Target properties are roughly 135,000 square feet (12,500 m2) and sell general merchandise, including hardlines and softlines. While many Target stores follow a standard big-box architectural style, the company has focused on "customizing each new store to ensure a locally relevant experience [...] that best fit the surrounding neighborhood's needs" since 2006. Initially, only SuperTarget locations operated Starbucks Coffee counters, although they were integrated into general-merchandise stores through their expanded partnership beginning in 2003. Many stores also feature Pizza Hut Express counters (usually in the self-service snack bar), along with Starbucks.
Target introduced the "PFresh" store prototype in 2008, which expanded its grocery selection in general-merchandise locations by upwards of 200%. Newly constructed stores that follow the PFresh format are roughly 1,500 sq ft (140 m2) larger than properties without groceries, although retain the Target branding because its offerings are considerably more limited than SuperTarget. PFresh sells perishable and frozen foods, baked goods, meat, and dairy. The company remodeled 109 stores accordingly in 2009, and renovated another 350 stores the following year. The company's decision to close its garden centers opened floor space for PFresh expansion and larger seasonal departments beginning in 2010.
On June 15, 2015, CVS Health announced an agreement with Target to acquire all of Target's pharmacies and clinic businesses for around $1.9 billion. The Target pharmacies were rebranded as CVS Health pharmacies, which totaled 1,672 pharmacies in February 2016. The Target clinics were also rebranded as MinuteClinic. The acquisition of the Target pharmacies enabled CVS to expand its market into Seattle, Denver, Portland, and Salt Lake City.
The first Target Greatland location opened in Apple Valley, Minnesota, in September 1990. They were about 50% larger than traditional Target stores, and pioneered company standards, including an increased number of checkout lanes and price scanners, larger aisles, expanded pharmacy and photography departments, and a food court. Target Greatland locations have since been converted to stores following the PFresh format beginning in 2009.
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The first SuperTarget hypermarket opened in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1995, and expanded upon the Target Greatland concept with the inclusion of a full grocery department. The company expanded its grocery assortment in 2003 and adopted the modified tagline "Eat Well. Pay Less." (in reference to its tagline "Expect More. Pay Less.") in 2004. In the early 2000s, 43 locations (of nearly 100) featured E-Trade trading stations, although they were all closed by June 2003 after E-Trade determined, "we were not able to make it into a profitable distribution channel."
When comparing SuperTargets with rival Walmart Supercenter hypermarkets, then-chief executive Gregg Steinhafel opined that Walmart operates like "a grocer that happens to also sell general merchandise," whereas the less aggressive expansion of SuperTarget stores reflects his view of Target's grocery effort as a "high-impact, low-cost" side project. The company operated 239 SuperTarget locations as of September 2015; they each encompass an estimate of 174,000 square feet (16,200 m2).
In an article written in August 2015, Target was quoted as saying, "Big or small, our stores have one thing in common: they're all Target."
Small-format Target
While typical Target locations are about 135,000 sq ft (12,500 m2), most "small-format" CityTarget stores are roughly 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m2). The first stores were opened in July 2012, in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle; the 160,000 square feet (15,000 m2) location in Boston is the largest CityTarget and opened in July 2015. TargetExpress stores range from 14,000 to 21,000 sq ft (1,300 to 2,000 m2); the first opened in Dinkytown near the University of Minnesota in July 2014. Products in these flexible-format properties are typically sold in smaller packages geared towards customers using public transportation. Locations built in college communities often carry an extended home department of apartment and dormitory furnishings. In August 2015, Target announced that it would rename its nine CityTarget and five TargetExpress stores as Target beginning that October, deciding, "Big or small, our stores have one thing in common: they're all Target." The first small-format stores under the unified naming scheme opened later that month in Chicago, Rosslyn, San Diego, and San Francisco. The company opened a 45,000 square feet (4,200 m2) store in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York in October 2016. In that same month, three other similar-sized stores opened in Philadelphia; Cupertino, California; and the area around Pennsylvania State University. Target opened a 22,000 sq ft (2,000 m2) store in Austin's Dobie Twenty21, adjacent to the UT-Austin campus.
Nearly all of its planned openings through 2019 were small formats, which are less than 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2). The goal of these smaller-format stores is to win over the business of millennial customers. The nearly 30 newer locations were to be situated in college towns or densely populated areas.
Brands and subsidiaries
As of 2018, Target has four subsidiaries: Target Brands, Inc., Target Capital Corporation, Target Enterprise, Inc., and Target General Merchandise, Inc.
Financial and Retail Services division
Financial and Retail Services (FRS), formerly Target Financial Services, originally issued Target's credit cards, known as the Target Circle Card (formerly the Target Guest Card, then Target RedCard), issued through Target National Bank (formerly Retailers National Bank) for consumers and through Target Bank for businesses. FRS also oversees GiftCard balances. Target launched its PIN-x debit card, the Target Check Card, which was later rebranded as the Target Debit Card. The Target Debit Card withdraws funds from the customer's existing checking account, and allows for up to $40 "cash back". The debit card allows guests to save 5% off each purchase. In late 2017, Target replaced its REDcard slogan, "Save 5% Today, Tomorrow, & Everyday with Target REDcard", when it rolled out new benefits for REDcard holders by offering exclusive products on Target.com and preorders with "Everyday Savings. Exclusive Extras."
In October 2012, Target enter into an agreement with TD Bank in which TD Bank would handle Target's Visa and private label REDcard accounts for Target for a seven year period. The agreement was finalized in March 2013. The credit card management agreement was extended in 2022 until 2030 in which TD Bank is the sole issuer of Target's credit cards.
Target RedCard was rebranded Circle Card in April 2024.
Target Sourcing Services
This global sourcing organization locates merchandise from around the world for Target and helps import the merchandise to the United States, including garments, furniture, bedding, and towels. Target Sourcing Services has 27 full-service offices, 48 quality-control offices, and seven concessionaires located throughout the world, and employs 1,200 people. Its engineers are responsible for evaluating the factories that do business with Target Corporation for quality, labor rights, and trans-shipment issues. Founded in 1916 as the client-owned Associated Merchandising Corporation, the company was acquired by Target Corporation in 1998. TSS ceased operations in its department-store group, the division of the former Associated Merchandising Corporation that acted as a buying office for Saks, Inc., Bloomingdale's, Stage Stores Inc., TJ Maxx, and Marshalls.
Private-label brands
Target Brands is the company's brand-management division that oversees the company's private-label products.
Bullseye (a white Bull Terrier), is Target's mascot.
Good & Gather, a food and beverage brand, replaced Archer Farms and Simply Balanced.
Market Pantry, value grocery products
Dealworthy, a low-priced essentials brand
Boots & Barkley, a pet food and supply line
Embark, an outdoor gear line of camping and travel equipment
Room Essentials, inexpensive, primarily flat-pack, furniture
Brightroom, a line of storage solutions
Threshold, a premium furniture line
Wondershop, a Christmas decoration brand
Hyde and Eek, a Halloween decoration brand
up & up, offers essential commodities, including household, healthcare, beauty, baby, and personal-care products.
Xhilaration, a line of intimate and sleepwear, along with swimwear.
Other private labels include brands launched in July 2016, during back-to-school sales.
Pillowfort, a children's line of bedding and room decor
Cat and Jack, a children's line of apparel and accessories
Cloud Island, a baby's line of bedding and clothing
Project 62, a household-goods line placed alongside Room Essentials
Goodfellow & Co., a clothing and personal-care line for men, with the name being an homage to its beginnings as Goodfellow Dry Goods
A New Day, a clothing line for women
JoyLab, a fitness-clothing line for women
Hearth and Hand, a home and lifestyle brand, in collaboration with designer Joanna Gaines
Eight Target private-label brands that launched in 2018:
Universal Thread, a denim lifestyle brand
Opalhouse, eclectic home decor
Heyday, a line of electronic accessories
Original Use, male clothing brand targeting gen-Z and millennials
Wild Fable, women's clothing brand targeting gen-Z
Made By Design, a homelines brand, made up of home basics such as towels, cooking utensils, glassware, plates, pots, kitchen gadgets, and more
Smartly, essential a commodity brand, including household, healthcare, beauty, and personal-care products
In addition, Target released three new intimates, loungewear, and sleepwear brands for women on February 25, 2019:
Auden, an intimates and lingerie exclusive brand
Stars Above, an in-house brand for sleepwear
Colsie, an intimates and loungewear brand
On January 9, 2020, Target announced its new activewear brand, All in Motion, an athleisure line with products for men, women, boys, and girls. The brand's logo plays homage to a previous Dayton's logo.
On March 9, 2021, Target announced a new brand called Favorite Day, a brand that sells bakery, snacks, candy, premium ice cream, cake-decorating supplies, and beverage mixers and mocktails items. It launched on April 5, 2021.
Former brands include:
Cherokee, children's and women's clothing: On September 10, 2015, Target stores announced it would cease carrying the brand when its partnership with Cherokee Inc. expired on January 31, 2017. It was replaced by Cat & Jack.
Circo, toddler's and kids clothing: The brand was replaced by Cat & Jack, along with Pillowfort
Merona, a clothing brand purchased by Target in 1991
Mossimo Supply Co., a clothing line, in partnership with the brand owner Iconix Brand Group
Gilligan & O'Malley product lines of intimates and sleepwear were discontinued after the release of the brands Auden, Stars Above, and Colsie.
Website and app-based purchasing
Target.com owns and oversees the company's e-commerce initiatives, such as the Target.com domain. Founded in early 2000 as target.direct, it was formed by separating the company's existing e-commerce operations from its retailing division and combining it with its Rivertown Trading direct-marketing unit into a stand-alone subsidiary. In 2002, target.direct and Amazon.com's subsidiary Amazon Enterprise Solutions created a partnership in which Amazon.com would provide order fulfillment and guest services for Target.com in exchange for fixed and variable fees. After the company sold Marshall Field's and Mervyn's in 2004, target.direct became Target.com. The domain target.com attracted at least 288 million visitors annually by 2008, according to a Compete.com survey. In August 2009, Target announced that it would build and manage a new Target.com platform, independent of Amazon.com. This new platform was to launch in 2011, in advance of the holiday season. Prior to the announcement, Target and Amazon had extended their partnership until 2011. In January 2010, Target announced its vendor partners for the re-platforming project. These partners include Sapient, IBM, Oracle, Endeca, Autonomy, Sterling Commerce, and Huge, among others. The re-platformed Target.com officially launched on August 23, 2011, effectively ending the partnership with Amazon.com. Over the last few years, Target has been working to grow its fulfillment strategy via the orders placed through its website. In November 2025, Target began offering an app for purchasing items through the ChatGPT chatbot, a service also offered by several other retailers including Walmart, Etsy and Shopify.
Former subsidiaries
Target Portrait Studio was a chain of portrait studios that were located in select Target stores. The chain, which was operated by Lifetouch, opened in 1996 and ceased operations on January 28, 2017.
Target Garden Center was a chain of garden centers that were located in Target, Super Target, and Target Greatland stores. Around 260 Target stores in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida had garden centers. All of Target's garden centers closed in September 2010. Target spokesperson Jana O'Leary claimed that the reason why its garden centers closed was because "the garden centers don't provide significant value to our guests. Also, it's no longer a profitable business for us."
Target Canada was the chain of Target stores in Canada. It was formed in 2013 when Target acquired Zellers leases and converted them into Target stores. Target Canada was in operation for two years until the closure of all stores in 2015. The retail chain racked up losses of $2.1 billion in its brief lifespan, and the Canadian news media termed Target's foray into Canada as a "spectacular failure", "an unmitigated disaster", and "a gold standard case study in what retailers should not do when they enter a new market".
International operations
As of 2025, Target operates only in the United States, although from 2013 to 2015, Target also operated stores in Canada. Other companies that are under the name of "Target" outside of the United States, most notably that of Target Australia, are not owned or operated by the Target Corporation, with the Myer family under Baillieu Myer having licensed the name and logo in 1968.
Target forensic services
In 2006, The Washington Post revealed that Target was operating two criminal forensics laboratories, one at its headquarters and the other in Las Vegas. Originally, the lab was created with the role of investigating internal instances of theft, fraud, and other criminal actions that have occurred on its own properties. Eventually, the company began offering pro bono services to law enforcement agencies across the country. Target's Forensic Services has assisted agencies at all levels of government, including such federal agencies as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Secret Service.
