<p> Earlier this week, Target announced the closing of three stores in Florida, Georgia, and Arizona. Could this be a sign of the company’s decision to slow down its rate of expansion in the U.S.?<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The Target stores in Leesburg, FL (10401 US Highway 441), Morrow, GA (1940 Mount Zion Road), and Chandler, AZ (2150 N. Arizona Ave.) will close on February 1, 2014. According to a press release, these stores are being closed after careful consideration of the financial performance and potential of these specific locations. However, all eligible store team members are being offered the option to transfer to nearby Target stores.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> During the company’s Financial Community Meeting Webcast, Gregg Steinhafel, Chairman, President, and CEO claimed that although Target was prepared to continue growing at a pace of 30 to 50 new stores a year, it wouldn’t be possible due to the slow economic growth environment in the U.S. Consequently, Steinhafel suggested that the company needed to re-evaluate how many people are in between the stores, running the stores and the headquarters themselves, and all the people that are being used as support help. Target’s efforts to scale back its expansion are to begin operating the enterprise more efficiently so that every dollar can “work a lot more aggressively through the enterprise,” said Steinhafel.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> How might Target’s new strategy affect its upcoming Q3 2013 Earnings Release?<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more comments and opinions.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://investors.target.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=65828&p=irol-IRHome" target="_new"> Target </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
