Sales at stores opened at least a year rose 18% in the three-month period that ended
The
Clothing was the star performer as Americans ditched their sweatpants. Clothing sales spiked more than 60%. Sales of home goods rose in the mid-30% range. Sales of food and beverages grew, even on top of historic growth a year ago.
Target said in March that it will plow
It has been expanding its online delivery services and other ways for shoppers to make purchases. Target said items picked up at the store after being purchased online and Shipt, a member-based shipping program, increased by more than 90%. Still, more than 95% of its overall sales were fulfilled by its stores.
Target is investing heavily in its stores and on delivery. It will accelerate the pace of building small-format stores, with plans to add 30 to 40 new stores this year, up from 29 last year. It also will remodel 150 stores this year, and then push that number to 200 remodels a year later.
It is also testing a new distribution hub in
First-quarter net income increased more than sixfold to
The company last year during the same period earned
Sales jumped 23.3% to
Helping to drive Target's business has been strong sales of Target's inhouse brands such as Pillowfort and Cat & Jack. There was a 36% increase in sales compared with last year, the strongest to date.
CEO
“Consumer confidence is on the rise,” Cornell said.
Target has been able to manage inflationary pressures, Cornell said. Target has not faced the same labor shortages being reported widely by many service sector companies, he said.
Target expects comparable sales growth to be up in the mid to high single digits in the current quarter compared with last year.
Shares rose nearly 4%, or
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This story has been corrected to show that the media call was Wednesday, not Tuesday.
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