Well, let's take a look at our stock of the week.
We are recapping target after the mega Big
Box retailer reported fourth quarter results on Tuesday
managing to beat estimates for the first time in a year.
But target noting that sales growth has been slowing with higher costs,
eating into profits in the latest period,
we'll steep discounts helped it sell access inventory but
those bargains also leading to slimmer profit margins,
Ceo Brian Cornell blaming a quote very challenged environment
and attributing growth to grocery beauty and household items
like paper towels to drive sales while more
customers visited target stores in the quarter.
The company says consumer spending continues to shift
from discretionary purchases like electronics to more essential items
I E food
looking at shares of Target over these past
five sessions this week stock down about 2%.
Now in the meantime,
target also announcing plans to invest up to
$5 billion in the guest experience so soon.
Choppers may not have to wait in line anymore in returning an item or even
in fact leave their cars after curbside
pickup boomed at Target and other retailers.
The company decided to include returns in that process. So, Tart,
it's gonna start rolling out the service in the spring with the goal of expanding
to all locations nationwide by the summer target
also making a big push toward e commerce
retailer,
investing $100 million to build e commerce hubs
to help make deliveries faster and cheaper.
That includes purchases made online and in store and curbside pickup orders.
Well,
Targo wants to have at least 15 of these distribution
centers up and running within the next three years.
nine are already operating in Minnesota,
Texas and Pennsylvania among other states
and new facilities in Chicago and Denver opening last month.
The company also increasing its headcount. Each facility has about 100 workers
and executives expecting the new hubs to help
deliver 50 million packages in the next year.
Almost double last year's number.
We'll take a look at shares of target year to date the stack of 9.5%.
In fact, outpacing gains
that we've seen for the S and P 500.