The project selection criteria would base on quantitative and qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis would base on the evaluation of discounting cash flow forecasts to determining the Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and the Payback period of each proposed project. The qualitative analysis would include the potential project value of the company’s overall strategy, innovation, key project risks, and the project interdependencies to the whole company.

At the time of this case Target’s main strategic goal was to stay in line with domestically opening 100 new stores per year. The acceptance of new projects were considered on the basis of this underlying goal. NPV and IRR were key measures in the financial analysis of each project. Adherence to the capital budget was another main goal of CEC. If projects exceeded the initial budgeted outlay then the firm would have to borrow money. This could be a concern to shareholders in that it adds debt and questions the competencies of managements budgeting forecasts.

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

Evaluating the risks, calculating the probability of success, and factoring in the projected profit from sales will provide a clearer NPV to be compared with other projects in the

After the recession, Target’s value proposition shifted to simply offer affordable options in a wide array of product areas. However, now with better economic conditions and without the ability to offer lower prices than its affordable retail competitors, such as Walmart, and in order to stay relevant and refresh the company, Target needs to reposition itself as the high-quality concept and style-oriented retail store it was once known for.

Target Corporation is known worldwide as a large retail chain that brings in millions of dollars each fiscal year. The ability to remain competitive in a saturated industry could prove difficult to some retailers, but Target remains one of the leaders in the retail market. With success comes risk. Target Corporation competes against online retailers as well as “big box” stores to remain competitive.

“Expect more, pay less” this slogan is known throughout the United States that links amazing service and quality products at a great price from one convenient location, Target. Target has a long history of providing a wide variety of products from fashionable clothing for all members of the family to your everyday essential needs such as toiletries and cleaning supplies. Behind every wildly successful corporation is a strong organizational structure. Target has an extensive organizational structure that helps them provide the amazing products they do at even better prices.

Star Appliance is looking to expand their product line and is considering three different projects: dishwashers, garbage disposals, and trash compactors. We want to determine which project would be worth doing by determining if they will add value to Star. Thus, the project(s) that will add the most value to Star Appliance will be worth pursuing. The current hurdle rate of 10% should be re-evaluated by finding the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Then by forecasting the cash flows of each project and discounting them by the WACC to find the net present value, or by solving for the internal rate of return, we should be able to see which projects Star should undertake.

The present value of the net incremental cash flows, totaling $5,740K, is added to the present value of the Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) tax shield, provided by the Plant and Equipment of $599K, to arrive at the project’s NPV of $6,339K. (Please refer to Exhibit 4 and 5 for assumptions and detailed NPV calculations.) This high positive NPV means that the project will add a significant amount of value to FMI. In addition, using the incremental cash flows (excluding CCA) generated by the NPV calculation, we calculated the project’s IRR to be 28%. This means that the project will generate a higher rate of return than the company’s cost of capital of 10.05%. This is also a positive indication that the company should undertake the project.