Sales & Marketing

Shares of Target may hit $100 six or seven years from now, but looking ahead to next year Morgan Stanley analyst Mark Wiltamuth believes the stock should be trading at $64. He recently initiated coverage of the company with a “buy” rating and, like some other analysts, believes investors may be seeing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to purchase shares at valuation levels depressed by uncertainty around the company’s entry into Canada.

Shares of Target are mis-valued at current levels around $50 and could eventually double if the company delivers on plans achieve $100 billion in sales and earnings per share of $8 by 2016 or 2017.

That’s according to Bernstein Research analyst Colin McGranahan who noted in a recent research report that he spent time at Target’s Minneapolis headquarter where he met with chairman, president and CEO, Gregg Steinhafel, CFO Doug Scovanner and EVP merchandising Kathee Tesija.

LOS ANGELES — Back-to-school budgets will moderately decrease this year, but more consumers will turn to the Internet to score the best deals.

According to a survey conducted by PriceGrabber, 48% of shoppers said they plan to spend $250 or more on back-to-school purchases, while 25% will spend $500 or more. This compared with 2010, when 56% of consumers indicated that they would spend $250 or more, while 31% planned to spend $500 or more.

Newport Beach, Calif. — Lucescu Realty said it has opened a new regional office in Phoenix, its second office outside its California headquarters. The company recently opened a Las Vegas office and plans to open a San Francisco presence by year-end 2011.

In other company news, Lucescu Realty said it completed the sale of The Promenade in Scottsdale, for $110 million.  Lucescu Realty represented the seller, a local private investor, and procured the buyer, Excel Trust of San Diego. 

St. Louis — Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. president John Haugh said Thursday that he will resign as the company’s president, as reported by the St. Louis Business Journal.

Haugh’s resignation is effective July 22, according to an SEC filing. His successor hasn’t been named, but current duties will be filled in the interim by Chief Financial and Operations Officer Tina Klocke, Chief Entertainment Officer Teresa Kroll and Chief Executive Maxine Clark.

Haugh has been at the helm since 2009.

CARLISLE, Pa . — The U.S. subsidiary of Dutch supermarket operator Royal Ahold is hoping to attract local and diverse suppliers to its stores in the markets in which it operates.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway announced Thursday that the president of its Chicago-area Dominick’s Finer Foods division, Don Keprta, has resigned.

“Don has contributed significantly to the Dominick’s stores. His commitment and innovation helped the stores evolve to best serve the Chicagoland customers. We are fortunate that he has produced a team that is prepared to continue to build on our current momentum,” said chairman, president and CEO Steve Burd.

New York  — Parago, the nation’s largest rebate provider, has announced the launch of GoRebate Mobile, the first mobile shopping applications for iPhone and Android focused on rebates that allow marketers to deliver rebates directly into the hands of value-seeking consumers.