Content about Target

MINNEAPOLIS — Colder weather and more conservative shoppers contributed to a drop in Target Corp.'s first-quarter 2013 profits, but the company's underlying business remains healthy, executives said Wednesday morning in a conference call with investors.

"While we are not satisfied with this quarter's performance, we remain highly confident in our strategy," president, chairman and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said during the call.

LAS VEGAS — Empowered Products Inc. announced today The Kroger Co. has placed its first batch of orders for Empowered Products' Pink line of personal lubricants for five of Kroger's distribution centers across the United States.

Kroger, the largest grocery store chain in the U.S., will now offer Pink Silicone and Pink Water at approximately 1,400 retail locations across the United States.

NEW YORK — Target is looking to compete with the likes of Netflix and Hulu with a video-streaming service it is beta testing with employees, according to published reports.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reported that the mass merchandise retailer was testing Target Ticket, which currently offers access to 15,000 movies and TV shows. Features of the new service include parental controls, streaming and downloading for playback on desktop computers and mobile devices.

YONKERS, N.Y. — According to a recent poll that will appear in the June 2013 issue of ShopSmart, 56% of women do not take advantage of coupons and discount codes when it comes to purchasing makeup, skin care items and other beauty products.

"There's no reason to overpay or to miss a potential deal when buying beauty items," said Lisa Lee Feeman , editor-in-chief of ShopSmart. "Also consider store-brand beauty products — if you like them, the savings can be worthwhile in the long run."

NEW YORK — Target is beta testing a new app that allows users to save on items and share deals on Facebook.

A Bullseye View, Target's online magazine, announced the introduction of Cartwheel, where people can find offers on products by browsing the system or looking at friends' activites, and add up to 10 of their favorites to a list. Once a red check appears in the corner of the offer card, the item can be purchased, and customers can either print a special barcode from their desktop computers or use their mobile devices in-store to access it.

NEW YORK — Grand Central Terminal in New York played host to a life-sized "dollhouse" this week as Target showcased its new collection of products, including housewares, indoor and outdoor furniture and decorative items.

The dollhouse, used to promote the Threshold collection through Tuesday evening, includes seven rooms upstairs and downstairs furnished with the new products, though only the downstairs rooms are accessible. The display was featured in the century-old, iconic train station's Vanderbilt Hall.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target will feature electronics picked by the editors of Wired magazine, under a deal between the two announced Monday.

Target said the custom-curated assortment of products would include four products available for the first time at Target, including personal fitness, photography, digital music streaming and others.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack Corp. has ended its mobile phone partnership with Target Corp. amid slumping sales, the electronics store chain said Tuesday.

RadioShack said it had stopped operating its Target Mobile centers before the end of last month. The company had operated mobile phone kiosks inside Target stores. The company posted first quarter 2013 quarter sales of $849 million and a loss of $43 million, compared with $913 million last year and a loss of $8 million.

MINNEAPOLIS — More than half of allergy sufferers seek advice from pharmacists and doctors, a new survey by Target has found.

According to research, ownership of smartphones and tablets in particular have grown rapidly over the past couple of years, and that has created a multi-headed omnichannel hydra of a customer who retailers across all channels are desperately trying to appease.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target has accepted for purchase $760.7 million worth of debt as part of a $1.1 billion debt-refinancing plan announced last month, the mass merchandiser said.

The company announced plans in mid-March to purchase up to more than $1.1 billion worth of debt securities and will pay close to the full amount for those accepted for purchase.

The offer to purchase the debt from the people holding it expired Wednesday night at 11:59, the company said.