Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) bucked the "retailers in the dump" news this past weekend by opening up 45 new stores across the U.S., including its first two stores in the state of Alaska. The openings also included two newer prototype stores in Minnesota. As luck would have it, one of these store openings was located where I live. And it opened less than one-half mile away from an existing Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Supercenter.

From conversations I've heard all summer, almost everyone looked forward to the new Target opening in my area. The feeling was that most of these folks wanted a competitor to Wal-Mart, even if it didn't mean lower prices. Perhaps they looked forward to the Target shopping experience instead of the Wal-Mart shopping experience?

The two Minnesota store openings included a new general merchandise prototype location as well as a new SuperTarget prototype location. Both include more space for food and electronics (two staple merchandising segments) and both were certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Whether Target's newer stores will market this fact to the eco-conscious American shopper is unknown. The new store designs will be unveiled at more than 100 new locations in 2009, according to the company.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has started selling a Blu-ray disc player for what is probably the lowest retail price you can find one at: $229. I've said many times in the past that this new format will not catch on with consumers until retail prices routinely get to less than $200, so this new price from Target is nearing that mark. Of course, panicked U.S. consumers probably won't be buying any Blu-ray players the remainder of this year as they watch what wealth they did have evaporate in the markets.

The Target model is an Olevia brand player (yes, that's an off-brand), which marks a $70 reduction from a recent Sony Blu-ray player that is being sold alongside the Olevia player for $299. Still, unless there is some breakthrough difference that Blu-ray manufacturers and retailers can market correctly, most U.S. consumers will stay with their progressive-scan DVD players that sell for $75 or less and have a perfectly fine picture (although not true high-definition).

So, perhaps sometime in late 2009 -- roughly a year from now -- the market will see $99 Blu-ray players and regular consumers may finally feel the urge to buy one and start re-purchasing their movie libraries in yet another format. That is, until super-duper, high-fidelity Purple-ray players hit the market sometime in 2014 and the cycle repeats yet again. Perhaps by then, we'll all be out of this economic funk and won't be protecting our cash hoards, however little they may be by then.

When the going gets tough, the CEO gets dropped. At least, that's what happened at retailing giant Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) in 2007. Company CEO Bob Ulrich saw his salary and bonuses reduced by 42% last year as the discount retailer failed to meet sales expectations and saw its stock price decline.

Like many CEOs, Ulrich's compensation is tied to its stock price and to the company's financial performance. Although he received $1.66 million in pay and non-stock compensation of $2.89 million (down from $6.13 million), Ulrich's total compensation dropped 67% in 2007 to $12.2 million.

Sounds like quite a bit to many of us, yes? Target explained that some of Ulrich's stock awards for the year were actually made in previous years and expensed in 2007, which makes up for some of the amount. Target officials were pretty clear about saying, "Our financial results in 2007 fell well short of our goals . . . as a result, non-equity incentive payouts for executive officers were near the low end of the payout range, and long-term performance share award payouts were negatively impacted."

Still, more than $12 million is not a bad payday.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) will soon begin having its meat vendors label their products as having been treated with carbon monoxide. In general, treating fresh meat with carbon monoxide makes meat appear fresh to the shopper, much like treatment with sodium nitrite does. Both products, however, are really not something you want to ingest into your body. The only problem is that labeling laws don't really require this information to be highlighted on meat labels.

So, Target wants to be more truthful with its customers. Remember, it's Target's product you're buying -- not Hormel's or Cargill's. Even though those two companies are the main meat vendors, the last stop is Target's shelves. Target made a very good decision. Empowering customers with information is something that retailers better wake up to. Your competitor will if you won't.

The new labeling will read "Color is not an accurate indicator of freshness. Refer to use or freeze by date." Just like food coloring is used to spruce up pre-packaged and processed foods, the inclusion of carbon monoxide in fresh meats (well, not that fresh) is something many customers want to know about. Next up, we'll see if Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) responds to Target's initiative and requires the same labeling changes from its pre-packaged meat vendors.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is set to deploy two larger-store prototypes in 2008 that will apparently be bigger than current Target locations and green certified as the company promotes a more environmentally conscious shopping experience to its customers.

In terms of more greener stores, Target joins larger competitor Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), which recently held a company-wide meeting where 'being green' was the central theme of the show. One of the prototype locations will be a general merchandise store and one will be a SuperTarget location -- and both are scheduled to open in October. Both will feature added space for consumer electronics as well as grocery items.

If all goes well with the new Target prototypes, the discount retailer plans to deploy the prototype designs at more than 100 locations in 2009. Target rolls out prototype designs every four to five years to keep the consumer shopping experience fresh. There's a competitive edge: there are not too many (if any) national retailers I know of that change store designs on a large scale on such a frequent basis.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is again being sued, but this time it is not for disservice to the disabled. The second largest discount chain in the U.S. is under the gun from fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg for "closely mimicking" the designer's signature style in some of its women's dress product lines.

In something intellectual property attorneys will have a field day with, the retailer apparently used a design on one of its dresses that closely resembles a 'spotted frog' design owned by Furstenberg. The lawsuit, launched in New York, accused Target of using a "nearly identically copy" of the scale, pattern and colorways of Furstenberg's design, even down to the materials that are made to look like silk.

Although Target removed the offending products from its website late last week, the company is still selling the dresses in question in its stores, according to Furstenberg's complaint. It's doubtful that this lawsuit will have an effect on Target's long-term stock outlook, but it may have an effect on Furstenberg's PR efforts and consumer awareness.

When activist investor William Ackman comes to town and starts buying your shares, you can bet he'll be hounding the board for changes soon. That's the case with discount retailer Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), as Ackman now owns right under 10% of the retailer's shares. What does he have in store? Quite a few changes that should boost the retailer's stock price in the next three years and give Ackman a handsome return on his investment.

First up was Ackman's suggestion that Target sell off its credit card operations -- something that management said would be considered. Just under three weeks ago, Target officials cited "market conditions" as the reason a decision to spin its credit card business had been delayed. In other words, Target probably had not found a buyer for the debt portfolio due to consumer credit having been tightened like a noose in the last calendar quarter of 2007.

What else did Ackman have in mind? He believes the company's shares could be worth $120 each within 36 months, based on an investor letter he wrote on December 27. On tap was Target's need to complete its $10 billion stock buyback and start ramping up cash flows based on all the real estate the company holds -- which Ackman pegs at $42 billion in worth. That's roughly Target's entire market capitalization, so the question becomes one of how Target is going to make money outside of selling diapers, pretzels and spring apparel. Expect those questions to be answered on Target's next quarterly results conference call on February 26.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has just released Q2 figures, and the discounter's recent quarter was pretty bright all things considered. The company has done very well with recent monthly same-store sales numbers and continues to steal the spotlight from larger rival Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT). Six years ago, it looked like nothing could cast a cloud over Wal-Mart. Every month now that seems to happen, although Wal-Mart is still by far the largest retailer operating today.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) will lay it on the line here in a moment as its Q2 call gets underway. The second-largest discount retailer in the U.S. was expected to report an earnings per share figure of about $0.80 and it met that figure this morning when it reported results. Target's in-house credit card business is usually a highlight in its numbers, so we'll see if that continued in this last quarter as credit crunches happened in the housing market and gas prices were up (though not wildly fluctuating).

Also in the quarter just ended there should be some effect from the second-largest shopping season for many retailers -- back to school. Did Target see a lift from sales in late July due to this? I'm sure we'll have this question asked from in the Q&A portion of the call. Remember to use the "Refresh" key on your web browser to get all updates to this post every few minutes. All times below are in CST.

It seems like we have an odd quandary in retail. On the one hand we have U.S. retail sales (all products, all sectors) that were down 0.9% in June. On the other, we have retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) sales that were up 2.4%. We also have Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), the second-largest discount retailer in the U.S., that posted a spike of 3.3% in June same-store sales while its overall June sales were up 7.6%. Is this some kind of paradox? Not at all, it's just that the June sales for both retailers took wind of normal summer seasonality and beat the bad press at the same time, while other industries suffered.

Target and Wal-Mart can have similar months and different months. While the U.S. auto industry was reeling from a lower-than-expected June sales month, discount good retailers were raking in the sales. Again, the housing market is always cited as a reason people are not buying as many cars, yet are spending more at discount retailers. Oh yes, the "gas prices" million-headed monster is always brought in for good measure as yet another reason for the current retail environment. But with prices probably not ever seeing the $2.50 level again, "higher gas prices" is no longer a reason to use against any metric, right?

Target and Wal-Mart will be squaring off in July and August as the summer continues, and it will be interesting to see if both retailers rise above year ago levels and post modest or very nice gains in same-store sales. For now, both retailers are basking in the glow of June that may not last that long. Target's shares were up to a new all-time high last Thursday on June's news. Will the $80 mark be broken come end of July?

As Georges Yared pointed out yesterday, Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) blew away expectations for its first fiscal quarter, reporting $0.75 EPS, four cents above estimates. I very much like the fact that Target also held a live conference call discussing its results and taking questions from industry analysts. Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) held a pre-recorded call to report its latest numbers, leaving those shareholders wanting to hear answers to tough (and live) questions empty-handed. I still maintain that Wal-Mart is doing a disservice by not inviting interaction when it reports its quarterly results.

Back to Target though. Target's same-store sales number for the quarter resulted in a 4.3% rise, with a 10% lift in April sales, the same month that caused Wal-Mart to see its worst same-store sales number since 1980. What is going on here, you may ask? First of all, Target's strategy to generate profits from its credit card business is showing excellent results, with a whopping $418 million in total profits for its latest quarter (an 18% rise from the year-ago period). In addition to this, Target's CEO Bob Ullrich stated yesterday that Target sees no downside coming in the current quarter. Wow.

It seems that -- as many of us have guessed for a while now -- the tide has changed a bit and has put more and more pressure on Wal-Mart (now on the defensive, as Georges stated). It's a position the world's largest retailer has rarely known in recent years (or longer), and although Wal-Mart's overall success is unrivaled, investors need to know "what have you done for me lately?" In Target's case, quite a bit, in Wal-Mart's case, not a whole lot. One thing is clear: don't count the Bentonville retailer out of anything. If it can stop floundering, the retail world might have to watch out -- again.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), the nation's second-largest discount retailer, will now have a new $2 billion unsecured revolving credit facility at its disposal after reaching an agreement with Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). This brings up a decent load of questions, does it not?

Target's cash hoard is not being used to fuel expansion since its borrowing is probably on the cheap with this new credit line. Is Target going to use this credit boost on new store expansions and its stated store growth across the U.S.? Most likely -- my guess is that Target's battle plan for store renovations and new store count is now in prime shape with the financing set up to get all that activity underway.

This new credit line replaces a prior $1.6 billion five-year credit agreement from 2005, and the new $2 billion line will expire in April 2012, according to the company's SEC filing. Target is taking it to Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), as the smaller but slicker competitor continues to make deft, strategic moves to take customers from Wal-Mart and plant them firmly and repeatedly in Target's aisles.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is still operating on all cylinders. The company continually targets very strategic locations to build new stores and open up new SuperTarget stores as it executes on a strategy to slowly and methodically take Wal-Mart shoppers and turn them into Target shoppers. Well, that's the prevailing wisdom in my mind at least.

As Zac Bissonnette blogged yesterday, the nation's second-largest discount retail has revealed its plans in increase its retail presence in the U.S. by a staggering 25% over the next five years. It plans to open at least 100 new stores per year until the year 2011. That's a pretty massive number of stores every year, yes?

In a world of pay-for-performance, Target Corporation's(NYSE:TGT) CEO, Robert J. Ulrich, received a compensation package valued at $36.4 million last year, according to the company. Target's overall performance in 2006 was very admirable indeed, as the company continually stole the earnings and profit spotlight from larger competitor Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.(NYSE:WMT) and was a retail marketplace darling.

Ulrich's compensation included $1.6 million in salary and more than $6 million in bonuses -- roughly the same as 2005. All in all, though, what did TGT shares do in 2006? Let's see:

Looks like TGT started the year at about $55 and ended the year at about $57. Not much movement there except for a large mid-year dip. Still, Ulrich received stock awards valued at $16.6 million and options valued at $8.56 million in 2006. Stock awards are a great pay-for-performance motivator, since they can become worthless or can be worth quite a bit. Over the last few years, Target has done quite well in outperforming retailer in its peer group, though.

As a comparison, an investment of $100 in Target stock in 2002 would be worth $148 today, compared with $123 in its peer group companies and $141 in the S&P index.

Could Target be doing more to maximize its online sales? Some think that the online presence of Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) does not stand up to the competition very well -- and I have to agree. It seems that many larger retailers don't integrate their websites with their physical stores very well. Regardless of the technical obstacles, this is what consumers want -- the same shopping experience in a store or online. If there are two distinct "faces" of a retailer (online and offline), customer can easily become confused and discouraged.

Although target was fantastically successful in 2006 and looks to be doing just fine so far in 2007, its web presence is coming under fire. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), which is Target's partner for its website (design and logistics as well, I believe), does not offer many of the consumer conveniences that competitive websites offer. For example, a customer cannot buy an item at www.target.com and pick that item up at a physical Target store -- which seems like an antiquated retail notion if you ask me. I would think that this is an expectation of any www.target.com customer.

Would Target be unstoppable if it integrated its website like its rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) do? So far, the retailer has chosen not to do this. Its agreement with Amazon.com runs through 2010, so any changes may be a ways off. Many industry watchers say Target remains a sleeping giant as rivals innovate, which is something I agree with -- and something the company may not have seen when it signed on with Amazon.com to run its website. Although that partnership has cut costs, it comes at the expense of flexibility and reduced innovation of new services.

Welcome to The Wal-Mart Weekly -- a new weekly column dedicated to bringing you insight, wit, facts, results, opinions and just a bit of everything else when it comes down to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

I'll be trying my best to take an issue every week (or a few issues) and run with that ball until the end zone is reached. The world's largest retailer deserves no less, right? I always invite readers to bounce back with comments so we can have an ongoing and constructive dialog about the good and the bad with our friends from Bentonville.

This column will initially center on Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT)'s customer perception and experience at the current time. Is it working -- or not? Competitors are sitting at Wal-Mart's door with plans of their own, and in some ways, Wal-Mart is a little vulnerable (as hard as that seems to be.) So, let's get started, shall we?