Target 3Q profit falls 24 percent in tough economy

[onehandle]

Source: AP

MINNEAPOLIS – Discount retailer Target Corp. said Monday that a difficult retail environment and weak results from its credit-card segment led to a 24 percent decline in third-quarter earnings.

Profit for the three months ended Nov. 1 fell to $369 million, or 49 cents per share, from $483 million, or 56 cents per share, last year. That was just above the average of 48 cents per share predicted by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue rose 2 percent to $15.11 billion from $18.4 billion last year, falling short of the $15.24 billion analysts expected.

The retail sector has been hit hard as consumers pull back on spending amid a deteriorating economy and shaky job market. Discounters such as Target and its chief rival, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., have benefited somewhat as consumers trade down and hunt for bargains, but Target has been helped less by this trend since more than 40 percent of its revenue coming from nonessential such as trendy fashions and housewares.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081117/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_target

---

Please, please shop at Target. I don't want to be left with Wal-Mart.

[pattmarty]

1. Bu, bu, but, Wal-marts sales ACTUALLY increased during.......

........the same period. The "Wal-mart index" should be made part of the governments many, many reports on economic activity, and it might well be the most accurate.:sarcasm:

[glinda]

2. I think the reason Walmart does better is

that they keep Target and K-mart out of the areas in smaller cities. Walmart relies on building a lot of stores and hoarding the areas that they expand into, putting a lock on properties, making shady "City" deals to keep former smaller stores empty, etc....I hate Walmart. Where we live, their store sits empty. Where we lived before, the store sits empty. Target is MY MN store. I love Target and shop there to try to help them. Besides, I like their stuff much more and Walmart IS NOT cheaper. It is an illusion. Their stuff is cheaply and poorly made for the most part. This makes me really upset.

[noonwitch]

4. Walmart is less expensive than Target and Meijer

Target's stuff is better quality, and they have a higher price for that reason and the fact that they don't violate every labor law on the books. Meijer is a union company, so their prices are also slightly higher (I shop at Meijer).


I did my part and bought a new dress at Nordstrom!

[spinbaby]

6. Wal-Mart is barely cheaper

I've done comparisons on the prices of things we buy frequently--cat food, shampoo, etc. Wal-Mart consistently undercuts Target by one or two cents. Certainly not worth going to Wal-Mart over.

[glinda]

9. and some things are higher in price also.

It is a shell game at Walmart. I HAD to go there one time because our Target is 36 miles away and the drug store was OUT of something I needed so I walked along the isles and took a look at the prices. Potato chips and some popular junky things were more expensive. Some camera stuffs were more expensive. The food was not necessarily cheaper either all the time. Clothing was crap.

[Doremus]

5. We've had a Target in our city for 10 years or more. WalPuke built a store

across the street a few months ago and I've already heard rumors that Target is closing.

I'm distraught. The new WalPuke store is like a huge dungeon, cement floors, open rafters, horrid. You can't hear yourself think in there, the acoustics are horrible.

The WalPuke in a neighboring city that opened a year ago closed when this one opened. The city will probably have that vacant white elephant on their hands forever.

[glinda]

11. They are actually closing a Target Store??????????

If true, that is not good.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

3. I always shop at Target...

... prices are right, and I don't have to look at old ladies in polyester slacks that ride up their butt cracks (sorry for the crudity, but it goes hand in hand with Walmart here in Sioux Falls). I have even been accused of shopping at Target because the ladies are much better looking than at Walmart (sorry, a close lady friend pointed that out). So it is a win-win-win situation for me to shop at Target.

[OhioChick]

7. I always shop at Target, never Walmart.

Prices are comparable and I'm able to find more items in Target that are Made in the U.S.A.

[dflprincess]

8. Missing in all this is the fact that Target still made a profit

One of the things I don't understand about the economy is why everything is based on share price and projected income - which don't always seem to reflect how a company is actually doing.

[City Lights]

10. It's Target or bust for me.

I haven't set foot in a Wal-Mart in over a decade.

I have a Target Visa and love getting my Target reward coupon. Plus, they send a portion of the amount I charge to my kids' high school, and every little bit helps.