Target 2005 Annual Report Download - page 7

5
Merchandising & Sourcing
At Target, we are committed to delighting our guests by making
great design accessible and affordable every day. By embracing
this focus on design, creativity and innovation throughout the
company, we believe we can consistently deliver an exceptional
shopping experience and remain fresh and relevant to our guests
over time.
Expect More. Pay Less.
Our “Expect More. Pay Less.” brand promise highlights the
importance of both differentiation and value at Target and
reinforces our desire to maintain an appropriate balance between
innovation and price. For example, our distinctive merchandise
provides style, timeliness and quality at “best in class” prices.
Our stores feature amenities such as Starbucks, Pizza Hut,
pharmacies and in-store digital photo labs to further enhance
our guests’ shopping experiences, and we continue to introduce
new merchandising and marketing programs that create
excitement throughout the year and especially around important
holidays. In addition, our extensive assortment of consumables
and commodities is competitively priced with key retail
competitors in each market, satisfying our guests’ demand for
convenience and value and fueling incremental sales through
greater guest frequency and larger transactions.
Innovation and Design for All
At Target, we are relentless in our pursuit of innovation and great
design because we believe they are integral to Target’s
merchandising strategy and at the heart of our ability to delight
our guests. Several recent launches demonstrate our design
commitment and our focus on anticipating what our guests want
next. They include:
• ClearRx, our revolutionary new pharmacy bottle design and
prescription system,
• The Thomas O’Brien Home Collection, consisting of more
than 500 items in domestics, decorative home, furniture,
lighting and holiday seasonal — representing our largest
designer launch to-date,
• Choxie, an assortment of gourmet chocolate, offered exclu-
sively at Target, and comprised of more than 100 items with
a quality and taste that rivals famous specialty-store brands,
• Smith & Hawken, an exclusive line of garden accessories
and décor; and
• GO International, a limited-edition apparel offering which
features a new international designer every three months—
with our debut collection from British designer Luella Bartley.
Each of these assortments, carefully positioned within the
context of Target’s over-arching merchandise strategy, attests
to our trend leadership, global sourcing proficiency and expertise
in product design and development.
Design Leadership
Through decades of investment and experience, Target has
built disciplined processes, sophisticated systems and a world-
class Product Design & Development and global sourcing
organization that is passionate about delivering current fashion
and unexpected excitement while ensuring superior quality, value
and speed to market. This talented team travels throughout the
world to develop creative perspective; identify color, category
and item trends; and source raw materials for use in production
of owned-brand products. They also clearly define and manage
the character of each of Target’s proprietary brands. Key to the
success of these efforts is the collaborative spirit among
Choxie From candy bars to boxed assortments, this gourmet chocolate
includes a variety of flavors and sizes for everyday or special occasions,
as well as prices, taste and packaging that thrill our guests.
Archer Farms We continue to delight our guests by offering new Archer
Farms products which deliver the premium quality, value and freshness
our guests have come to expect from Target-owned brands.