Target has come a long way since the early 1990s, when it was seen merely as a competitor of Walmart and Kmart. In 2010 Fortune magazine ranked Target as 22nd on their list of the world’s “Most Admired Companies.” Interbrand Design Forum ranked Target as having the second most valuable global brand. Fast Company magazine named Target to their list of “Innovation All Stars.” And Ethisphere ranked Target among the most ethical companies.

How did Target rebrand themselves? By crafting a branding strategy to become “the hip retailer”-more upscale merchandise, but still at a bargain, to attract younger, more affluent, and educated customers. Now more than 97 percent of Americans recognize their logo-the Target bull’s-eye.

Target redesigned their stores to be more attractive to their focused audience-with wider aisles, cleaner fixtures, related departments placed conveniently next to each other, and paintings of catego­ries on easy-to-view signs from the front of the store. Unlike their previous competitors, they don’t promote items or services through a public address system, but employees receive incentives for making a product display look great. As a result, Target earned a perfect score of 100 percent on the “Corporate Quality Index and Best Places to Work” survey.

David Horsager, Kmart, Target, Target Corporation, Trust in Business, Trust in Leadership, Walmart, Competency