零售業低迷？塔吉特可沒有。

塔吉特在上周三發布的第一季度的一系列數據說明，如果哪家零售商現在業績不佳，只能怪自己。塔吉特繼續保持了假日旺季的強勁勢頭，截至5月4日，本季度可比銷售額增長4.8％，部分原因是線上銷售猛增42％。這個數字輕松擊敗了在上周早些時候公布業績的科爾氏（Kohl’s，下跌3.4％）和彭尼公司（J.C. Penney，下跌5.5％），甚至連沃爾瑪在兩周前公布的強勁數據（增長3.4％）都落了下風。

塔吉特是如何做到的？改造商店以提供電商服務和訂單提取服務，同時改善店面展示，為客戶提供他們真正想要而且不能從其他地方買到的商品，其中大部分商品都來自于塔吉特的自有品牌。這家折扣連鎖店的種種努力正在從同行手中搶占市場份額，大量競爭對手證明了自己無法充分利用近年來最好的消費環境。塔吉特的收益不僅僅來自于線上商鋪：線下店鋪客流量增長了4.3％，這說明了塔吉特的線下和線上店鋪互惠互利，兩種渠道相互促進彼此的業務增長。

Retail doldrums? Not at Target.

Target on last Wednesday released a set of first-quarter numbers that prove that any retailer faltering now has no one to blame but itself. Continuing off the strong momentum of its holiday season, Target said comparable sales rose 4.8% in the quarter ended May 4, fueled in part by a digital sales surge of 42%. That easily beats the flagging numbers posted earlier last week by Kohl’s, J.C. Penney (down 5.5%), and even that of Walmart’s strong numbers (a 3.4% increase) reported two weeks ago.

How is Target doing it? By remodeling its stores, equipping them for e-commerce and order pick-up, while improving their presentation, and offering customers merchandise they want and can’t get elsewhere, most specifically from its own store brands. The discount chain’s efforts are helping it win market share from its many competitors that have proven unable to capitalize on the best consumer spending environment in years. The gains have not only been online: store visits were up 4.3%, showing Target’s symbiosis between stores and e-commerce where both avenues feed business to each other.

“我們現在看到的是贏家和輸家的分歧。”塔吉特的首席執行官布萊恩·康奈爾在媒體電話會中告訴記者，他指的是連續八個季度的增長。就在兩年前，塔吉特公布了一項價值70億美元的計劃，期望在數年內徹底檢修老舊店鋪，提升公司滯后的電商業務，實現供應鏈現代化，這個計劃讓華爾街心痛不已。但現在，市場感到塔吉特已經弄明白了如何在亞馬遜領導的零售新世界實現繁榮發展——當然是和許多其他零售商相比，因此，公司股價在財報發布后上漲了9％。

塔吉特成功的一大關鍵因素是旗下的新品牌廣受歡迎，包括女裝品牌A New Day、電子配件Heyday、家居裝飾Opalhouse，以及設計師合作系列——例如和Vineyard Vines合作發行的新產品。這些大熱品牌成為購物者選擇塔吉特而非其他連鎖店的理由。幾年前，兒童服裝品牌Cat＆Jack只用了一年就成為了價值20億美元的品牌。與此同時，兒童服飾界昔日的王者Penney卻衰落了。

塔吉特第一季度利潤增長了11％至7.95億美元，每股1.53美元，去年同期為7.18億美元，每股1.33美元。總銷售額攀升5.1％至174億美元。第二季度，塔吉特可比銷售額預計將實現中低個位數增長。

康奈爾擔任該公司首席執行官的時間將滿五年，他表示，塔吉特之所以能夠成功，因為它專注于最擅長的事情，而不是模仿競爭對手。的確如此，過去兩年里，沃爾瑪東山再起，塔吉特因為在電商領域落后于對手，因為特色產品不夠多而聽到了一些批評的聲音。

“我們不想學其他公司。”他告訴華爾街分析師，“在塔吉特，當我們沿著自己的道路前進而非追逐別人的時候，才能表現得最好。”（財富中文網）

譯者：Agatha

“What we’re seeing right now is the bifurcation of winners and losers,” Target CEO Brian Cornell told reporters on a media call, pointing to eight straight quarters of growth. It was only two years ago that Target gave Wall Street heartburn by announcing a $7 billion, multi-year plan to overhaul what were dated stores, ramp up its lagging e-commerce, and modernize its supply chain. But now, the sense that Target has figured out how to thrive in this new Amazon-led world—certainly compared to many other retailers—has led its shares to rise 9% after its results.

A key ingredient in its success has been the wild popularity of its new house brands, including A New Day for women’s clothing, Heyday for electronics accessories, Opalhouse for home decor, as well as designer collaborations such as its new line with Vineyard Vines. These hits have given shoppers a reason to choose Target over other chains. A couple of years ago, it only took children’s wear brand Cat & Jack a year to become a $2 billion brand. Meanwhile, Penney, once a must-visit destination for kids’ clothes, has withered.

Target’s first-quarter profit rose 11% to $795 million, or $1.53 a share, compared with $718 million, or $1.33 a share, for the same quarter a year ago. Total sales climbed 5.1% to $17.4 billion. In the second quarter, the discount chain forecast a low-to-mid-single-digit increase in comparable sales.

Cornell, nearing his fifth anniversary as CEO, said Target’s success has come from focusing on what it does best, rather than mimicking rivals. Indeed, in the last two years, as Walmart staged its own comeback, Target came in for some criticism for being behind on e-commerce and not having enough distinctive grocery offerings.

“We’re not trying to be like everyone else,” he told Wall Street analysts. “At Target, we perform best when we’re pursuing our own path, not when we’re chasing someone else.”