Target, Inc.

Stronger-than-expected retail sales in June had media outlets using words like “soar” and “surge” to describe the gains reported by retailers who disclose monthly results. While it is probably overstating things to characterize increases of 4.5% at Target, 6.7% at Macy’s and 4.8% as Walgreens as anything other than an “increase,” the hyperbole on the part of the media and analysts can be forgiven because everything is relative, and the numbers are fantastic compared with earlier this year.

The 4.5% increase in same-store sales Target reported for June was at the high end of the company’s expectations, came on top of a prior year increase of 1.7% and was driven primarily by an increase in average transaction size with a more modest benefit associated with increased traffic.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust announced Wednesday the acquisition of Sawyer Heights Village in a joint venture with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust.

Sawyer Heights Village, a 107,626-sq.-ft. power center located just outside the central business district in Houston, was purchased for approximately $35 million. 

MINNEAPOLIS - The 4.5% increase in same-store sales Target reported for June was at the high end of the company’s expectations and came on top of a prior year increase of 1.7%. The gain was driven primarily by an increase in average transaction size while growth in the overall volume of transactions appeared to moderate somewhat.

Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said he was very pleased with the company’s performance at the upper end of a guidance range that called for a low-to-mid single-digit improvement.

New York City -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission settled a lawsuit with Target Corp. regarding the rights of a disabled cart attendant in California's Orange County, the Associated Press reported.

Court papers filed on Tuesday reveal that Target agreed to pay former employee Jeremy Schott $160,000 and develop policies to respond to disabled employees' needs, the report said.

Last week Janney Montgomery Scott analyst David Strasser downgraded shares of Target to neutral from buy. He offered a litany of things that could go wrong with the Target story, which were subsequently refuted by someone named Will Ashworth on the website “Investopedia.”

Such retailers as Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, JCPenney, Lowe’s and Walmart are part of an organization called the Coalition for Responsible Transportation (CRT) that is pushing a new approach designed to reduce emissions at the nation’s ports. The retailers along with Hewlett Packard, Nike and a host of leading transportation providers have teamed with the Environmental Defense Fund and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to launch a program called, “EPA SmartWay Drayage Program.”

The first Target stores in Canada won’t open until 2013, but the company recently announced it retained MDC Partners to lead the development of its overall marketing efforts. According to the company, the MDC integrated team is being led by kbs+p Canada and Veritas Communications, along with support from Northstar Research Partners and BOOM! Marketing.