Target is thriving thanks to big earners shopping smaller stores

Manhattan's Upper East Side, one of the nation's most affluent neighborhoods, is also home to one of Target's newest smaller-stores which opened last fall.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
TGT	TARGET CORP.	156.00	-0.50	-0.32%

"We're moving into new neighborhoods. Those are guests that were not shopping Target on a regular basis before, they are now," said Target Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell on the company's November conference call.

High earners nestled in these select communities may be helping attract shoppers pulling in six figures. 23.9 percent of Target visitors earn over $100,000, according to Placer.ai, compared to 19 percent for Walmart, 22.8 percent for Best Buy and 29.4 percent for Macy's, still, it continues to struggle.

Retail Apocalypse Is Very Real

This week Macy's and Pier 1 Imports both announced store closures, while Bed Bath and Beyond posted a quarterly loss.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
PIR	NO DATA AVAILABLE	-	-	-
M	MACY'S INC.	15.14	-0.12	-0.75%
BBBY	NO DATA AVAILABLE	-	-	-

Meanwhile, Target appears to be thriving, it plans to open about 30 of these smaller shops every year, for the next several, telling FOX Business these stores are aimed at "urban areas, dense suburban neighborhoods and near college campuses – places where a traditional-sized Target store may not fit."

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Manhattan's Columbus Circle area, near Central Park and the so-called "Billionaires Row" will also be getting a Target at 61st and Broadway. This area is a stone's throw from 220 Central Park South, the building in which Ken Griffin, who runs hedge fund Citadel, plunked down $238 million in what was the most expensive home sold in the U.S.

MOST EXPENSIVE HOME IN US HISTORY BOUGHT BY THIS BILLIONAIRE

Target also confirmed to FOX Business it is planning a small-format store in Boston's Back Bay at 100 Cambridge Street.

Some of these shops capture "higher than average sales productivity and meaningfully higher gross margin rates compared with our larger format stores," according to company executives on the last earnings call.

Target's strategy is paying off and keeping the discount retailer out of the Retail Apocalypse world, which is swallowing many traditional retailers.

This week, J.C. Penney and Kohl's reported disappointing sales results.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
JCP	NO DATA AVAILABLE	-	-	-
KSS	KOHL'S CORP.	17.02	-0.36	-2.07%

TARGET CRUSHES EARNINGS, RAISES OUTLOOK AS DIGITAL SALES BOOM

The company raised its profit outlook last November and the stock has jumped more than 80 percent over the past 52 weeks.

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