Target, Inc.

MINNEAPOLIS — Canned peaches, criminal records and political contributions were among the top shareholder concerns expressed at Target’s annual meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

The St. Jude Children’s hospital is the beneficiary of a bicycle ride slated for this weekend that wouldn’t be happening without the support of Target.

Motocross champion Ryan Dungey and Target are hosting the MN Major River-to-River Ride with Ryan Dungey on Sunday, July 15, featuring rides of different lengths and skill levels. The ride takes place the day after Dungey competes at Spring Creek in Millville, Minn. as part of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.

New York -- Canned peaches, criminal records and political contributions were among the shareholder concerns expressed at Target’s annual meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. said Wednesday its board approved the increase of its quarterly dividend by six cents, or 20%, to 36 cents. The chain will pay the dividend on Sept. 10 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 15.

Target Corp. has paid a dividend every quarter since going public in 1967.


 

The retail industry lost one of its legends this week when Eugene Ferkauf, founder of the E.J. Korvette chain of stores passed away at his Manhattan home.

Before Sam Walton or Harry Cunningham opened their first discount stores 50 years ago, Ferkauf established the principles of discount retailing with his stores in the New York area. The first Korvette’s store opening in 1948 and at its peak the company operated 45 stores.

Target’s plan to achieve $6 billion in Canadian sales by 2017 is doable, according to Bernstein Research analyst Colin McGranahan, who notes the company’s goal is dependent on achieving sales productivity levels higher than the United States.

The Eco-Me brand of unique dog grooming products is the newest arrival to the pet department at Target.

The brand said it secured placement in 450 Target stores for its line of all-natural pet cleaning and grooming products that are Ph-balanced specifically for pets.

News reports this week speculated Denver might be getting a new CityTarget store. Get used to seeing similar speculation in other major markets as the company seeks to tap a new growth frontier.

Greenpeace has released its latest "Carting Away the Ocean" report, and Target should be pleased with where it ranked on the list. With a score of 6.4, Target placed fifth and earned an orange, or "passing," rating. While that may not seem so great, it is important to keep in mind that only two retailers, Safeway and Whole Foods received green, or "good" ratings for their scores of 7 and 7.1, respectively -- the first time any retailer has recieved such distinction.

The trend of improving delinquency rates within Target’s credit card portfolio just keeps getting better, and in May the percentage of customers past due on their accounts sank to another new low.

Target’s more selective granting of credit and shoppers more judicious use of their cards sent the number of accounts 60 and 90 day past due down to 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively. Those figures are represented continued improvement from comparable April numbers of 2.7% and 1.9% that also set a new low and were a marked improvement from earlier in the year.