Target Corporation
Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
$550M
Disclosed Deal Value
Target's largest disclosed acquisition here is Shipt for $550M in 2017. This page covers 3 major deals from 2014 to 2017, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dermstore | 2014 | Undisclosed | Target acquired online beauty retailer Dermstore in 2014 to expand its beauty e-commerce capabilities. |
| Shipt | 2017 | $550.0M | Target acquired same-day delivery platform Shipt for about $550 million to accelerate same-day delivery. |
| Grand Junction | 2017 | Undisclosed | Target acquired Grand Junction, a San Francisco-based transportation-technology startup founded in 2014 whose software coordinated local delivery through a network of more than 700 carriers, to improve last-mile delivery technology. |
2017
$550M
Target acquired same-day delivery platform Shipt for about $550 million to accelerate same-day delivery.
Made same-day delivery a central part of Target's omnichannel model.
Shipt remains a core part of Target's same-day fulfillment infrastructure.
2017
Target acquired Grand Junction, a San Francisco-based transportation-technology startup founded in 2014 whose software coordinated local delivery through a network of more than 700 carriers, to improve last-mile delivery technology.
Supported Target's fulfillment and delivery capabilities alongside the Shipt acquisition.
Grand Junction's technology was folded into Target's broader same-day and last-mile delivery operations.
2014
Target acquired online beauty retailer Dermstore in 2014 to expand its beauty e-commerce capabilities.
Added a specialty digital-commerce brand and beauty-category expertise outside Target's core store base.
Target sold Dermstore to UK e-commerce group THG for $350 million in 2021.
Target is focusing on merchandising authority, guest experience, technology acceleration, team and community strength, stores-as-hubs, same-day fulfillment, retail media and owned-brand renewal.
Target runs a general-merchandise, big-box retail model that pairs low-margin essentials (groceries, household basics) to drive store traffic with higher-margin discretionary categories (apparel, home decor, and private-label brands) to drive profit -- the classic 'basket size' strategy. Owned and exclusive brands make up a large share of sales and carry better margins than national brands, a strategy Target has leaned on more heavily to compete with Walmart's scale and Amazon's convenience. Digital and same-day fulfillment, built around the 2017 Shipt (about $550 million) and Grand Junction acquisitions, let Target use its stores as fulfillment hubs -- a model that became central to growth during the pandemic and remains core to its omnichannel strategy today. FY2025 revenue was $104.780 billion, continuing a decline from $107.412 billion in fiscal 2023, as the company worked through a sales and stock slump serious enough to trigger a CEO change; FY2026 has shown a rebound, with Q1 net sales up 6.7% and Q2 net sales up 5.3%. Non-merchandise revenue, which includes Roundel advertising, Target Circle 360 membership fees and the Target+ marketplace, grew more than 20% in Q2 FY2026, adding higher-margin income on top of merchandise sales.
In December 2017, Target acquired Birmingham, Alabama-based same-day delivery platform Shipt for $550 million in cash. The acquisition gave Target immediate access to a nationwide personal shopper network, enabling same-day delivery of groceries, home goods, and apparel across the country.
In August 2017, Target acquired Grand Junction, a San Francisco-based software startup specializing in last-mile delivery management. Grand Junction's routing software formed the algorithmic backbone of Target's same-day local delivery and sortation network.
In May 2020, Target acquired proprietary delivery technology and intellectual property from Deliv, a same-day logistics startup. Target integrated Deliv's batching and route-optimization algorithms into its regional sortation centers to lower shipping costs.
In June 2004, Target Corporation sold its flagship Marshall Field's department store division to May Department Stores Company for $3.24 billion in cash, completing Target's exit from traditional full-line department stores to focus exclusively on discount mass retail.
In July 2004, Target sold its struggling West Coast mid-tier department store chain Mervyn's to a consortium of private equity firms (including Sun Capital and Cerberus) for $1.65 billion, eliminating an underperforming division that was diluting corporate growth.
In January 2011, Target paid CAD $1.8 billion to Hudson's Bay Company to acquire 220 leaseholds of Zellers discount stores across Canada. Target converted 124 of these sites into Target Canada stores, which suffered supply chain failures and were liquidated in 2015.
Target acquired online specialty beauty retailer Dermstore in 2013. In December 2020, Target sold Dermstore to British e-commerce conglomerate THG for $350 million in cash, divesting the non-core digital asset to focus on in-store beauty collaborations with Ulta Beauty.
In late 2020, Target signed a landmark commercial partnership with Ulta Beauty to open dedicated 1,000-sq.-ft. "Ulta Beauty at Target" boutique shop-in-shops inside hundreds of Target stores, combining Ulta's prestige beauty brands with Target's omnichannel foot traffic.
Yes, in December 2015, Target sold its entire in-store pharmacy and clinic business to CVS Health for $1.9 billion. CVS rebranded and operates the pharmacies inside Target stores, allowing Target to offer premier healthcare services without bearing regulatory pharmacy overhead.
While wholly owned by Target, Shipt operates as an independent subsidiary, continuing to service other regional supermarket and retail partners (including Meijer, H-E-B, and Walgreens) to maximize driver network density and delivery efficiencies.
Target operates the Target Accelerator program in Minneapolis and Bengaluru, mentoring retail-tech startups in supply chain robotics, sustainable packaging, and synthetic textiles, selectively licensing or acquiring tools that improve retail operations.
Target avoids mega-mergers, prioritizing targeted acquisitions in automated warehouse robotics, supply chain optimization software, AI retail media tools, and proprietary sustainable fabric technologies that enhance core store operations.
Compare corporate acquisition records, deal values, and strategic targets
Explore Target
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.