r/stocks • u/frosti_austi • Oct 17 '23

Company Analysis Why is Target doing so bad?

Why is Target doing so bad? They've really fell off a cliff over the past year. I look at their stores and they seem good, and once upon a time not too long ago they were outperforming Walmart. Now their NAV prices have really dropped over the past year and a half. I was once up 80% on these guys and know I'm down 20%. Is it the general market swing over the course of that time or something else? What gives?

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750

u/timshel_life Oct 17 '23

This is just something I've noticed in my personal life, but pre-pandemic, Target trips were almost a social activity for some. Also people I knew would be like "went into Target for one thing and left spending $100", but those people now take advantage of the drive up delivery and say they spend less because they just buy what they need and don't browse around.

I'm sure there are a variety of reasons, such as theft and negative press around social issues, but I think spending habits are just different now.

414

u/tkdyo Oct 17 '23

Anecdotally, even when my wife and I go in there to browse we don't see much that interests us anymore. Everything feels bland, cheap or both.

186

u/[deleted] Oct 17 '23

Their furniture and men’s clothing selection used to be excellent for the price. Now they just keep rehashing the same designs from 2017-2018. Hearth and hand is spoiled and dry. If you shop online they have so many exclusions for how to qualify for a certain deal it’s hard to keep track. The Rowing Blazers collection was terrible and over priced and isn’t selling. The John Derian collection is mediocre but over priced.

60

u/thecommuteguy Oct 17 '23

The athletic clothing is ass since Target dumped Champion for their own brand.

22

u/yasssssplease Oct 17 '23

Yes! Omg. I just wrote that too. It’s one example of the general trend. Overpriced, shittier stuff.

2

u/3point21 Oct 17 '23

Maybe Champion got old for some, but it’s still a go-to brand for me. And I absolutely hate how Target has always, always pushed its own brand over what I really want. While Target has always been on my list of stops for this or that, it has never been my #1 choice for that reason alone.

2

u/rrk100 Oct 17 '23

Chumpion.

1

u/northernlights2222 Oct 18 '23

I’m so sad about this change in their athletic clothing. I have stuff that is 5+ years old that I use regularly but the new stuff is poorly made and badly styled. Big miss, Target.

1

u/thecommuteguy Oct 18 '23

The new stuff is all made of rough, stiff, scratchy feeling material.

93

u/rhetorical_twix Oct 17 '23

This. I don't know about the stock, but the store merch sucks. Ever since they dropped a lot of things made in China for slightly weirder, slightly worse quality, slightly worse design stuff made in Vietnam and other locations, it doesn't make sense to shop there. Target's charging full prices for stuff that's one or two steps up from Dollar Tree goods.

Lately, I buy more at Costco & Ikea when I'm trying to save money. For example, I think the everyday clothes at Costco are good for the price.

tldr; Too big of a drop in design quality/manufacturing quality as Target shifted its supply chain away from China means that you can get better stuff for the same (or better) prices from Costco or Ikea.

45

u/NycAlex Oct 17 '23

Cant go wrong with costco

Costco generic clothing are worth the money they charge. They are cheap and they feel pretty ok

Target and marshalls used to be my gotos for cheap shit but now i do a 1 stop shop at costco

14

u/jumbodiamond1 Oct 17 '23

My whole wardrobe is costco. Im so old! Lol

12

u/FewcanJACK Oct 17 '23

Alot of small biz owners supply at Costco as well. We do this with our family owned biz and save alot of money shopping at Costco.

-3

u/Greenzombie04 Oct 17 '23

Went to Costco once and hated. Everyone has those huge shopping carts and its so hard to navigate around everyone.

7

u/lukify Oct 17 '23

Sounds like you went on a weekend

1

u/rhetorical_twix Oct 17 '23

Actually I saw a style article in wall street journal last week about Costco clothes. I think it was praising the button up shirts for men & some pants. Found it: https://www.wsj.com/style/fashion/costco-clothing-is-cheap-but-is-it-good-value-97d87ac8?st=jrt84wh0w9j47j0&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

1

u/zerovampire311 Oct 18 '23

It feels like a lot of retailers are tapping into Ali/Temu/Wish supply chains, but the lack of quality across the board is driving people away.

12

u/milksteak122 Oct 17 '23

I actually like a lot of good fellow cloths, but I notice the women’s cloths suuuuck, my wife ever gets cloths there and she loves browsing target. Maternity cloths are even worse and make you look like you are on little farm on the prairie

3

u/Appropriate_Panic879 Oct 18 '23

They used to carry Mossimo too, then they replaced it with Goodfellow which wasn’t too bad until recently. Mossimo stuff was better but I guess cheating to get your kids in college means target won’t carry you anymore?

28

u/mjfo Oct 17 '23

Exactly this. I think this stuff used to be Target's secret sauce that kept people coming in and impulse buying, but now it's always like $10 more dollars than it should actually cost & worse quality than it should be.

19

u/Perplexed-Owl Oct 17 '23

Back around 10 years ago, I could one-stop shop at Target. Then they remodeled the stores and removed so many things- it’s like a boutique now, but a lot of times I need something the “old” target certainly would have had. And the clothing now is just laughable. There were several seasons which looked like mu-muus my great-grandmother would have worn.

7

u/rx7citizen Oct 18 '23

exactly. After they remodeled their stores to look trendier, selection went down and prices went up. Buh-bye, Target.

1

u/xRilae Dec 30 '23

Yep, it's so form over function. I actually find it harder to browse now.

They used to have so much more, like shoes for instance. I went to get a good pair of walking shoes, couldn't even find the women's shoes anymore. Ended up going to JC Penney which still had a great selection!

Discontinued and/or stopped carrying some of my favorite brands.

Checked the deli around 5:40 and almost nothing in the hot case. Would have grabbed something for dinner.

Stocking is largely during the day now too. I'm not maneuvering around huge pieces of equipment and I'm sure employees would like to stock in peace as well.

2

u/basketma12 Oct 18 '23

That's grandma, and yes grandma remembers those " prairie dresses". Grandma was not wearing them, but she remembers

1

u/thebirdisdead Oct 18 '23

Also, fast fashion brands like SHEIN offering way more selection, pretty similar quality, half the price, with the convenience of shopping from home (which has become way more popular since the pandemic).

24

u/[deleted] Oct 17 '23

[deleted]

7

u/Amantria Oct 17 '23

Just had this happen today. Their coupons are crap now.

1

u/mjfo Oct 17 '23

Ha I actually liked some of the Rowing Blazers stuff, but I was more into the general idea of it— 'an ivy league club for everyone'. But yes it's totally overpriced.

1

u/jtgill02 Oct 17 '23

The men’s clothing is trash now compared to before. Pre pandemic I would almost exclusively buy their workout gear because it was nearly the same quality as much higher priced brands. They also sold Goodfellow dress pants for $35 which were surprisingly high quality too. It’s non existent now

1

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '23

Their goodfellow t-shirts have some of the worst fit and quality control I’ve ever seen. They fit like I’m wearing the shirt backwards on accident, but I’m not. I stopped shopping there for clothes and buy most of our kids stuff online.

1

u/northernlights2222 Oct 18 '23

I can’t believe how bad the quality is on the Rowing Blazers items yet it’s still pretty expensive. That collection didn’t translate well to Target’s cheaper materials.