Target redoubles efforts to service small business

DSN Retailing Today, July 11, 2005 by Laura Heller

MINNEAPOLIS -- Target is setting its sights on business customers with its latest venture, Target Commercial Interiors, a more than 50-year-old business recently renamed and boasting its first storefront open to the public.

Formerly Dayton's Commercial Interiors, the venture has been providing office design and furnishings to business customers for decades but until this month, operated solely from offices that doubled as showrooms in Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin. With the sale of Target's department store division last year, the company has rebranded the business with its trademark bullseye and launched its first store, now open to the public in suburban Bloomington, Minn., across the parking lot from a Target discount store.

The 11,500-square-foot store offers a broad selection of professional-grade furniture and settings, including flooring, cubicle dividers, desks, chairs, wall art, conference room configurations, lighting and even couches and coffee tables for more casual settings and waiting areas. Target Commercial Interiors is the largest provider of Steelcase brand office products in the Midwest, according to the company.

The facility has designers on site, and in addition to design services offers project management services, facility and asset management services and installation. The store is aiming for small- to medium-sized business customers but can also serve those looking for a few stylish and functional items for a home office setting.

The store is clearly in keeping with Target's style. The exterior boasts the company's trademark bulls-eye and color scheme and perfectly matches the chain's latest prototype exterior, as evidenced by the recently remodeled store across the parking lot. Inside, room settings offer the brand's clean contemporary design aesthetic and a small selection of desk accessories and items available for purchase at Target stores.

While one store does not a rapid expansion make, the company is clearly aiming to capture more of the small business market. In May, the retailer launched the Target Business Card through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Target Bank. The card offers 1% cash back on all purchases, the choice of a revolving credit or pay-in-full account and additional cards on the same account for employees.