Target is squeezing itself into a space that's a fraction of the size of one of its regular stores in a reach for urban shoppers.
The first TargetExpress, as the store will be called, will be built at the base of an apartment building near the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, the company announced Friday.
The 20,000-square-foot store will offer a selection of items similar to a CVS or a Walgreen's, with health and beauty products, groceries and a pharmacy. It will also feature grab-and-go food items and a home decor section.
"The beta store, conveniently located for students and urban guests living in nearby neighborhoods, will cover approximately 15% of the size of a typical general merchandise Target store," John Griffith, executive vice president of property development for Target, said in a statement. "We’ll carefully evaluate this new format to determine plans for future growth, so stay tuned," says Griffith.
The New York Times points out that the location is just 10 minutes from Target’s headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.
"It’s in our backyard," Griffith told the Times. "Why not test it where you can go in and tweak it to death until it’s perfect? Makes it easier."
TargetExpress will be even smaller than Target's mid-sized store concept, CityTarget, that the company unveiled 18 months ago. CityTarget is roughly two-thirds the size of a regular Target store.
TargetExpress comes more than two years after Wal-Mart launched its own small-store concept, Walmart Express. Wal-Mart now has 20 pilot Express stores, which range from 10,000 to 15,000 square feet.
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