Wicked cool visualization of the growth of Target Stores over time:
(you may have to click here first to get the page to align properly –
when you can see the map its ready to run)
via Flowing Data
http://projects.flowingdata.com/target/
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
"Overall household indebtedness is up from $7 trillion to almost $10 trillion since 2000. On this sum, we estimate, the American consumer has an annual interest bill of more than $500 billion; a sum, by the way, that vastly exceeds his current income growth." —Kurt Richebacher
Knowing that the vote over the weekend in Greece was really a referendum on Euro membership, a majority of the Greek Parliament said yes to staying. European Finance Ministers meet again on Wednesday to solidify the 2nd bailout package for Greece at the same time hopefully a deal is consummated between Greece and its creditors this week. The Greek 14.5b euro bond that matures on March 20th is up by 2 pts. The optimism that all will be completed and contained AGAIN to Greece has yields lower in Portugal, Spain and Italy. The iTraxx Financial Index is also narrower by...
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January 30th, 2009 at 11:08 am
you could almost visualize those as blown up real estate markets, or bank, PE and hedge fund failures over the coming few years too.
January 30th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Great Idea!
I will see if I can get Nathan and either Realty Track or Hedge fund implode together and do a few more mashups!
January 30th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Wow,
That was actually really cool. And also, we have too many stores, that’s my conclusion of this. It would be interesting to have Wal Mart on there at the same time, after all they are basically the same store.
January 30th, 2009 at 11:31 am
I don’t think we have too many of these types of stores.
The discounters are the most efficient distributors of goods to the public.
The stores we have too many of are the non-discounting retailers of branded merchandise (Abercrombie, etc.)
January 30th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Is there a way to overlay the trade deficit or manufacturing job income? That would make great even greater!
January 30th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Now we can watch them contract…
Seriously, if they don’t replace their buyers they’ll be in a world of hurt. Their stores are full of crap and fail.
A few years ago they let local stores buy their own merchandise in some departments, and our local store was awesome was great deals on good quality merchandise. Now I hardly ever go there and when I do I just buy staple goods. It’s sad, really.
January 30th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Donna,
If they had great deals on good quality merchandise, why don’t you shop there any more (other than the staple goods)? What changed for you?
January 30th, 2009 at 11:48 am
looks like america getting nuked by china.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I do not like any of the the alternatives to growth, capitalism and a flourishing human race; however, I couldn’t help but think of this as a visual display depicting the human race as a Cancer to the Earth…
January 30th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
“Greetings professor Falken; how about a nice game of chess?”
January 30th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Donna,
Yes, I’d enjoy seeing one for Circuit City or Starbux or retail names from the past like Caldor and Jamesway where they peak and then go into reverse.
xnycpdx,
Very funny.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
A long time ago Target and the other chains/discounters had good products at reasonable prices. They don’t any more. Their selection is limited at the lowest common denominator. It seems like every time I need something I have to find it online.
The growth of these stores is a product of the credit bubble. Take away nearly-free money and very few of these stores are profitable to run. Their same store sales are low single digits. All their growth is from opening new stores. It was a ponzi. Take that away, as we are now, and they will contract.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
All I could think of was a very upset teenager
January 30th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Thisson,
I”ll explain, where I live I could show you many of examples of a target with a Wal mart right down the street and in between there is a family dollar, Kmart, or some other “discounter”
I’m not sure I understand what is efficient about expanding so rapidly into smaller markets. Notice the acceleration of expansion starting in the 80′s via the credit bubble. Then we have a situation like this the inventory issue and the story becomes amplified causing the public, via job cuts, to suffer even more. That also doesn’t even take into account how these big chains wiped out all the small businesses that sold these goods.
One could make the same argument about a “discounter” type bank such as the old Commerce, now TD Bank something. Open on Sunday’s, etc etc. It was supposed to be more effecient right? Now where I live they knocked down a RideAid and then built a brand new TD bank not more than 3 miles, on the same street, as another TD bank.
I agree, the Abercrombie’s, Gap’s etc of the world, way too many of those, but we’ve got too many targets as well. I actually really like target, I get a decent amount of things there but I wouldn’t call them much of a discounter. Take the electronics section for example, I could by almost every single piece of equipment in that store cheaper somewhere else.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Whenever I go to the Target, I always wonder why I did it. Selection is limited. Not particularly cheap and the service is terrible. I prefer Walmart even though I hate that a lot.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
The mashup I’d like to see is one showing the closings of competing regional and national stores as Target expands.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
xnycpdx, I couldn’t agree with you more. The visualization effect they chose is precisely like the one used on of my old nuclear strategic war comuter simulations like “Comman H.Q.” Having the big fireball burst really just highlights the similarity. Letting the simulation run automatically with the AI controlling all of the nuclear powers always resulted in a stunning spasmodic strike display. Just think of the resulting small red dot as the radiation contamination zone around an urban area or strategic asset like a bomber or missile base. Too bad that the Chinese don’t understand that most of us feel that they’ve already conducted a first strike on the US.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
They have one of Walmart done in green, an appropriate color as Walmart just steadily expands everywhere looking like the blob that ate the world.
They have assimilated the US now it is the world.
lol
Walmart= The Borg
Resistance is futile
Jack
January 30th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Maybe Wal Mart can buy up all the excess housing inventory at firesale prices and rent them out so they can complete their dominance. We’ll all work at Wal Mart as low paid service slaves, buy our cheap Chinese-made stuff there, and live there. Perfect. The United Wal Mart of America.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Very “wicked cool” indeed BR… you Northeasterner you.
Target IS cool, and they will probably be one of the few retailers that emerge from this mess stronger than the rest. WMT also. It will be these two going fwd. See ya Kmart.
Honestly, I think it would be cool to see TGT merge up with a Kohls or a TJX or something… and then cross sell clothing through the TGT stores. That way, the discount dept stores like Kohls or TJX could shutter their non performing stores, and meanwhile have a more direct access to consumers. Its amazing how many times I’ve been cruising through TGT while Mrs I-Man is picking up staples, and I end up buying some shirt or something I didnt come there to get. They are very keen at merchandising… and I think they’re buyers are doing a fine job.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Very cool interactive!
I was hesitant to check it out at first because I was afraid it was going to trigger my epilepseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
2=40u249248u5bv=2g0u5943rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
January 30th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
What happens to the growth of Target and Walmart if Obama succeeds in unionizing the workers at these stores?
January 30th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
stranger would be the combined growth in stores for CVS and WAG.
They forced out the independent druggists I grew up with who had everything in a store perhaps 1000 sq ft cramed everything into nooks and crannies–when also there were fewer brand names and sku’s.
We are a victim of our own”progress” .
ie–my grocery stores have 2 major brands of milk–cant get them to tell me the difference. Thats before the soys stuff, etc.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
@ Hal:
Hopefully one of those brands is Horizon organic milk…
You dont want to know whats in all the commercial brands of milk… but you could ask Monsanto why we have to strain blood and puss out of commercial milk due to the cows udders being irritated from bovine growth hormone.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
@ I-Man
Please, post some links to reportage on the milk-blood-pus phenomenon, esp. sites w/pix
Maybe melamine additives would counteract these untoward effects of BGH
January 30th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Makes me want to “Duck and Cover”
January 30th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
China manipulates their currency? Well, couldn’t we have eliminated its effect by slapping import tariffs on the goods coming in? Effects:
- That would’ve made manufacturing in China less profitable.
- The US government would’ve collected the tariff. (More of the money spent at Walmart would’ve stayed in country.)
- More American workers would’ve retained their jobs.
- The global imbalances wouldn’t ‘ve been so marked. Unwinding them wouldn’t be so painful.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Point is: the US didn’t have to stand by idly. If people (politicians and voters) wanted China to do something differently the past 15 years, they could’ve forced the issue.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
But wunsacon, that would mean we couldn’t have our endless supply of cheap (both in price and quality) goods and our brilliant rock star corporate CEO’s couldn’t make their uber-millions be canonized daily by their sycophant enablers in the MSM. We can’t have that now, can we? Can you say the word, “bamboozled”? I can.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Iman
The blood and puss
It is called mastitis.
It is a bacterial infection
Just as much a problem for organic milk producers. In fact more of a problem because of antibiotic restrictions.
The way to keep the problem down is strict control over bacteria levels in the milk. Which is what the state inspector does to each farmer.
Jack
January 30th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Great, Bill Gross of Pimpco on CNBC shortly to talk his book and try to get the government to help make him even more easy money. It’s good to be king, isn’t it, Bill?
January 30th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
All of these stores, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, etc., they carry the same products, usually at the same prices (at least for the products I buy) even when shopping in different states. Makes me wonder about “competition”, don’t think there is any, at least not for folks shopping retail.
Regarding unions and these stores, I guess workers might get more money than shareholders. About time. Also, maybe workers can pay into their own “portable” healthcare plans so companies don’t have to. President Obama is right, we need to level the playing field and workers need to get paid fairly for their work. Without labor, you have no product, service, or middle class.
January 30th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
And then there’s the curse of stadium naming. Specifically, ground was broken for Target Field in Minneapolis in 2007, is scheduled to open in 2010, and host the All-Star Game in 2014. Go Twins.
January 30th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
@ batmando: They’re out there, just do a goog search.
@ Whiskey Jack:
Thanks for the info, I’ll look into that. Seriously. I had heard that the prevalence of mastitis in commercial cows was only a result of jacking the cows up on hormones to produce more milk than they are naturally capable of producing, causing their udders to swell and become irritated and infected.
@ BR: Sorry to turn this into a milk thread. I’ll tighten up my comments… again.
January 30th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
@jimcos42: The downturn will give the Pohlads (one of the richest families in the world) yet another convenient excuse to not spend money for that one or two players that would put them over the top to win it all. Too bad we taxpaying idiots are paying for over half the freight on their new ballpark and were promised that they’d spend more money going forward with that new revenue. Bamboozled again.
January 30th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
“ie–my grocery stores have 2 major brands of milk–cant get them to tell me the difference”
one has a lot of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones…the other one has 1/3 less!
January 30th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
For a minute there, I thought you were going to say one has pesicides and antibiotics, and the other has pests and bacteria!
January 30th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
i-man, whskyjack:
organic milk actually does have less mastitus than ‘regular’ milk… when it is TRUE organic milk. horizon, trader joe’s, whole food’s 365 etc are cows fed ORGANIC silage (and usually poor silage at that), but raised in pens 20,000 at a time, just like standard milk cows. the overcrowding and feces sorta cancel out that whole ‘wholesome’ thang. see http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_6912.cfm
a safer bet is organic valley, a small-farm co-op found in most markets; i’m sure many areas have even smaller farm groups selling milk somewhere.
to get back on topic, should we discuss trading milk futures?
January 31st, 2009 at 12:46 am
Mannwich, so true. Everyone wanted something for free.