Target to experiment with larger selection of Apple products

US retail giant Target is planning to add their own Apple stores to a small number of locations, likely to be expanded to more stores if successful.

In reality they will not be actual Apple Stores, but were instead described to the New York Times as "expanded displays" by a Target spokesman. No details have been provided about what Apple products will be involved.

Initially only 25 Target stores will be getting the expanded Apple displays. Presumably that will be expanded if it proves to be a profitable move. It will be particularly interesting to see if desktops or laptops might be added to their existing selection of iPods, iPhones, and iPads.

This change was announced alongside the addition of a number of boutique shops being added to various Target locations to showcase exclusive products from various local businesses. Presumably both are part of an attempt to move Target more into department store territory and away from discounters like Walmart.

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 12 Jan 2012 19:38

s_c47

Makes sense, a lot of hipsters already shop there. Why not cater to them?

Someone told me once that theres a right and wrong, and that punishment would come to those
who dare to cross the line.
But it must not be true for jerk-offs like you.
Maybe it takes longer to catch a total a__hole.

13.1.2012 12:22 #1

LordRuss

Profitable? For Target? Apple - Target... I don't think many retailers go into the fray together with the idea of "Wonder Twin Powers Activate!" in mind.

If I get this correct, Target is trying to attract business. And they're going to do this buy loading up a section of a couple of stores with some Apple stuff. But only a few, cause you know, corporations always have an idea of demographics & because their people too, they just know how people think...

HEY!!! TARGET!!! Here's a great idea from someone who used to work in advertising... The economy is for shite! Change up the products that sell daily for more durable items of quality & sell them cheaper. A LOT CHEAPER!

Then, cut back on the blitzkrieg advertising budget!!! We get it, you're Target. We know who you are. Now shut up about it already. With the money you spend on this you could afford to lower your prices & stop making a mockery of yourself in the discount store wars. Why the hell do think K-Mart is all but dead you ignorant twats.

Then to end it all, stop hiring designer ars-divers to give your store some kind of cheeky cliche', 30 day schtick, just to get people in the door. It's just going to end up pissing everyone off after they see everything is still over priced & nothing else has changed. I.e., APPLE!!! It'll only get them in the door, you won't make any money & nothing else in the store has changed. Or as the kids say... FAIL.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

13.1.2012 12:33 #2

Azuran

Originally posted by LordRuss: Profitable? For Target? Apple - Target... I don't think many retailers go into the fray together with the idea of "Wonder Twin Powers Activate!" in mind.

If I get this correct, Target is trying to attract business. And they're going to do this buy loading up a section of a couple of stores with some Apple stuff. But only a few, cause you know, corporations always have an idea of demographics & because their people too, they just know how people think...

HEY!!! TARGET!!! Here's a great idea from someone who used to work in advertising... The economy is for shite! Change up the products that sell daily for more durable items of quality & sell them cheaper. A LOT CHEAPER!

Then, cut back on the blitzkrieg advertising budget!!! We get it, you're Target. We know who you are. Now shut up about it already. With the money you spend on this you could afford to lower your prices & stop making a mockery of yourself in the discount store wars. Why the hell do think K-Mart is all but dead you ignorant twats.

Then to end it all, stop hiring designer ars-divers to give your store some kind of cheeky cliche', 30 day schtick, just to get people in the door. It's just going to end up pissing everyone off after they see everything is still over priced & nothing else has changed. I.e., APPLE!!! It'll only get them in the door, you won't make any money & nothing else in the store has changed. Or as the kids say... FAIL. So your suggesting Target try to be like Wal-Mart? No thanks. I'm willing to pay a little bit more and avoid the second class citizen feel I get when I'm in Wal-Mart. Also, many of the things you're complaining about are actually making Target a lot of money. Yeah, they're not putting up Wal-Mart numbers, but long term success doesn't come from copying others. The fact that Target has the resources to start expanding into other countries (Canada) makes me believe that they're doing alright and probably don't need advice from the likes of us.

14.1.2012 17:28 #3

LordRuss

Originally posted by Azuran: So your suggesting Target try to be like Wal-Mart? No thanks. I'm willing to pay a little bit more and avoid the second class citizen feel I get when I'm in Wal-Mart. Also, many of the things you're complaining about are actually making Target a lot of money. Yeah, they're not putting up Wal-Mart numbers, but long term success doesn't come from copying others. The fact that Target has the resources to start expanding into other countries (Canada) makes me believe that they're doing alright and probably don't need advice from the likes of us. Uhm... No, that's not 'exactly' where I was going. I suppose I could cross my eyes & see where you could deduce that analogy.

What I was trying to say was follow a similar business model of 'stack it high & watch it fly'. Buying your quality merchandice (the stuff you know customer will purchace) in bulk in order to to sell it at a lower price will then move volume, thus produce income instead of make your millions in one sitting.

Target already has the cheesy high ceiling, load-out, forklift carton feel of a bulk store as it is, how could your analogy of being any more Walmart (from an appearance standpoint) can you already get?

Paying for quality is never a question in anyone's mind. To state otherwise is ludicrous. To pay more than fare market, is; especially at a supposed discount super store.

Besides, not only has Target's stock only mustered a grand total fluctuation of +/- $15, but it most certainly doesn't necessarily merit a mass exodus into foreign markets in this economy. Granted, (I'm not stupid) bold moves like this in the past have been done in hopes/inclinations of the economy on the cusp of a rebound & payoffs having returned in dividends.

Equally; it only put money in an exec's pocket, he/she bails, the bubble bursts & people get burnt even worse yet again.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

15.1.2012 14:04 #4

Azuran

So you think that Target's higher prices is because of some corporate conspiracy to line the pockets of executives? Oh boy...

Target's prices are higher because it is simply UNABLE to match Wal-Marts. Their advantage lies in an innovative supply chain management system, which is patented of course, allowing them to undercut damn near everyone. This is why Target tries to compete in ways other than price wars (they would lose horribly).

http://mohanchandran.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/wal-mart.pdf

15.1.2012 22:51 #5

LordRuss

Originally posted by Azuran: So you think that Target's higher prices is because of some corporate conspiracy to line the pockets of executives? Oh boy...

Target's prices are higher because it is simply UNABLE to match Wal-Marts. Their advantage lies in an innovative supply chain management system, which is patented of course, allowing them to undercut damn near everyone. This is why Target tries to compete in ways other than price wars (they would lose horribly).

http://mohanchandran.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/wal-mart.pdf

Oh lord the mighty damn... every time I write something someone wants to yell conspiracy theory & hope that the wrong ears go up & hope the dogs of "right" go up so they get a pat on the back for an undeserved victory for something...

No, not conspiracy at all, & your looney if you think anyone is in business to make ART... I didn't say MATCH their prices. I said LOWER their prices on known items of a salable nature. Quit trying to run for congress & play the 'spin' game. You're an amateur & I read for a living.

I'm aware of business models, once you get into the corporate law & franchise business' you get patent the manner in which you conduct said practices. That's why you won't find "some" competing products in similar retail stores. But UNABLE, no sir, they can match & have on many occasion. That's why their patented system happens to be WRONG! Remember! No growth in over a YEAR? It's involved & I don't pretend to know the math game, but it seems that everyone one has given Wally-world a run this year, so your logic doesn't hold water. So your PDF of 4 years ago will have to be filed away.

Plus, your thought process is misaligned if you think that execs are in the business of making 'you' (investors or the likes) rich. That's why they call it 'incentives' to keep investing. Nothing more than carrots (albeit fat carrots) on the end of a stick to keep you chasing the dream. Or have we all forgotten what happened to the stock market here 3 years ago?

It is the very reason you stated "because Target can't [seem] to under cut Walmart" that they try to compete in other ways. Pricing happens to be one or are you still under the belief that the US is a utopian society with no enemies? Introduction of new merchandise is another, but (redundantly) offering it at silly assed price point is simply going to turn away your audience/customer base. And Apple isn't going to just 'let' their product sit for free.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

15.1.2012 23:48 #6

Azuran

Okay Okay. We get it. You're old. And you use to be really important doing a lot of important stuff. Trust me everyone here is painfully aware of that.

Quote:No, not conspiracy at all, & your looney if you think anyone is in business to make ART... I didn't say MATCH their prices. I said LOWER their prices on known items of a salable nature. Quit trying to run for congress & play the 'spin' game. You're an amateur & I read for a living.
Why not match? I mean really while you're on Santa's lap let's just ignore laws of elasticity and Wal-Marts titan grip on the national retail supply chain. Still just want to lower and not match? Well okay then what would that solve? If you don't match prices the people who shop at Wal-Mart are still going to shop at Wal-Mart thus making your entire "revolutionary idea" to attract customers counter productive. Of course I understand that pricing is a form of competition, but for someone who reads for a living you can't seem to grasp the concept that Target cannot compete price wise which was explained in that case study (while being 4 years old still entirely relevant). Also your claims that companies have indeed been able to compete with Wal-Mart's prices are just flat out wrong. Perhaps on a limited time or item by item basis sure, but overall? Not even close.

Quote:Remember! No growth in over a YEAR? Here's where you prove to the entire Afterdawn community how little you know about anything. Wtf are you smoking? Growth has nothing to do with the actual stock price but earnings per share. EPS have been skyrocketing since the 2008 fiasco and before then were on a steady rise. Target's fiscal year ends on 1/31 so I can't give you this years numbers, but I'm willing to bet my last kidney that its up from last year when the numbers are crunched. Read a financial statement before you make yourself look stupid...assuming you know how to read one.

http://sites.target.com/site/en/company...d=WCMP04-051775

Quote:Plus, your thought process is misaligned if you think that execs are in the business of making 'you' (investors or the likes) rich. That's why they call it 'incentives' to keep investing. Nothing more than carrots (albeit fat carrots) on the end of a stick to keep you chasing the dream. Or have we all forgotten what happened to the stock market here 3 years ago?
No, execs are in the business of making themselves money. It just so happens a good chunk of executive compensation (varies widely based on the company) is tied to stock performance. You would know this if you took even an entry level business course or I dunno...read a newspaper. So yes as investors themselves they are in the business of making stockholders rich, or at least financially stable.

Let's just cut the crap. There's an unofficial AfterDawn member approved corporate axis of evil list and Target just hopped deeper into bed with one of them so you'll hoot and holler, make statements about your age, and pull enough red herrings for a migratory trip south for the winter. Do yourself a favor and just stop posting about things you know nothing about, because your making yourself look like a fool to those who do.

16.1.2012 15:45 #7

LordRuss

OK youngster, Without trying to write another War & Peace, and prove that I can also be a little less trite, let's see if I can take a 'bit' of carbon out of that blue steel hardon you're parading around the front room with.

You're still hung up on the MATCHING prices thing. If you can't argue your point without letting it go then you have no point to make. Stay on target. My point was (again, as I can & will always prove to AD audiences) Target obtains some better quality items. Those items don't deserve to be priced AT THE SAME PRICE POINTS. And yes, if jerk A is willing to sell socks for $1 to Walmart, he's will to sell them to me for the same. You have to be just as much an asshole as Walmart is. It's called the game & you get your retailing cohorts on the same sheet of music. So if you want to place a thumb chewing, pants loading descriptor on me, take some advice given me some years ago; think of what you're going to say before you say it... It's called 'living in this world'.

Growth: If the margin doesn't meet overhead, new construction, market fluctuation, simple interest rates & simple cost of living of your consumers then you're not making the cut. Companies this size can only be determined through their performance in the stock market. That was +/- $15 ($17 for the esoteric investors) for the year. Seeing as Target only has a 4.31% profit margin (what was that shite about not 'knowing' what I'm talking about?), that's 'oh so barely head above water'. Even in a company with large numbers, I'm not so sure 'big gamble' (the likes of say foreign markets) is a good idea.

No, 1 year does not a company make, but what ever 'grandma's recipe' business model you seem to think Target needs to stay afloat is grossly unnecessary. There seem to be several other companies that existed prior to Walmart that are remaining afloat (albeit barely) including Walmart & they never did this blue printed BS. Besides, Comparing Walmart to other (in its intirety) is almost like apples/oranges anymore. Now that they have pharmacies, auto centers, hair care, eye care, dog runs, food marts, surgery centers (lighten up, take a dose of humor once & while). Hell, why would anyone want to compete anymore other than they were in business to start with & don't want to lose their job.

Now, To prove to AD audience that you can spin a spider web that couldn't stop a piss ant on a Sunday stroll... Everyone involved in the discount & thrift markets has had a rise in the EPS. Only until recently has a infantile rise in investment stile expenditures had a rise, and I wouldn't even call it a rise. More like "I need a car & have no other choice". So again, spin as you may... So instead of reading "a" financial statement, I read "several". I suppose I should say "thank you".

And finally, so I can put this green baby in the ground, as you seem to be a business graduate & still believe in the system and its purity, I hope you bring it back to its true civility. I harken back to all the history books & teachers I used to make fun of as a kid & now cringe at exactly what has transpired.

Yeah, stock holders get rich, but make that 'one' margin call too late & that golden parachute exec can't be found. Or is that just another axis of evil? When did Santa wrap that up all pretty with a bow & put that under the tree?

As it seems you're all knowing, take up a petition, place a scarlet letter upon me & I'll humbly go away, but until then... Don't run for office.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

17.1.2012 12:07 #8

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