50 Fun Facts About Target

In which city is Target Corporation headquartered?

Its downtown headquarters complex, built for about $260 million, houses roughly 6,000 office employees.

What is the name of Target's dog mascot?

The role is always played by female bull terriers, with the logo painted around the left eye in non-toxic make-up.

Target's canine mascot is what breed of dog?

The original, an AKC champion nicknamed 'Smudgie', debuted in a 1999 commercial; several dogs share the part today.

Where and when did the first Target store open?

By the end of that first year there were four stores, all in Minnesota; the original site is now a SuperTarget.

Target began as a discount offshoot of which Minnesota department-store company?

George Dayton got into retail in 1902 by building a store for the Goodfellow Dry Goods company; the parent was renamed Target Corporation in 2000.

Why was the new discount chain given a name and logo unconnected to the company that owned it in 1962?

Publicity director Stewart Widdess came up with 'Target'; Douglas Dayton was its first president.

The company that became Target was founded in 1902 under what name?

It became Dayton's Dry Goods in 1903 and the Dayton Company in 1910; the department store had started as a tenant in a building George Dayton put up beside his church.

What does Target call its customers, a habit borrowed from Disney in 1989?

Employees are 'Team Members' and supervisors 'Team Leaders'.

The joke pseudo-French pronunciation 'Tar-zhay' is first recorded in which year?

That was the year the very first store opened; Target later leaned in with a 'Targét Couture' line.

Which architect designed the Washington Monument's restoration scaffolding, then Target's first designer line in 1999?

Target had also contributed $6 million to the monument's restoration; the housewares line launched the 'cheap chic' strategy.

Target's slogan pairs 'Expect More' with what?

The company is known for trend-forward merchandise at discount prices, which is the whole idea behind the line.

What discount did Target's REDcard introduce on every purchase in 2010?

The 5% discount launched in October 2010 and carried over to the renamed Circle Card; the debit version pulls straight from a checking account, and TD Bank issues the credit cards through 2030.

Roughly how many customers were affected by Target's December 2013 data breach?

Encrypted PIN data was among what was stolen; the chief information officer resigned the following March.

Target expanded into which country in 2013, only to close all 133 stores by April 2015?

It took over former Zellers leases, lost $2.1 billion, and was called 'a gold standard case study in what retailers should not do'.

Which coffee chain's counters became a Target fixture through a partnership expanded in 2003?

Many stores also have Pizza Hut Express counters in the snack bar.

Which pharmacy chain bought Target's in-store pharmacies and clinics in 2015 for about $1.9bn?

More than 1,600 Target pharmacies were rebranded, and the clinics became MinuteClinics.

The first SuperTarget hypermarket, with a full grocery department, opened in 1995 in which city?

It built on the 'Target Greatland' format launched in Apple Valley, Minnesota, in 1990.

Target's grocery-expansion store prototype introduced in 2008 was called what?

It boosted grocery selection in ordinary stores by more than 200%, and garden centres were closed in 2010 to make room.

Which grocery-delivery start-up did Target acquire in December 2017 for more than half a billion dollars?

Shipt is based in Birmingham, Alabama, and still runs as an independent subsidiary.

Target owns the naming rights to the home arena of which NBA team?

Target Center opened in 1990; the company also bought naming rights to the Twins' ballpark, Target Field, which opened in 2010.

Target Field, opened in 2010, is the home ballpark of which Major League Baseball team?

It sits in the historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis.

The Dayton family tradition, later followed by Target, was to give what share of taxable income to charity?

It inspired the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce's '5% Club'; Forbes once ranked Target the highest cash-giving company in America by percentage of income.

Which department-store chains did Target Corporation sell off in 2004 to focus on its discount stores?

Marshall Field's went to May Department Stores; Mervyn's fetched $1.65 billion from an investor group.

A 2012 New York Times story revealed Target's data model spotted a customer was what before her father knew?

The father complained about pregnancy coupons sent to his teenage daughter, then discovered they were accurate.

A 2006 Washington Post report revealed Target runs two of what unusual facilities?

They have assisted the FBI, the Secret Service and the ATF on cases unrelated to shoplifting.

Which online retailer ran Target.com's fulfilment and customer service from 2002 to 2011?

Target broke away on August 23, 2011, after deciding to build its own site.

Some Target stores near major airports have what painted on their roofs?

The Inglewood store by LAX goes further, with an LED bullseye made of solar panels.

What was Target's first in-house charge product, launched in 1995, called?

By 1998 it had nine million accounts, and a Target Visa followed for shoppers who preferred bank cards.

Which retailer offered to buy Target's parent company for $6.82 billion in the 1990s and was rebuffed?

Penney was then the fifth-largest US retailer, Dayton-Hudson the fourth; analysts thought the offer too low.

Target's parent gained the 'Hudson' half of its 1969 name by merging with a department store from which city?

J. L. Hudson's flagship in Detroit made the combined firm the 14th-largest US retailer; the Hudson's stores were renamed Marshall Field's in 2001.

Target's smaller urban formats launched in 2012 were originally branded as what?

They and the even smaller TargetExpress stores were all simply renamed 'Target' in 2015: 'Big or small, they're all Target.'

Roughly how many stores does Target operate across the United States?

Unlike Walmart, Target's fresh groceries come from partner distributors rather than its own warehouses.

Target's mascot debuted in a commercial in which year?

Trainer David McMillan's dogs live on a ranch north of Los Angeles and take turns playing the role.

In which year did Target's Chip Ganassi sponsorship win the Indianapolis 500, after four straight CART titles?

Dario Franchitti later won the 2010 Indy 500 in the Target car; the NASCAR deal ended in 2017.

Which fast-food chain's counters, alongside the coffee bar, are common in Target's in-store snack areas?

Some newer stores also host 'mini Apple shops' and Ulta Beauty and Disney sections.

What giving tradition of Target's founding family inspired the '5% Club'?

The programme was later renamed the Minnesota Keystone Program.

Which mid-price department-store chain did Target's parent buy in 1978?

The chain of about 300 stores was sold off in 2004 and went bankrupt a few years later.

When Target expanded north of the border in 2013, which chain's leases did it take over?

Empty shelves and higher-than-expected prices doomed the venture within two years.

In what year did Target Stores first turn a profit, allowing a fifth store to open in Bloomington?

The gain let a fifth store open in Bloomington; the chain became Dayton-Hudson's top earner by 1975.

Target's first mascot dog, an AKC champion, was known by what nickname?

Her registered name was Kingsmere Moondoggie; a dog named Nikki took over the role by 2014.

In 2021, Target began opening 'mini shops' for which tech company inside its stores?

The shops joined a long list of shop-in-shop partners, from Starbucks counters to Ulta Beauty and Disney sections.

Which pop star pulled an exclusive album edition from Target in 2010 over a CEO donation?

The deal was for a special edition of Born This Way; then-CEO Gregg Steinhafel had given to a group backing an anti-gay candidate.

Which Target food and drink brand replaced Archer Farms and Simply Balanced?

Target's own-brand portfolio also includes Cat & Jack for kids' clothing, which took over from the Cherokee label.

Target Center, opened in 1990, is the second-oldest NBA arena after which venue?

Target has held the naming rights since the arena opened; it also hosts the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.

Target's headquarters stands on which downtown Minneapolis street?

The site is close to where the original Goodfellows store stood; the complex includes the 32-story Target Plaza South.

Dayton's opened America's first indoor shopping mall in 1956. What was it called?

It was built in Edina, Minnesota, six years before the same company launched its first Target discount store.

Target Canada was headquartered in which Ontario city?

The subsidiary was formed in January 2011 after buying Zellers store leases from the Hudson's Bay Company, and folded within two years of opening.

Who co-founded the first Target store in 1962 alongside Douglas Dayton?

The two launched the discount format for the Dayton Company in Roseville, Minnesota.

A 1980s Target ad starring Didi Conn pushed a shoe line with what tongue-in-cheek name?

The name played on the mock-French 'Tar-zhay' pronunciation that shoppers had been using since the first store opened.

Who succeeded Brian Cornell as Target's chief executive on February 1, 2026?

Cornell had led the company since 2014, steering it through the data-breach aftermath and the Canadian retreat.