Target vs. Walmart

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The purpose of this document is to present my findings in a format similar to a "Financial Report", after conducting an investigation on two rather well known giants in the retail industry, such as Wal-Mart and Target corporations. Their Web sites, as well as other reliable sources (properly identified whenever appropriate) were utilized to generate this report. The key point considered during the development of this report are their accounting methods; but above all, how well they utilize procedures of the companies and apply accounting policies to become unique.

Target Corporation, better known as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Target is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States behind Walmart. Target is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 as of 2011 and is a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. The company was founded in 1902 as the Dayton Dry Goods Company and eventually grew to become the largest division of Dayton Hudson Corporation, resulting in the company being renamed as Target Corporation in August 1990.

Instead of focusing on low-priced good as Wal-Mart does, Target has intended to differentiate its stores from its competitors by offering what it believes is more upscale, trend-forward merchandise at low cost. Gerald Storch, Target's vice chairman, said that, in the early stage of development, the company had faced three strategic choices to handle the increased competition in the retail market. "To specialize, to become the low-cost producer, or to differentiate". Since Wal-Mart was already a low-cost producer, Target chose to be a mass merchandiser of affordable chic goods (Barwise, 2004, para.2). As a result, Target stores tend to attract younger and more educated and affluent customers than its competitors, especially Wal-Mart. Guests, Target calls its customers, “Median age of 41; median household...