Target, Inc.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target’s second-quarter sales increased 3.5% to $16.5 billion and the company’s profits grew 2.9% to $1.06 per share, five cents better than analysts expected.

Peoria, Ill. -- Cullinan Properties, developer of the East Peoria Downtown shopping center, hosted a ceremonial ‘Steel Raising’ event last week to mark the development of the Peoria project.

Joining Target and Costco at the center will be Ulta Beauty with an 11,000-sq.-ft. store adjacent to Target, and Gordmans, which has leased a 50,000-sq.-ft. space slated to open in early 2013.

I’ve written before about the ongoing trend of some of the biggest names in retail downsizing. Now I’m seeing how brands like Target, Wal-Mart and Office Depot are rolling out smaller new store formats in urban environments, and it has me thinking about how this downsizing phenomenon might be even more important than many people realize.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. reported Wednesday that profit for the second quarter remained essentially flat at $704 million.

Sales advanced 3.5% to $16.45 million, boosted by a 3.1% same-store sales rise in the quarter but missed Wall Street’s expected $16.75 million in revenue.

New York -- A Wednesday report by the Wall Street Journal said that big retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores, Target Corp. and 7-Eleven are planning to develop a mobile payment network much like the Starbucks Square initiative that was announced last week.

The Annual State of the Industry Report is the centerpiece of this issue of Chain Store Age, and it’s a great read. It’s also very timely.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Lest anyone think Walmart would miss out on the opportunity to cash in on the "Hunger Games" phenomenon, the company has followed suit with Target and Toys"R"Us in offering a unique experience for fans.

From J.C. Penney to Target to Selfridges, retailers across the spectrum are giving over valuable floor space to in-store shops. Here are some interesting observations on the phenomenon from Joanna Felder, VP intelligence and brand strategy at Chute Gerdeman, Columbus, Ohio.

Shop-in-shops offer retailers the magic formula of flexibility, brand-enhancing cachet and the ability to attract new customer segments. The opportunity has never been better for young, entrepreneurial hip brands to find a mainstream home.

With the start of Back to School promotions, (and taking JCPenney out of the mix) we witnessed increase in page count that was driven mainly by significant increases in Walmart’s and Sears’ page counts.

JCPenney has been drastically altering their promotional strategy in past couple of months, however this month, the store did not promote at all, causing curiosity for many customers. (It should be noted that JCPenney did release circulars the week of July 29th that will be counted in the August report.)

New York -- Only 26% of parents say they are shopping wherever the best back-to-school promotions are offered, according to a study by WSL/Strategic Retail. The finding was revealed as part of the company’s Back-to-School 2012 How America Shops trend report, which tracked what stores and categories parents are shopping.