A small format move in Chicago by Walmart rival

Okay, stop snickering. Target this week revealed that the name of its new small format stores would be CityTarget. The company offered that nugget in connection with news that it would open a small-format store in downtown Chicago at the Sullivan Center development located in the heart of downtown at South State Street and Madison.

Target has a head start on Walmart in Chicago where Walmart only recently secured approval to open a meaningful number of new units over the next five years. Target already operates 10 stores in the city, including a unit less than a mile away from the new location announced this week. Like Walmart though, Target offers few details on its overall urban strategy.

“CityTarget will offer guests the convenience of one-stop shopping with affordable fresh food, apartment essentials, on-trend fashions and exclusive designer collections,” according to the company. No word on size or whether the store would be a multi-level unit. The location is in the former Carson Pirie Scott building described by Mayor Richard Daley as one of Chicago’s most architecturally significant structures. Daley, who supported Walmart’s effort to expand in Chicago, also spoke highly of Target.

“I applaud Target for bringing this urban store concept to Chicago, as well as the new jobs and economic opportunity this store will create,” Daley said.

Target EVP property development, John Griffith, said the company looks forward to preserving a Chicago treasure and blending in with the building’s aesthetic.

“A hallmark of Target is our flexibility in store design, which allows us to bring high-quality products at great values to our urban guests,” Griffith said.