1,000 stores in Target remodeling plan

Target is stepping up its plan to remodel stores, a bid to regain its cachet and fend off incursions by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com.

The retailer now plans to revamp more than 1,000 locations by the end of 2020, part of an overhaul of its operations. The Minneapolis-based company had previously said it was remodeling 600 stores by 2019.

The changes include opening smaller-format stores in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia, and pairing the locations with e-commerce services. On Thursday, Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell helped unveil a store in Manhattan’s Herald Square, not far from the Macy’s flagship.

“Guests are rewarding us with more traffic and we’re driving increased comparable-store sales,” Cornell said at the event. “It’s given us confidence to move forward aggressively.”

Target is opening 11 small-format stores this week, as well as a traditional bigger location in Honolulu. The company also is rolling out its Restock program nationwide in 2018. That service lets customers have essentials such as toothpaste delivered the next day.

Small-format stores generate at least twice as much in sales per square foot, though they’re costlier to operate — partly because they have to take deliveries more often. The company also has to pay more for real estate in city centers.