Walmart vs Target

A snapshot of the Net Margins for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is shown below: Net Margin Wal-Mart 2010 3.90% 2011 3.50% 2012 3.60%

Company Profile Target Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Target Corporation operates general merchandise and food discount stores in the United States. It operates as two reportable segments: Retail and Credit Card. The company offers household essentials, including electronics, music, and toys; apparel and accessories; home furnishings as well as seasonal merchandise. It also sells its merchandise under private-label brands, such as Archer Farms, etc. Target Corporation operates in-store amenities, such as Target Caféand Target Clinic as well. Its marketing strategy includes selling its products on its online shopping site Target.com and its network of

Target is one of the largest retailers in the United States. Target wants to be able to give guests better quality products for a cheaper price. They also want to be the one stop shop. Target relies on their team members to keep the guests happy so they always come back again and again. Target Corp. is the nation 's #2 discount chain (behindWal-Mart). The fashion-forward discounter operates about 1,765 Target and SuperTarget stores in 49 states, as well as an online business at Target.com. Target and its larger grocery-carrying incarnation, SuperTarget, have carved out a niche by

Target Corporation offers its customers a vast variety of products, well also providing a service. The corporation owns or has exclusive rights to many different brands ranging from groceries to clothing. For example, some brands that can only be found at Target are Archer Farms which provides food merchandise, Merona which supplies clothing and Room Essentials which provides home goods (Target, 2015, para.2). The shopping experience that Target provides can be defined as a service. The stores shopping experience is a service, since it cannot be patented, interaction with the customer occurs, it is heterogeneous, along with perishable and time dependent and contains the package of features (Chase & Jacobs, 2013, p.9). Target is a popular consumer destination because it provides both a service and goods making it ideal for one

Headquartered in Minneapolis Minnesota, Target Corporation is one of the largest chains of retail stores in United States and Canada (Stone, 1995). Founded in 1902, the chain now has more than 360,000 employees worldwide. The company operates nearly 1925 stores out of which 1795 stores are in the US and 130 stores are in Canada (NASDAQ, 2014). The business prides itself in a diverse portfolio of merchandise that their outlets houses, ranging from dry groceries to electronics, furniture, apparel and much more. Its distribution networks make use of third party vendors, direct shipping as well as distribution centers. It also operates a successful e-store target.com which offers customers a virtual one-stop shop for their needs.

Sears and Wal-Mart are both nationwide retailers, but their similarities are only skin deep. Sears started to lose its dominance in the early 1980s. In an attempt to boost the dwindling market share, Sears started to issue proprietary Sears Card, which gave customers payment flexibilities. A new slogan focusing on the "softer side of Sears", and a revised product mix, were created to appeal to the middle-class female shoppers.

Wal-Mart and Target are both great retail stores to go and find a good bang for your buck shopping experience. After researching both companies, it appears they have the same ideas as a mission, saving the customer money. Wal-Mart Mission statement reads;

The companies I am studying are Wal-Mart and Target. Both are major discount retailers, general merchandisers who compete as cost leaders. These companies both very large, big enough to execute on their strategies effectively. Yet one has chosen the path of international growth and the other has not yet, pending expansion into Canada in 2013.

The auditor must remember that all information collected during the audit needs to be sufficient enough to further the audit process. The information must not only possess the two qualities, relevance and reliability, but it should also test various assertions. For instance, in the audit of Walmart, the auditor should make an attempt to acquire information such as financial statements from the company’s bank, as opposed to acquiring the statements from Walmart’s management. Taking such crucial information from Walmart’s management will put the reliability of that information into question. It is possible that management may manipulate the financial statements, so that they are more appealing to the public and investors. Management may do things

When it comes to Services, Wal-Mart also has the upper hand. In many stores they offer: a Bakery, Meats, Photo Centers as well a on site photographers, Automotive services, Hair Salons, Banks, Optical Offices, Pharmacy, Nail Salons as well as restaurants such as McDonald's, and Subway. Target has rivaled many of these services providing in store Starbucks, Taco Bell/Pizza huts, and the most recent advance is an in store clinic. Even with these amenities it is still far behind Wal-Mart in the services department.

According to Mergent “Target has had their net capital spending increase each of the three years. The chief purpose why it has increased is due to the fixed assets and depreciation expenses both increasing each year. The net fixed resources developed at a related rate each year while the devaluation expenditure developed at a higher rate from 2011 to 2012 than it did from 2012 to 2013” (Mergent Inc. 2013).

Mirzayev, E. (2015, July 7).Target vs. Walmart: Who's winning the big box war? Retrieved from

With its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Target is a continuously striving company focused on improving every aspect of their business – whether it's their merchandising for guests, technology solutions, or even the future design of the company. The first Target store was founded and created in 1932 in Roseville, Minnesota by George Dayton. Originally created to be a discounted merchandising company, Target surpassed all doubters expectations when it began to offer common stock, and 1969, merging with J.L. Hudson and for the first time, Target revenues topped $1 billion dollars. Today Target is

Target Corporation has recognized itself as one of the top retailers in the United States market on the basis of excellent service quality, customer experiences, operational excellence, strong financial position, and a wide array of product offerings. Through its high degree of service orientation at physical outlets and adoption of fair business practices, Target Corporation has become the most distinctive retailer in the eyes of its potential customers. Being one of the top-notch retailers in the United States, Target Corporation has to carefully strategize on its business operations and marketing tactics so as to keep itself in the row of competitive brands of the industry.

Target Corporation is the fourth main retailer in the United States, functioning 1,556 stores in 47 states. Previously Dayton Hudson Corporation, Target has three chief retail sections: Target Stores, Mervyn 's, in addition Marshall Field 's. Target Stores is the number two markdown store in the nation, trailing only Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and has eminent itself from its contestants through contribution expensive, fashion-conscious products at reasonable prices. The 1,225 Target stores, which are situated in 47 states, produced 84 percent of Target 's financial 2002 profits. Encompassed in this store total are Target Greatland units, which are much bigger than the distinctive Target, be around 145,000 square feet against 126,000 square feet; as well as SuperTarget outlets, which are collective concession/grocery stores, be more or less 175,000 square feet. Producing 9 percent of 2002 incomes were Mervyn 's 267 stores placed in 14 states, mainly in the West, Southwest, and Midwest (exactly Minnesota also Michigan). Based in the San Francisco Bay area, Mervyn 's places itself as a cable of temperately assessed, family friendly, district subdivision materials. Target Corporation 's full-service section store section, sponsor of 6 percent of sales, is today united below the Marshall Field 's banner. The 62 Marshall Field 's stores are sited in eight states in the upper Midwest, with the majority originate inside three urban zones: Minneapolis, Chicago, and Detroit. Target