Target, officially known as Target Corporation, is an American multinational retail chain whose first outlet opened in 1962 as the discount division of Dayton’s department store.
Target considers this mission its purpose and promises to provide a shopping experience that is fun, easy, inspiring, and full of surprises.
This idea of making life more joyful also extends to every business decision the company makes and encourages employees to bring a positive attitude to work each day.
With these points in mind, we’ll devote the rest of the article to analyzing Target’s mission statement in the context of customer experience, partnerships, and employee empowerment.
Aspect
Description
Analysis
Mission Statement
“To help all families discover the joy of everyday life.”
Target’s mission is focused on bringing joy to families through everyday life. This mission serves as the foundation for the company’s operations and decisions, emphasizing the importance of creating a joyful customer experience.
Customer Experience
Target’s brand promise, “Expect More, Pay Less,” is central to its customer experience strategy. The company offers affordable brand-name products and eCommerce services while aiming for a diverse product assortment.
Target’s commitment to offering quality products at affordable prices aligns with its brand promise. The introduction of Target Circle and RedCard, which offer discounts and perks to customers, enhances the value proposition. The goal is to make shopping at Target not only cost-effective but also enjoyable and convenient.
Design Partnerships
Target collaborates with over 175 design partners to create products that bring joy and surprise to consumers. Partnerships span various categories, including home décor, food and beverage, electronics, and beauty.
These design partnerships distinguish Target from competitors by offering exclusive and unique products. By working with well-known partners like LEGO and Victoria Beckham, Target taps into their brand appeal and values, providing consumers with curated lifestyle items that resonate with joyful optimism. Such collaborations contribute to a distinctive shopping experience.
Employee Empowerment
Target recognizes the importance of its employees, emphasizing that they are essential to the company’s success. In February 2022, Target announced investments in employee wages and healthcare, recognizing the link between employee well-being and customer satisfaction.
The commitment to employee well-being reflects Target’s understanding of the connection between happy and healthy employees and exceptional customer experiences. This investment aims to empower employees, foster their energy and resilience, and keep the company at the forefront of meeting customer needs. It acknowledges the value of a motivated and dedicated workforce in delivering on its mission.
Table of Contents
Customer experience
Target’s brand promise of “Expect More, Pay Less.” is central to its efforts to create a joyful customer experience for families.
The company provides brand-name products at affordable prices and many of the eCommerce-related services consumers expect.
It also strives to offer an unparalleled diversity of products that include high-end products in addition to everyday essentials.
But there are a few services that differentiate Target from the competition. For one, it started to offer discounts on already discounted products in 2013 when it acquired the digital coupon app Cartwheel.
Members of the service, which is now known as Target Circle, have access to hundreds of deals from their favorite brands and can even receive 5% off for purchases made on their birthday.
Target is also known for its private label debit and credit cards which fall under the RedCard product banner. Consumers have access to perks such as free 2-day shipping, 5% off all purchases, and more time to return unwanted products.
Design partners
To develop products that bring joy and surprise to the consumer, Target has worked with more than 175 design partners over the past 20 years across home décor, food and beverage, electronics, and beauty.
Some of the more notable partners include Levi Strauss, Tabitha Brown, LEGO, and Victoria Beckham.
The partnership reflected shared values of joyful optimism and provided consumers with a curated assortment of lifestyle items that could be worn or used to celebrate the holiday season.
Employee empowerment
As a retail company, Target’s employees are the face of its business and are vital to its success.
Target understands that store employees are as important as the products it sells, and also claims that its senior management “know their stuff and know how to have fun.”
Recognizing the connection between happy and healthy employees and superb customer experience, chief HR officer Melissa Kremer noted that:
“Our team is at the forefront of our strategy and success, and their energy and resilience keeps us at the forefront of meeting the changing needs of our guests year after year.”
Key takeaways
Target, officially known as Target Corporation, is an American multinational retail chain whose first outlet opened in 1962 as the discount division of Dayton’s department store.
Target’s mission involves a promise to provide a shopping experience that is fun, easy, inspiring, and full of surprises for families. This mission is underpinned by a customer retail experience with various peaks and a diverse product assortment. Strategic partnerships to create unique products add to the allure of Target stores.
Equally as important to creating a joyful shopping experience are Target’s employees – particularly those in customer-facing roles.
Key Highlights about Target Corporation:
Company Background: Target Corporation, commonly known as Target, is an American multinational retail chain. It originated in 1962 as the discount division of Dayton’s department store.
Mission Statement: Target’s mission is “To help all families discover the joy of everyday life.” This mission guides the company’s purpose and influences its business decisions.
Employee Count: Target employs over 400,000 people globally, all working towards fulfilling the company’s mission.
Customer Experience: Target aims to create a joyful customer experience by offering brand-name products at affordable prices. Its brand promise is “Expect More, Pay Less.” The company provides diverse product selections, including high-end and everyday essentials.
Unique Services: Target offers unique services like Target Circle (formerly Cartwheel), a digital coupon app that provides discounts and deals, and RedCard debit and credit cards with perks such as free 2-day shipping and 5% off all purchases.
Design Partnerships: Target collaborates with more than 175 design partners across various categories like home décor, food and beverage, electronics, and beauty. Notable partners include Levi Strauss, LEGO, and Victoria Beckham.
LEGO Partnership: In 2021, Target partnered with LEGO to offer nearly 300 brick-inspired items under $30, aligning with shared values of joyful optimism and holiday celebration.
Employee Empowerment: Target recognizes the importance of its employees, viewing them as essential to its success. The company has invested in raising employee wages and expanding healthcare benefits to ensure a happy and healthy workforce.
Employee-Customer Connection: Target acknowledges the connection between happy and healthy employees and providing an excellent customer experience, emphasizing the role of its team in its success.
Target generated over $109 billion in revenue and $2.78 billion in profits in 2022, compared to $106 billion in revenue and almost $7 billion in profits in 2021.
In 2022, Target generated $104.6 billion in revenue, with nearly $85 billion coming from stores and $19.7 billion from digital, compared to $92.4 billion in 2021, of which $75.8 billion from stores and $16.6 billion from digital.
Target generated most of its sales from its stores in 2022. Indeed stores’ sales represented over 81% of the total sales, while digital represented 18.6%. Yet, digital sales have grown from 8.8% of the pre-pandemic total to 18.6% by 2022.
In 2022, a good chunk of the product category sold was Beauty & Household Essentials, which represented 26% of the total revenue, followed by Food & Beverage with 20%, Home Furnishings & Décor 19%, Hardlines 18%, and Apparel & Accessories 17%.
Adidas’ mission is “To be the best sports brand in the world.” Adidas AG is a German multinational initially founded in 1924 by Adolf Dassler who developed spiked running shoes out of his mother’s house. Today, the company is the largest sportswear producer in Europe and the second largest globally behind rival Nike.
Tesla’s vision is to “create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles,” while its mission is “to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass-market electric cars to market as soon as possible.” Tesla used a transitional business model as its ecosystem grows.
Amazon’s mission statement is to “serve consumers through online and physical stores and focus on selection, price, and convenience.” Amazon’s vision statement is “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.”
Apple’s mission is “to bring the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services.” And in a manifesto dated 2019 Tim Cook set the vision specified as “We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing.”
Netflix’s core mission, strategy, and vision are that of “improving its members’ experience by expanding the streaming content with a focus on a programming mix of content that delights members and attracts new members.”
Coca-Cola’s Purpose is to “refresh the world. make a difference.” Its vision and mission are to “craft the brands and choice of drinks that people love, to refresh them in body & spirit. And done in ways that create a more sustainable business and better-shared future that makes a difference in people’s lives, communities, and our planet.”
Starbucks highlights its mission as “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” And its vision is to “treat people like family, and they will be loyal and give their all.”
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. With over $110 billion in revenues in 2018, Office Products and Windows are still the main products. Yet the company also operates in Gaming (Xbox), Search Advertising (Bing), Hardware, LinkedIn, Cloud, and more.
Walmart’smission can be summarized as “helping people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores and through eCommerce.” While its vision is to “make every day easier for busy families.” Walmart defines “busy families” as the bull’s eye of its business strategy.
Nike vision is “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” While its mission statement is to “do everything possible to expand human potential. We do that by creating groundbreaking sport innovations, by making our products more sustainably, by building a creative and diverse global team and by making a positive impact in communities where we live and work.”
Google mission statement is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Its vision statement is to “provide an important service to the world-instantly delivering relevant information on virtually any topic.” In 2019, Sundar Pichai emphasized a renewed mission to allow people “to get things done!”
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
