About Target Corporation
Target Corporation was founded in 1962 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as Dayton’s. In 1980, Dayton’s rebranded as the Target Corporation. In 2000, the Target Corporation rebranded as the “Target Corporation”. With headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Target Corporation is the eighth largest retailer in the United States and 37th on the Fortune 500 list of biggest corporations by total revenue.
Target operates with more than 31 stores throughout the United States. The company is popular for making affordable products easily available. The retail formats under the brand are – the discount store Target, where the products are available at a discounted price rather than the full retail price, the hypermarket concept called SuperTarget which are 50% larger than the traditional Target stores and characterized by an increased number of checkout lanes and price scanners, larger aisles, expanded departments, and a food court, and the “small-format” Target stores, for smaller cities, semi-urban areas and college communities. Target believes in customizing each new store to meet market requirements and make store experience locally relevant.
About Macy’s Inc
Macy’s Inc. is the company that owns several other departmental store brands under its company banner - Abraham & Stars, Lazarus, Filene’S, Shillito’s and Bloomingdale’s. In 1994, Federated took over the department store chain Macy’s and, after a decade-long drive of acquisitions where most of the departmental stores rebranded as Macy’s, in 2007, renamed itself Macy’s Inc.
Macy’s Inc. is headquartered in its flagship store at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City, United States, since 2020. Macy’s Inc. is the world’s largest fashion goods retailer and the 36th largest retailer overall, based on the company’s reported 2010 retail sales revenue of $25 billion (equivalent to $31.1 billion in 2021). With this Macy’s surpasses Target in its overall generated revenue. Macy’s offer all-concept stores and are usually quite big since they offer a variety of merchandise, from apparel to accessories and consumer goods, under one roof. It also prides itself in being the largest departmental store in the world, situated in the city of New York.
Comparison between Target & Macy’s
Macy’s and Target have a huge role to play in shaping the departmental store business in the United States. Both started as a single store concept and now are among the top 50 retail giants in the U.S. Compared to Target, Macy’s is more of a premium departmental store in the country and sells a variety of merchandise, including apparel, men’s, women’s and children’s accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and consumer goods. Macy’s, unlike Target, associates itself with fashion because of its affiliation with Bloomingdale’s which is a sister company.
Target is a mass-market retailer that caters to the American lower middle class and the middle class who go for cheap and mass consumer goods. Their products are priced to appeal to the masses, ensuring a vast customer base. Their focus is more on people in the age group of 35 and above who are settled and encompassed in their day-to-day lives looking for everyday necessary products.
Macy’s target consumers are the American upper middle class and the upper class who want quality products at reasonable prices. Macy’s fashion brand Bloomingdale’s offers an assortment of high-end luxury brands such as Gucci, Armani, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, and Prada to name a few. Macy’s widely focuses on the Millennial generation, those aged between 16 and 34, on the basis that this customer base is more informed and seeks style and taste. Millennials closely follow premium brands through digital networks and seek to incorporate the same into their lifestyle. The company has launched several collections specifically aimed at Millennials, including QMack, Maison Jules, and Bar III Carnaby.
Target and Macy’s customize their products according to local taste and preference. The “small-format” Target stores offer smaller SKUs to cater to low-end customers and college students. The products in its food & grocery department are also categorized accordingly. Similarly, Macy’s ensures that local tastes and preferences are reflected in merchandise size, fit, style, and color at a particular store. It also takes note of the taste based on the ethnicity of the buyers, since multicultural buyers represent a majority of its customers.
Conclusion
Macy’s and Target are two completely different organisations. Macy’s is the owner of Target, while Target is the subsidiary of Macy’s. These two brands are completely different and have been reformatory in shaping the departmental stores business of the United States over the past 60 years.
