doodledee

You have to register to see stuff on the Star Tribune's website now. Here is their reasoning for the change. [Spoiler: it's related to advertising!] I really don't care that much about having to register. You set yourself up with a freebie yahoo account and you make up a birthday and an address and you're back to reading articles. It's almost kind of fun. Especially when the articles are about Target closing its North Minneapolis store.

The store isn't making money. It's in a bad location in a bad part of town. Target has tried remodeling, changing management, and lord knows probably tons of other stuff in an attempt to turn it around. And I believe that. It's not like admitting a store sucks and closing it down makes Target look like a bunch of geniuses. It makes them look like doofs. Which is why they so rarely close stores.

Not surprisingly, people are upset about the closing. Local residents claim they visit the store all the time, but I was there a couple weeks back and the parking lot was empty on a Saturday morning. (Maybe people were sleeping in that day, though, who knows.) What I do know is that if lots of people go to a store lots of times, that store usually makes money. Dots.connect().

The area's City Council Member, Natalie Johnson Lee, also chimed in with her thoughts:

Losing Target was not included in the plans" for the area's revitalization, said Minneapolis City Council Member Natalie Johnson Lee, whose ward includes the store.

Johnson Lee said she understands the business reasons for the store's closing, but she wonders why the retailer couldn't keep an underperforming store if the rest of its portfolio could balance it out.

Yeah! Why can't they keep it open!? How about BECAUSE THEY'RE A BUSINESS AND ME AND THE OTHER SHAREHOLDERS DON'T LIKE TO SEE THEM LOSING MONEY?! Oh, yeah, there's that.

And lest we forget, Target is already far and away the most philanthropic corporation in America as a % of operating income given away as cash. They do plenty of good stuff.

So let's not pick on the hometown team. At least not this time. Save your outrage for Ulrich's way too short Q&A session at the annual meeting.