Target (Minneapolis) will close four stores in three metro areas: two near Washington, D.C., one in Philadelphia and one in its hometown, Business Insider reports. The retailer cited declining foot traffic as the primary reason for the closures and said most store employees would be offered positions at nearby locations.
“The decision to close one of our stores isn’t something we take lightly,” Kayla Castañeda, a spokesperson for Target, told BI. “It’s an action we take only after multiple years of working to improve performance.”
All four stores being shuttered on May 13 are smaller-format locations — roughly 20,000 square feet — that the company began rolling out about a decade ago to reach shoppers in more urban areas. Castañeda told BI that Target does not plan any other closures during 2023.
On the other side of the coin, Target disclosed earlier this month that it intends to open about 20 new stores and remodel up to 175 existing locations this year.