TARGET

A new flexible-format Target store in the Tribeca area of Manhattan is now open, and so far it's been a hit with shoppers.

According to the New York Daily News, the exterior of the store doesn't say Target — only its logo can be seen, the big red bullseye signals what it is. Inside, the first floor feels more like a local trendy shop than a Target. 

Amazon.com’s battle against Target is moving to a new battleground: college campuses.

According to Fortune, the online retailer has its eyes on the next generation of affluent shoppers and is quickly expanding its fleet of campus kiosks that allow students to retrieve online orders. 

Amazon’s push comes just as Target, which operates a few campus stores under its small- store format, is making college stores part of its new growth plans, Fortune reports.

Target has announced plans to test vertical farms within select U.S. stores, according to Business Insider.

The popularity of vertical farming, an agricultural technique that involves growing plants indoors in precisely programmed conditions, is growing rapidly.

“Down the road, it's something where potentially part of our food supply that we have on our shelves is stuff that we've grown ourselves,” Casey Carl, Target’s chief strategy and innovation officer, told Business Insider.

Target is focused on opening smaller stores in urban areas and college towns as it battles declining traffic and sales at its fleet of mostly suburban stores, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper quotes Target CEO Brian Cornell as saying that in the future the retailer could open "hundreds of these” smaller stores, which average around 20,000 square feet.

Target has launched a website that invites pitches from startups who are interested in running pilot programs with the retailer, according to a report from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

The newspaper reports that Target wants to use this new site to find new technology platforms to enhance the customer experience in its stores and through its digital channels. It is not intended to be the place to go to plug products that companies want Target to sell on its shelves or online, the Star-Tribune reports.

That was fast. 

Jason Goldberger, the recently promoted chief digital officer of Target Corp., has left the company, effective immediately.  No reason was given for his departure.

Goldberger's responsibilities will be split, with Target CIO Mike McNamara  overseeing the website and digital operations, and chief merchandising officer Mike Tritton taking on pricing and promotions.

Target shoppers will be doing real cartwheels next time they launch their discount app.

The holiday hiring wars have begun.

Target Corp. is the first national retailer to announce its holiday hiring plans with the news that it plans to hire 70,000 seasonal store associates. The amount is the same as last year.