The following situational analysis is on chain retail discount department stores, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and two of its leading competitors: Target Brands, Inc. and H-E-B. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was founded by Sam Walton and first opened its doors in the city of Rogers, Arkansas in 1962 (Wal-Mart, 2015). At the same time in Roseville, Minnesota was the opening of Target Discount Store and Supermarket (Target, 2015). In the early 1900’s 1905, to be exact was the opening of C.C. Butt Grocery Store, later to be known as H-E-B in Kerrville, Texas (H-E-B, 2015).
Background
As once stated by Sam Walton himself, “Exceed your customers ' expectations. If you do, they 'll come back over and over. Give them what they want and a little …show more content…
Today, Target operates almost 1,750 stores in 49 states, 240 of which are Super Targets that provide an upscale grocery shopping experience (About Target, 2015). The way they compete and market their stores against other retailers, such as Wal-Mart, is by offering what it believes is more upscale, trend-forward merchandise at lower costs, rather than the traditional concept of focusing on low-priced goods. The first Target store (T-1) opened in Roseville, Minnesota in 1962, launching a new era in discount retailing because of its affordable, and trendy. “Expect more, pay less” is a famous tagline upon which Target stores have established upon in enticing its clients. The company’s 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report states that Target Corporation focuses on things like education, environment, well-being, and safety. The company takes these four categories of responsibility a step further to the sub-categories of safe communities, healthy living, enthused students, and maintainable …show more content…
According to NYJobSource, around 80% of Target customers are female (Target Stores). Target has opened a couple different stores depending on the area and audience they want to attract. There are six different types of stores they have opened. Which are: Target, PFresh, SuperTarget, CityTarget, TargetExpress, and some urban Target stores. Each store is tailored towards different customers and their needs. They market each store differently to fit the needs of different customers. Target stores are generally marketed as family stores. They do attract younger customers than its competitors, with the median age for its shoppers being 41 years old. More women shop at target than men, roughly 80% Target customers are female and more than 45% have children at home (Target Stores). Target’s customer base tends to be families and the market is designed to offer services for various ages mostly children and middle-aged females with children, and the stores are conveniently located (Pressroom