Target, Inc.

Hammond, La. -- Covington, La.-based Stirling Properties, developer of Hammond Square, said that Charming Charlie will occupy a 9,911-sq.-ft. space on Main Street across from Books-A-Million and Shoe Department Encore.

The anticipated opening is spring 2011, and will accompany openings by Academy Sports + Outdoors and The Children’s Place.

MINNEAPOLIS - Target has created a new way for parents to share news about their new baby. The company last week announced the launch of its Big Baby Billboard, an interactive online experience that includes an outdoor presence in New York City and Los Angeles. For a limited time, parents can visit the Target Baby Facebook page to create a playful digital birth announcement that can be shared online with family and friends, the company reported. Target said it will then randomly select birth announcements for display in New York City's Times Square (through Jan.

Retailers who report monthly sales are set to report their best December results in several years this Thursday assuming preseason forecasts and in-season upward revisions prove accurate. Total holiday sales are forecast to increase in the low- to mid-single digits, and Thursday’s monthly results from the likes of Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s, TJX and others will offer an indication of how good a season it was.

With Target set to release December sales results this Thursday, the issue isn’t whether the company’s results will be in line with expectations but the degree by which they are likely to exceed same-store sales guidance in the low- to mid-single digit range.

The Great Save promotion is back again at Target for the second year in a row. As was the case last year, the promotion is billed as something of a warehouse-club type shopping experience complete with sharp pricing on large-pack sizes combined with a little bit of the treasure hunt atmosphere to create the allure of discovering bargains.

The biggest difference between this year and last year is the Great Save promotion will be shorter. It runs through Feb. 5 this year, whereas last year it was in place for seven weeks or until nearly the end of February.

Not sure why parents of a newborn would want to share images of their child with throngs of people gathered in Times Square or motorists in Los Angeles, but in these celebrity-obsessed and digitally-enabled times a lot of behaviors defy logic.

Be that as it may, Target devised a novel brand-building campaign that allowed parent to essentially share images of their baby with a universe of complete strangers as opposed to the more discrete tradition of limiting viewings to family and a close knit group of friends.

This should be interesting. “Target: Inside the Bullseye” is scheduled to air on CNBC Thursday, Jan. 13 at 9 p.m. EST. The documentary will repeat that evening at 10 p.m., 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. and will also re-air again on Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

By Craig R. Johnson

Holiday shoppers continued to unleash three years of pent-up demand as the season winds up, on their way to setting a new record of over $521B, blasting through 2007’s pre-recession record of $508 billion, according to Customer Growth Partners. Based on CGP’s proprietary mall surveys and government retail data -- and despite Sunday’s Northeast blizzard -- the sales growth confirmed CGP’s +5% holiday sales forecast. [CGP’s data include e-commerce, unlike NRF, which excludes the same.]