Target Corp. took advantage of a once-in-a-century opportunity yesterday, 10-10-2010, to officially open a whopping 10 new U.S. discount format stores. Yesterday's date combination only comes around once every 100-years.All of the new Target units had limited soft openings beginning a few days earlier. However, yesterday was grand opening day at the 10 stores, which range in size from about 138,000 -to- 150,000 square-feet, and span the country, stretching from California and Utah in the west, to Arkansas and the east coast. Target says the opening of the 10 stores created about 2,400 new jobs.
The 10 stores feature Target's 'P-Fresh' fresh food and grocery sections inside. Additionally, because they are new stores, some of the 'P-Fresh' sections are bigger than the normal 10,000-12,000 square-foot size. The new units opened yesterday also include in-store Starbucks coffee bars, prepared food and beverage-focused Target Café's, and in-store pharmacies.
Five of the 10 new stores are in California - two units in Southern California, two in Northern California, and one in Bakersfield in the Central Valley. The locations of 10 new stores are:
>Sacramento East: 6507 4th Ave., Sacramento, Calif.
>Simi Valley West: 51 Tierra Rejada Rd., Simi Valley, Calif.
>Bakersfield Central: 2901 Ming Ave., Bakersfield, Calif.
>San Jose North: 95 Holger Way, San Jose, Calif.
>Azusa: 809 Azusa Ave., Azusa, Calif.
>Salt Lake City: 1110 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City, Utah
>Little Rock University: 420 S. University Ave., Little Rock, Ark.
>Christiana: 800 Christiana Mall, Christiana, Del.
>Flushing: 4024 College Point Blvd., Flushing, N.Y.
>Braintree: 250 Granite St., Braintree, Mass.
The fact five of the ten new Target stores opened on 10-10-2010 are in California is far from a coincidence. Rather, it reflects the significant strategic commitment the retailer has to the state and its various regions.
There are now 249 Target discount format stores in California - 175 in Southern and Central California and 74 in Northern California.
A little over half of the California stores currently have 'P-Fresh" (pictured above) fresh food and grocery markets inside. However, Target is adding them to a significant percentage of the remaining stores rapidly, as part of its program to have the markets in 850 of its now 1,600 U.S. discount format stores by the end of 2011. [Read our September 24, 2010 piece: September 24, 2010: Target to Have 'P-fresh' Fresh Food & Grocery Markets in 850 Stores By 2011 End; First Smaller Urban Store Set For Seattle in 2012.]
For example, the new Simi Valley, California store is the first Target discount store in Ventura County to have a 'P-Fresh' which offers fresh produce, meats, perishable and frozen foods, pre-packaged baked goods, and packaged food/grocery items. There's an existing Target in Simi Valley, opened in 1986, but it doesn't include the in-store grocery market.
In Utah, the new Target discount store in Salt Lake City is the first unit of its kind in the state to feature a 'P-Fresh' market. However, Target has over a dozen of its Super Target combination supermarket/general merchandise stores in Utah, so the state's shoppers are very familiar with the retailer's approach to selling fresh food and groceries.
At the other end of the spectrum in Northern California, the new Target discount store in Sacramento makes 13 for the retailer in the metro region. And all 13 of the stores have 'P-Fresh' markets inside, as we detailed here: While Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Postponed, Target Opened 42 'P-Fresh' Fresh Food and Grocery Markets in Northern California.
The situation is similar in San Jose. Target now has 'P-Fresh' fresh food and grocery markets in eight discount stores in San Jose. See the story linked above. Also see - September 22, 2010: Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Planning A New, Third Store in San Jose, California
In terms of 'P-Fresh' size, the new Target in Braintree, Massachusetts opened on Sunday has one of the larger fresh food and grocery store-within-a-store sections to date. The Braintree 'P-fresh' has 20 aisles of groceries, including four aisles devoted to fresh produce, meat and dairy-deli items. The store is 150,000 square-feet.
Target now has 'P-Fresh' fresh food and grocery markets in 472 of its U.S. discount stores. The retailer plans on adding the markets to 378 additional stores over the next 15 months, giving it a total of 850 units with 'P-Fresh' in-store by the end of next year.
As we've been saying in Fresh & Easy Buzz for some time, Target is on its way to becoming a major player in U.S. food and grocery retailing, largely due to its rapid addition and expansion of the 'P-Fresh' markets inside its existing discount format stores.
The 850 Target discount units set to have 'P-Fresh' by the end of 2011 are only half of the retailer's current total discount store-count. We expect to see the retailer add 'P-Fresh' to additional discount stores in 2012. We will have more on that in a future story.
Target also is headed north. The retailer confirms rumors that it plans to open stores in Canada. It isn't offering a specific date for the opening of the first store. But Target Corp representatives were at a retail industry convention in Toronto last week, shopping for locations. A Target spokesperson says the retailer could ultimately open up to 200 stores in Canada over the next few years.
Related Stories:
September 26, 2010: While Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Postponed, Target Opened 42 'P-Fresh' Fresh Food and Grocery Markets in Northern California
September 24, 2010: Target to Have 'P-fresh' Fresh Food & Grocery Markets in 850 Stores By 2011 End; First Smaller Urban Store Set For Seattle in 2012
September 22, 2010: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Plans to Open Two Additional Stores in Northern California in Early 2011
September 20, 2010: About Today's Walmart Stores, Inc. Smaller Stores Media Frenzy: We Scooped it On July 6, 2010
May 11, 2009: Target on Tap to Put Mini-Grocery and Fresh Foods Markets Into 100 Target Discount Stores This Year; Many More Likely to Come in 2010
November 19, 2009: Competitor News: Target Corp. Planning to Dramatically Expand Food and Grocery Offerings in All of its U.S. Target Discount Format Stores
July 9, 2008: Southern California Market Report: Five Supermarkets; A New Fresh & Easy, Wal-Mart and Super Target Will All Compete in Hesperia Food Retailing Rodeo
July 6, 2010: Walmart Looking for Store Sites in Northern California For 20,000 Sq-Ft Neighborhood Market by Walmart Prototype Store
September 23, 2010: Revisting 'marketside by Walmart': Format As We Know it On the Way Out But Some or All Of the Four Stores Could Be Converted
It makes sense for the braintree target to have larger p-fresh section - the grocery selection in mass is pretty limited - stop and shop and what's other? shaw? i do not include trader joe's or whole foods, as i am referring to consumers that target would attract to.
ReplyDeletei see that supertarget is not in the future plans (except in texas) - others - higher density, higher profits.