Target, Inc.

PLANO, Texas — Things just got a whole lot more interesting in the mid-tier department store space now that JCPenney has hired former Apple executive Ron Johnson to be its CEO. Johnson is a former Target merchandising executive who for the past 11 years oversaw the growth of Apple’s wildly successful and widely heralded retail operation.

Washington, D.C. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association, the International Council of Shopping Centers and Paladino and Co., announced Tuesday a collaborative discussion among retailers and commercial shopping center developers to bridge the current landlord and tenant divide that exists around creating sustainable, energy-efficient retail stores in the United States.

Participants in the June 9 roundtable included Wal-Mart, Petco, Ann Taylor, Target, VF Corp., Best Buy, Westfield, Vornado and Kimco, among others.

New York City -- Ron Johnson, credited with building Apple’s retail empire, is leaving the high-tech company to become CEO of J.C. Penney Co.

Johnson, who served as senior VP of retail for Apple, will assume the chief executive role on Nov. 1. He will report to current CEO Myron (Mike) Ullman, III, who will become executive chairman. Johnson will also join the company's board, effective Aug. 1.

Some companies were more aggressive with promotions last months and others were less so, but Target held steady producing the same number of circular ad pages (109) in May 2011, and it did the same month the prior year, according to data collected by the Chicago based firm Market Track.

All board members were re-elected by an overwhelmingly large margin, however some shareholders expressed a dislike for Anne Mulcahy as she drew the largest number of negative votes by a wide margin.

Mulcahy is probably best known as CEO of Xerox from 2001 to 2009, and she also served as chairman of the company’s board from 2002 to 2010. She currently chairs the board of trustees of the Save The Children Foundation and serves as a director of The Washington Post Company and Johnson & Johnson. She is a past director of Citigroup.

Target ended last year with sales of $67.4 billion and earnings per share of $4, but company chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel believes sales will hit $100 billion and earnings will double to $8 a share within six or seven years.

They are however interested in which political candidates and trade associations receive political donations from the company and what the decision-making process is behind those donations. At least it’s what anyone who attended or listened to a webcast of the company’s shareholders’ meeting last week is left to conclude after listening to the line of questioning that followed prepared remarks by Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

Target ended its last fiscal year with sales of $67.4 billion and earnings per share of $4, but if company chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel has his way, within six or seven years earnings per share will double to $8 and sales will top $100 billion.