History of Target: Company timeline and facts

Target is simply a household sanction successful the U.S. For decades, it’s been among the apical retailers successful the nation, and millions of Americans admit the company’s iconic logo—a reddish bullseye target.

Target’s income transcend $100 cardinal successful gross annually, and it’s ranked 8th successful presumption of income by the National Retail Federation, an manufacture group. Target started retired arsenic a tiny store successful Minnesota astatine the crook of the 20th century, and much than 100 years later, it’s among the starring discount retailers crossed the country.

Target began arsenic a tiny discount retailer successful Minnesota. According to Target's past page, George Draper Dayton, a 24-year-old autochthonal New Yorker, partnered with a radical of New York investors, and successful 1881, moved to Worthington, Minnesota, to measure concern opportunities successful the Midwest.

In 1902, aft much than 20 years successful banking and existent estate, Dayton moved to Minneapolis (200 miles away) with his woman and 4 children and became a spouse successful Goodfellow Dry Goods Company. A twelvemonth later, helium bought retired his partners, took sole ownership of the store, and appointed himself the archetypal president of the recently named Dayton Dry Goods Company.

Under his leadership, the institution experienced accelerated maturation and was renamed The Dayton Company, but it was much commonly known arsenic Dayton's section store, pursuing the opening of a ample section store successful Minneapolis. Among Dayton’s innovations was utilizing airplanes to transportation goods and merchandise from New York amid a onslaught that threatened to bare store shelves.

Related: History of Costco: Company timeline and facts

Dayton stayed connected until helium died successful 1938, and his lad George N. Dayton became president. In 1950, the younger Dalton passed away, and helium was succeeded by his lad Donald C. Dayton. Under the founder’s grandson, Dayton expanded beyond downtown Minneapolis, including a ample section store successful 1954 and 2 years aboriginal the opening of Southdale Mall—which was the nation's archetypal afloat enclosed, air-conditioned buying center—in Minneapolis’s suburbs. His enactment led to important changes wrong the institution for growth.

At the aforesaid clip that the institution was expanding beyond its base, Dayton was looking for a caller concern exemplary and recovered it successful the signifier of what Target said was “a mass-market discount store that catered to value-oriented shoppers seeking a higher-quality experience.” President Dayton said that the institution would gully from its decades of acquisition successful retail and would find a mode to harvester prime with discount.

In the pursuing years, the discount exemplary would yet overtake its accepted section store business.