Target Corp. Hits Low End of May Forecast

Target Corporation reported that its net retail sales for the four weeks ended May 28, 2011 were $4.80 billion, an increase of 3.8 percent from $4.62 billion for the four weeks ended May 29, 2010. On this same basis, May comparable-store sales increased 2.8 percent.

May sales were near the low end of our expected range, driven by a much slower traffic trend in the second half of the month, said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Target Corporation. Our guests continue to shop cautiously in light of higher energy costs and inflationary pressures on their household budgets. As a result, were focused on delivering more value than ever by offering reliably low prices on high quality, well-designed merchandise both in our stores and at Target.com.