Timeline: A Moving Target

1962: Target opens on May 1 in Roseville, Minn., promoting itself as combining department store features like fashion, quality and service with the low prices of a discounter. Three more Targets would open in the state by yearend.

1968: The Bullseye logo is updated to its current incarnation.

1979: Target surpasses $1 billion in annual sales, with 74 stores in 11 states.

1988: Target becomes the first mass merchant to use UPC scanning at all its stores and distribution centers, enhancing inventory control and cutting checkout time.
The company also enters the Pacific Northwest.

2001: Target opens its 1,000th store. It is now in 47 states — Vermont, Alaska and Hawaii are the last states without the chain’s presence.

2010: In a partnership with Liberty of London, a limited-edition Target collection for the first time spans categories from home and garden to apparel for men, women and kids.

2012: As the retailer marks its 50th anniversary at its annual meeting, ceo Gregg Steinhafel says the company is on track to reach a goal of $100 billion or more in sales and $8 or more in earnings per share by 2017.

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[above: Target’s first store opened in 1962. Photo by WWD Archives]