Mass Merchant

With 24 million unique visitors during March, Target.com was ranked 47th on the comScore Media Metrix listing of the top 50 U.S. Web properties for March. That’s an improvement from March 2011 when Target didn’t crack the top 50. The only other conventional retailer in the top 50 was 25th ranked Walmart.com with 39 million unique visitors. It was ranked 33rd last year with 31.7 million unique visitors in March.
 

The Minnesota Vikings are in need of a new football stadium and Target’s EVP property development John Griffith sees a proposed downtown Minneapolis location as one element of a larger development and revitalization plan. That’s according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which reported this week on Griffith’s involvement in the downtown deal-making and track record at Target. Read the article here.

Fresh off the resignation of CEO Brian Dunn and the revelation that the company lost a not-so- insignificant sum of $1.7 billion last quarter, Best Buy’s recent announcement to close 50 stores by the end of 2012 probably didn’t come as a surprise to anyone in our industry. What may have been surprising to some — myself included — is their plan to roll out 100 Best Buy Mobile stores.

By Jason S. Baker

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Amidst allegations of involvement in a foreign bribery scandal, Wal-Mart Stores vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright has vacated his seat on the board of life insurer MetLife, according to a Tuesday announcement by Wal-Mart.
 
In a letter to MetLife CEO Steve Kandarian, Castro-Wright said that the recent events at Wal-Mart would require his “immediate and personal attention. Accordingly, I now must focus my energy in spending personal time with my family and in protecting my good name and business reputation.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Another 90 Target stores are slated to receive fresh food in June as part of a major remodeling initiative that has become known simply as PFresh.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores said Monday that Dorlisa K. Flur, vice chair-strategy and chief administrative officer, plans to leave the company to pursue other interests, effective May 2.

Flur joined Family Dollar in 2004 as SVP strategy and business development.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. said it has initiated remodels to expand the fresh food offerings at 90 stores across the nation, with the work expected to be completed on June 24, 2012.

The June stores will be the second of three cycles of remodels for Target this year. Stores scheduled for the June remodel cycle span markets across the country, from Des Moines, Iowa, to El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

By the end of the year, more than 1,100 Target stores will offer the expanded fresh food layout.