Where Did the First Target Open?

We see them everywhere now, with their red bulls-eye logos and their red-and-khaki-clad employees. How did this massive discount retailing chain get started? Well, like all American dream stories, it started out small and made its way slowly up the ladder of success.

The first Target store opened in Roseville, Minnesota, but for 60 years before the Saint Paul suburb made history, Target’s owner, the Dayton Company, had been operating stores in Minnesota, Portland, OR, and throughout New England.

In 1902, George Dayton constructed a building in which there would be a Goodfellows department store. The owner of that store eventually sold it to Dayton, who then changed its name to the Dayton Dry Goods Company. He continued to buy defunct department stores across the northern United States, eventually changing their names to Dayton’s.

Dayton’s department stores changed hands and names a few times before they were all finally converted to Macy’s stores. Before that happened, however, George Dayton wanted to open a discount retail store separate from his department store. His publicity director, Stewart K. Widdess, advised him to give it a completely different name to prevent customers from associating the two. Thus, Target was born, and it has outlived its founders and parent stores.

Now there are Target stores in every U.S. state except Vermont (as of May 2010).

Target Stores Today

Just in case you have never been outside of Vermont and you live under a rock, here’s a little Target primer.

Target is a discount retail department store similar to Wal-Mart. In fact, it is the second largest discount retailer in the United States with Wal-Mart being the largest.

Target stores sell just about everything from prescription drugs to costume jewelry to motor oil, and Super Targets add groceries to the list. If you need it, there’s a good chance Target has it.