Minneapolis-based retailer Target Corporation announced plans this week to close four store locations around the country—including a California location that has been open for 30 years.
The locations that are slated to close, including the year they opened, are:
• Leesburg, Florida, 1992 • Morrow, Georgia, 1996 • Chandler, Arizona, 1986 • Chula Vista, California, 1983
Target announced the Florida closing on Tuesday and announced the other three closings on Wednesday. All of the stores are slated to close on February 1, which marks the conclusion of the company’s 2013 fiscal year.
Although the company issued separate statements for each store closing, each release detailed an identical reason for the closures, noting that the decision followed “careful consideration of the financial performance and potential of this specific location.” (Target also announced four store closings last year.)
Despite its latest store closures, Target has expanded its overall footprint. Spokeswoman Molly Snyder said that the retailer opened 19 new U.S. locations this year, in addition to its expansion in Canada.
Snyder said that each of the stores that are closing employs about 80 to 100 employees. She noted that affected employees have the option to transfer to nearby store locations.
“The vast majority . . . they typically do choose to make that transfer,” Snyder told Twin Cities Business.
Target owns the vast majority of its retail locations. Snyder said that the properties would be actively marketed for sale.
Target currently operates a total of 1,888 retail stores: 1,797 in the United States and 91 locations in Canada. According to its most recent annual filing, Target operates 75 stores in Minnesota totaling 10.8 million square feet of retail space.
In its second quarter earnings report, which was released in August, Target reported a 2 percent uptick in revenue, but a 13.2 percent drop in profits. But Snyder said that the four stores are being closed based on specific analysis of those locations, not broader retail trends.
In October, Target laid off 150 of its corporate employees in the Twin Cities.
For its 2012 fiscal year, Target reported a profit of $3 billion on revenue of $73.3 billion.