Posted on 02/24/2009 7:18:20 AM PST by Nachum
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Target Corp. said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 41 percent as consumer spending suffered amid high unemployment and other economic woes.
The discount retailer earned $609 million, or 81 cents per share, in the quarter ended Jan. 31. That compares to $1.03 billion, or $1.23 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue in the quarter fell 1.6 percent to $19.02 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 5.9 percent, the company said. Sales at new stores partially offset that.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items, had expected Target to earn 83 cents per share on revenue of $19.5 billion.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
A recent response to my email to Target asking them to sell ammo. Until they do, I am shopping at Walmart.
Dear **********,
Thanks for telling us you’d like to see ammo at your local Target store.
Your suggestions are important because they help us learn more about what you’re looking for. I’ll let our Buying team know what you’d like to see on our shelves.
At Target, it’s all about having what you’re shopping for at a great value. And you’ve come to expect a lot from us. With your comments in mind, we’ll keep working hard to bring you the unique merchandise that fits your lifestyle.
Thanks for letting us know how we can make your Target experience even better.
Sincerely,
Martin
Target Guest Relations
Wow. Even Target?
Gotta brag on my company, though...garden seed and catalog sales as a whole are up 14% so far this year. (We own about a half-dozen various seed companies, but we do all of the packaging and processing here in WI.)
People ARE going back to the basics; making their home their castle, growing their own food, etc.
Heck. People might even start sewing their own clothing again, LOL! Time to buy stock in fabric importers. ;)
I pretty much have given up on shopping at Target. They went from an affordable store for working families to one with lots of designer name stuff. About the only thing I look at is their “Clearance” stuff.
My younger daughter works for Target at the headquarters in Minneapolis. I would like to see her be able to keep her job.
“My younger daughter works for Target at the headquarters in Minneapolis. I would like to see her be able to keep her job.”
I hope so as well. Good luck to her.
I’m Likely a big buyer of some of your seeds!
Every inch I can find will be producing food this summer.
Profits fall by [blank]% is not really that distressing. It implies the company is still making a profit. Really worry when major retail chains post losses.
Goody! Make sure you see our Gardening Threads. Ask Gabz to put you on her Ping List so you don’t miss anything. :)
Thanks! (Lot’s of Graces in my family, by the way.)
No surprise here, I knew that last Christmas's retail season was gonna be down severely. On-line shopping, however, was up.
Gardening supplies are hard to find now....many reliable vegetable varieties have sold out in some places.
Fertilizer is way up this spring because it was made during peak oil and peak NG. People are gonna pay thru the nose soon for store bought produce...CA Central Valley farmers are being told that they may not get any water this year from the Bay sources. I wonder just how many Yuppies, X-gens, etc., flippers, can run a canner?
Going to try again this year...
My seeds failed last year and the weeds took over. :(
Any herbicide suggestions and when I should put it down?
(We own about a half-dozen various seed companies, but we do all of the packaging and processing here in WI.)
Sheesh! Now you tell me. :) OTOH, maybe I did order from one of them? :) I’ve got them ordered and realize that it’s the busy season, but can’t wait till I’ve got them in my hands, even though it’s months yet till I can plant.
In the meantime, I’m stocking up as much as I can and waiting for the weather to break, so I can hit the Mennonite store over the mt. for “staples”.
They cooperated with Pepsi in the stealth price raise. They shrunk Dr. Pepper to an 8 pack and jacked the per can price like 150%. How stupid do they think we are? Now I buy Dr. Thunder at WalMart along with all the other stuff that I used to buy at Target. That’s about $150 per week,
Exactly. I even question when headlines scream "Loss". Is it that the company had less profit than last quarter or a year ago? Or is it that the company is truly in the red. I also don't buy comparisons between today and last year. Last year is relative. Was it a banner year for them? How does it relate to profits over the last decade?
No, “Posted a loss” is how financial reporting describes costs exceeding revenues (with the exception of case where somewhere in the story there is mention of ‘took a one-time charge against earnings’, which indicates a notional loss for tax reasons).
One could declare an actual loss with a headline of the form “Profits fell by [blank]%” by having the [blank] filled in with a number greater than 100, but this is never done.
I have always planted a garden but am expanding it this year.
I shop the most at Amazon because I don’t pay tax or shipping. About 90% of my Christmas shopping was through Amazon.
We have one of the largest Super Targets in the Country and their sales are not off from what I observe. As long as they keep their food prices reasonable I will continue to shop at Target, Walmart, and occasionally a regular grocery.
Have noticed most prices on food have risen over the last few months and have trouble understanding why there is no inflation.
That’s something I wasn’t aware of. I’ll look into it. THANKS!
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