Kurt Barnard Target Quotations

With gas prices the way they are and with people suddenly being burdened with monthly car payments, they are looking for bargains. People are taking their money from Bloomingdale's to Penney, Kohl's (NYSE: KSS - news ) and Target (NYSE: TGT - news ).

With Wal-Mart it's still a wait-and watch situation, but Target's news is a little worse. The problem with Target is that its department stores are underperforming.

The problem with Target is a problem facing every retailer. The price of gas is coming down, but home heating oil is going to be a major problem, ... A lot of consumers are worried.

The key for them is the marketing of a new and totally different identity from Wal-Mart or Target or anybody else, ... They have to create their own distinctive identity. The kind that will make you and me wake up in the morning and say, 'I need a new pair of pajamas -- I think I'll go to Kmart.'

Target has ignored Wal-Mart's changeover, and it has suffered because of it. Target will have a decent season, but they won't make the winner's circle.

By shuttering the Marshall Field's catalogs, Target is saying something about its department stores business -- business isn't what it used to be, ... Part of the reason is that department stores overall are doing badly.