Archived Target's 4th Quarter Store Sales Dropped Versus 2015

[james0707]

Target is 'getting killed by itself,' Cramer said.

 

[2Spooky4U]

>in-store profits down by 5%

Looks like they finally saved that 5% that they just won't shut up about

 

[On6]

Shares are down 5%. That's not quite post-data breach but it is significant. I'd like to see comparisons to other retailers though. I feel like everyone was down this holiday season.

 

[HRZone]

Also mentions how target.com is thriving.

Its funny bc at our store we are supposed to hype Target.com to our guest but are we speeding up our own demise?

 

[qmosqueen]

saw that and these articles

Shoppers still aren't going to Target, despite its big marketing push


Target slumps after disappointing holiday season

 

[Greenandred]

It is funny to read the comments on the USA Today article. Almost every poster is claiming that the drop in sales of course is due to the boycott.

 

[Flabbergasted]

It is funny to read the comments on the USA Today article. Almost every poster is claiming that the drop in sales of course is due to the boycott.

It's funny. The truth is, only the hardcore right-wing Drumpf voters would be dumb enough to boycott a large national corporation over something as silly as who gets to use the restroom. I have never been to a business where trans folk are forbidden from entering the stalls by the corporate-appointed bathroom police. All the policy did was affirm it in writing. I know, I know, I'm getting into a tangent but it still frustrates me that people believe the bathroom thing was a significant boycott. People don't stop shopping at their favorite stores over shit like that. Profits are down for many other reasons, like the Internet, and poor staffing.

 

[qmosqueen]

This is interesting read

Target CEO Brian Cornell Discusses the Company's Holiday 2016 Results – ForeignAffairs.co.nz

 

[SFSFun]

Well at least I have job security in Ship from Store...

 

[balthrop]

I had to stop reading the comments on the USA Today article… words do not exist to adequately describe the comments section. there is less toxicity in the youtube comments section.

The boycott is/was/will be pointless.

Target is going to be done in not by some external force but we will in the end host ourselves on to or own petard.

The stores management no not leaders as these people do not, will not, can not inspire even the lowliest of us to follow. they sit and complain and moan about how people are not giving 110%. well guess what the bloke you are giving 14 hours a week is not going to give a flying rats backside if there is pallets yes pallets still on the floor at 1o AM. you forced the team out at 8 or earlier so take a flying leap and deal with you poor management decisions.

and the rant could go on but no need to thread jack to much :/

 

[signingminion]

Also mentions how target.com is thriving.

Its funny bc at our store we are supposed to hype Target.com to our guest but are we speeding up our own demise?

But ordering in store pickup sucks ass. Two items coming from same warehouse and one randomly took two days more to ship after the initial both are in transit? If it had been holiday presents I would have been screwed because it was Friday before and Sunday after Christmas for delivery to store...

...I can't in good conscience push online ordering unless they aren't in a hurry.

 

[SFSFun]

But ordering in store pickup sucks ass. Two items coming from same warehouse and one randomly took two days more to ship after the initial both are in transit? If it had been holiday presents I would have been screwed because it was Friday before and Sunday after Christmas for delivery to store...

...I can't in good conscience push online ordering unless they aren't in a hurry.

Standard shipping is 3-5 business days (4-7 days for STS).

I personally order stuff from Target all the time and it typically takes 1-3 days.

 

[IHeartCarts]

Now we can make up for this in two ways.

1. Get some quality staffing and product to help drive more sales
2. Cut hours

So goodbye VMLs! Goodbye AP! Goodbye multiple Sr TLs!

And you larger stores. Oh you sweet high volume stores. You know those TLs you have that specialize in certain areas?

GOOD BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

[SeniorAP]

Over the last decade, focus on short-term profits and gains, based on quarters versus multi-year projections, have finally caught up with the company. Think about it from your own experience, you'll only focus on MTD or maybe YTD, but then completely disregard anything past that. When was the last time you looked at the previous 5 years of performance? Combine the push out of TL's and ETL's that were competent in the understanding of the business, only to be replaced with new grads without previous knowledge, and you get to where you're at today. The standards all across the board have plummeted to reduce payroll costs, hiring costs, promotional opportunities, which has led to brain-drain and talented individuals from the last decade to go elsewhere. The company ruined itself, ate itself from WITHIN.

 

[Rock Lobster]

Over the last decade, focus on short-term profits and gains, based on quarters versus multi-year projections, have finally caught up with the company. Think about it from your own experience, you'll only focus on MTD or maybe YTD, but then completely disregard anything past that. When was the last time you looked at the previous 5 years of performance? Combine the push out of TL's and ETL's that were competent in the understanding of the business, only to be replaced with new grads without previous knowledge, and you get to where you're at today. The standards all across the board have plummeted to reduce payroll costs, hiring costs, promotional opportunities, which has led to brain-drain and talented individuals from the last decade to go elsewhere. The company ruined itself, ate itself from WITHIN.

Yes, but that was the workings of Greg and Tina. Those two literally were the cancers that put the company at its lowest points. While Target will not "go out of business" necessarily, the current leadership team has to get this train back on its tracks because it was at one point very close to falling completely off.

They need to review the business and organizational structure of store levels now. It is mangled and deteriorated from years of mistreatment. Any outsider could look at it and realize its just a patchwork of cuts and last minute fixes to keep the stores operating, but just barely. I also understand there is less interest in brick and mortar stores, but these will be the fulfillment centers needed to make the online aspects of the business stronger, and operationally they are extremely weak (probably moreso than our current CEO realizes).

 

[Unsilent]

The logistics aren't nearly efficient or staffed enough to support increasing online presence without sacrificing in-store quality. Yes, online sales are up a huge percent, but the total sales were down; even 1% is significant when looking at the sheer volume of stores involved. If the company will really push forward with the online movement, it's going to have to come with either store closures, increased DC workload, or even more (inefficient) SFS stores. It will likely require all three in the long term, only to get consistently shit on by Amazon.

Meanwhile, the store's fond of stepping over a dollar to pick up a penny, so they'll keep cutting hours and expecting those same team members to be more loyal, somehow. I also foresee combining more ETL responsibilities in order to cut some ETL positions, and replacing them with SrTLs instead. Why pay a salary when you can go hourly?

 

[eightrats]

Amazon is to big and has too much $$ devoted to high-tech there is no way we can ever compete ..i wouldn't jump the ship the just yet because most brick and mortar stores were sluggish this holiday..But to be honest I never think or ever thought as Target as a Holiday shopping destination. except maybe for a few decorations, cards, candy or wrapping paper. Our RTW clothes are poorly made and nothing exciting.. we did miss the boat on ugly sweaters this year.. because we only had about three different styles in men and womens and they were sold out right after Black Friday ... but so many customers came in looking for a sweater right before Christmas.. then our clothes and hats located for women in about 7 different locations... dumb.. BUT other than toys.. I really don't understand the draw.. for Holiday gifts at Target... it seems the Jan through October customers love our health and beauty.. home wears and decore.. everything else is just there..food and clothescan be found elsewhere. with better quality and prices...

 

[SFSFun]

If the company will really push forward with the online movement, it's going to have to come with either store closures, increased DC workload, or even more (inefficient) SFS stores. It will likely require all three in the long term, only to get consistently shit on by Amazon.

The problem with SFS is that it is now at the point where they likely can't add it anywhere else. The stores in my district that had it added in November didn't have enough space for it. They had to take down areas of the backroom that they actively used and needed to use just to make room for SFS.

And they can't really increase the capacity much more, either. We were forecasted for 1050 orders on some days, and while we didn't hit it, we came close and it was extremely hectic, unorganized, and inefficient. The quality of work suffered and the amount of stock left for guests physically in the store suffered.

They are going to need to either physically expand backrooms or add another fulfillment center this year.

 

[On6]

The problem with SFS is that it is now at the point where they likely can't add it anywhere else. The stores in my district that had it added in November didn't have enough space for it. They had to take down areas of the backroom that they actively used and needed to use just to make room for SFS.

And they can't really increase the capacity much more, either. We were forecasted for 1050 orders on some days, and while we didn't hit it, we came close and it was extremely hectic, unorganized, and inefficient. The quality of work suffered and the amount of stock left for guests physically in the store suffered.

They are going to need to either physically expand backrooms or add another fulfillment center this year.

With the shift more towards online sales my guess is they will start closing some of the lower performing stores that are also older and lack the space to expand for online operations.

Store based fulfillment centers alone aren't going to cut it. Amazon does well because they have distribution centers strategically placed to make deliveries efficient as possible. Target should look into dedicating more space, either in possible expansions of current stores or building dedicated facilities. Some stores in the company limited by space have off site storage. Something similar to that would be a good start.

The main issue here is the money involved. Until Target realizes they need to spend it now to make more later then they will continue to fail.

 

[masterofalltrades]

Now we can make up for this in two ways.

1. Get some quality staffing and product to help drive more sales
2. Cut hours

So goodbye VMLs! Goodbye AP! Goodbye multiple Sr TLs!

And you larger stores. Oh you sweet high volume stores. You know those TLs you have that specialize in certain areas?

GOOD BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE

They're already gone. Each tl has 3 areas each in my aa+ store, and 2 areas each at my neighbor aaa+ store.

 

[SrTLall]

The main issue here is the money involved. Until Target realizes they need to spend it now to make more later then they will continue to fail.

Target isn't exactly failing.

Every single brick and mortar retailer is adjusting to the relatively new landscape created by Amazon. If you think Cornell can just spend a bunch of money, wave a magic wand, and fix all the problems associated with competing with Amazon overnight, you're living in a dream world. Target is routinely developing and deploying new strategies while spending a LOT of money. Flexible Fullfillment, RFID, and UDCs are just some of the ideas incorporated into the strategy to remain competitive. You would be naive to think Target isn't currently working on improving and expanding any of the issues with Flexible Fullfillment.

 

[BoxCutter]

You would be naive to think Target isn't currently working on improving and expanding any of the issues with Flexible Fullfillment

Anyone would be naive to believe Target's improvements and expansion would be well researched, thought out, tested, and implemented relatively problem free.

Yes, I'm looking at YOU, myDevice.

 

[Life201]

Target isn't exactly failing.

Every single brick and mortar retailer is adjusting to the relatively new landscape created by Amazon. If you think Cornell can just spend a bunch of money, wave a magic wand, and fix all the problems associated with competing with Amazon overnight, you're living in a dream world. Target is routinely developing and deploying new strategies while spending a LOT of money. Flexible Fullfillment, RFID, and UDCs are just some of the ideas incorporated into the strategy to remain competitive. You would be naive to think Target isn't currently working on improving and expanding any of the issues with Flexible Fullfillment.

Target should maybe be thinking of unique ways to encourage people to want to shop and spend in the stores. All the talk about "fun" & there's no fun for the shoppers.

They should also stop ignoring the fact that when many shoppers walk into a store & cannot find what they are looking for they will walk out rather than look for someone to help them. If you don't have salespeople on the floor, people eventually decide it's cheaper & easier to stay home & look for the best deals on the internet. And shoppers are creatures of habit, if you constantly move items to new locations, people come in & assume you don't sell the product anymore & they leave.

 

[DoWork]

Cannibalization

 

[Rock Lobster]

Target should maybe be thinking of unique ways to encourage people to want to shop and spend in the stores. All the talk about "fun" & there's no fun for the shoppers.

They should also stop ignoring the fact that when many shoppers walk into a store & cannot find what they are looking for they will walk out rather than look for someone to help them. If you don't have salespeople on the floor, people eventually decide it's cheaper & easier to stay home & look for the best deals on the internet. And shoppers are creatures of habit, if you constantly move items to new locations, people come in & assume you don't sell the product anymore & they leave.

Yes and no... The future is online, so this is a short-sighted solution to a long-term problem. I think Target is aware of this, but every store only has so much square footage to work with. The logistics process as a whole as it is now does not help this problem, and as we look for ways to make stores the fulfillment centers for online orders, it will continue to be a problem until it is addressed. How do you add ship from store to a building that already has to order shipping containers every 4Q because their backroom isn't big enough? We had issues with the DC being too far ahead of transitions and final pushes over the last 6 months. We were sitting on all of the Christmas final push (which clogged up our BR to no end) when the Valentine's Transition came in, then we got the huge plastics seasonal push two days later... we had three entire areas worth of crap... so a call to the storage container company was in order.