Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has announced plans to open more stores in college towns.
The retailer will be opening 32 smaller locations in 2016. Of these 32 locations, eight will be located nearby college campuses to make them easily accessible to students without cars. Target is using smaller stores than normal and the locations have a focus on what college students are looking to buy. The retail chain is focusing on colleges with 20,000 or more students for its initial plans.
Target has already tested out one of these new locations in Dinkytown, which is nearby the University of Minnesota. The store is 20,000 square feet in size and it carries merchandise with the local university’s mascot and logo. There are plans for another 15 of the smaller stores that will open in 2017. Five of these locations will be placed near college campuses.
“A lot of college campuses have underdeveloped retail, so the students as well as the people who live around campus don’t have a lot of options to shop for a quick trip,” Mark Schindele, Senior Vice President of Properties at Target, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Target last released its earnings report on Aug. 17. While it was able to match and surpass Wall Street’s estimates for the quarter, it was hit hard by a lowered guidance for the full year. The company has been working to turn around it’s problems and these smaller stores are just part of that effort.
Target has also been facing the fallout of its transgender bathroom policy. The decision to let transgenders use the bathroom’s of their choice resulted in major media coverage and backlash from customers. A boycott of the company was also created over the policy and it currently has more than 1.4 million signatures.
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