Photo: RetailWire
Data breaches and other past missteps are not part of the conversation around Target today after the retailer posted its best quarterly comparable sales growth in 13 years.
The retailer’s comparable sales growth (online and stores) grew 6.5 percent during the second quarter as revenues at physical stores improved 4.9 percent and online jumped 41 percent, on top of 32 percent growth during the same period in 2017.
Target reported 6.4 percent traffic growth, the highest increase since the chain first began reporting the number in 2008.
CEO Brian Cornell pointed to the chain’s “enhanced and differentiated shopping experience” as the key factor driving customers to its stores and target.com.
“We laid out a clear strategy at the beginning of 2017, and throughout this year we've been accelerating the pace of execution. We're on track to deliver a strong back half and we've updated our full year guidance to reflect the strength of our business and the consumer economy,” said Mr. Cornell. “As we look ahead to 2019, we expect to achieve scale across the full slate of our initiatives — creating efficiencies and cost-savings, further strengthening our guest experience and positioning Target to continue gaining market share."
On the bottom line, Target reported that adjusted earnings per share were up 19.8 percent over the second quarter last year. The retailer’s shares were up 5.38 percent in premarket trading on news of its second quarter performance.