Pardon the pun. Keep in mind that this is just one analyst's opinion, but would be an interesting development if it comes to pass.

Quote:Loup Ventures' Gene Munster is predicting the internet e-commerce company will buy Target in 2018.

"Amazon believes the future of retail is a mix of mostly online and some offline. Target is the ideal offline partner for Amazon for two reasons, shared demographic and manageable but comprehensive store count," Munster wrote in a post on Monday. "As for the demographic, Target's focus on mom[s] is central to Amazon's approach to win wallet share."

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/02/amazon-w...dicts.html

I wonder if that would tip Amazon into moving their second HQ to the twin cities. Target has a huge sprawling new campus and a lot of land around it that they are not using.

Target is interesting. Amazon needs buyers. Target has great buyers who understand their market.

Target has a grocery store, too. Whole Foods could be helped with the volume that Target brings to the market. Amazon could really pop Walmart with this kind of arrangement.

If Amazon wanted buildings. Then why didn't they buy Kmart/Sears? They could acquire them on a cheap stock buy.

bezos won't be happy until everyone is forced to buy every thing from him.

Block it.

(01-02-2018 09:58 PM)hawghiggs Wrote:  If Amazon wanted buildings. Then why didn't they buy Kmart/Sears? They could acquire them on a cheap stock buy.

Target is very much alive and has expertise. Sears/Kmart is walking dead. It isn't just about the real estate.

(01-02-2018 10:03 PM)Kronke Wrote:  bezos won't be happy until everyone is forced to buy every thing from him.

Block it.

Amazon is vulnerable. Amazon struggles with many items like fashion. Amazon's pricing is not always the best.

I buy a lot of things from Amazon. I still think Amazon is flavor-of-the-month right now. The industry is so young.

(01-02-2018 09:58 PM)hawghiggs Wrote:  If Amazon wanted buildings. Then why didn't they buy Kmart/Sears? They could acquire them on a cheap stock buy.

Not sure how that would go but Sears and them have gotten real cozy in the last year with appliance sales via the Kenmore brand. A lot of Sears folks wonder how our store brand can get stocked at Amazon instead of our actual stores.

What I am guessing Amazon wants to do is to get into the real appliance business but doesn't have the delivery and home instillation networking to pull it off so they are putting out feelers with Sears to make something happen on that end.


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Target and Amazon working together? I don't see how that helps Target.


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I don't think Amazon is really beating others on prices anymore either. They used to be guaranteed cheaper on movies and what not over other retailers--especially for box sets and the like... now they are the same prices.

They got done with being a loss leader on some stuff and are not a general retailer parlaying that Prime stuff for a hook to keep people on.

So does this mean men will be able to use the little girls restrooms at Amazon soon?

I don't think Amazon would get regulatory approval to purchase target. I've already seen speculation that Amazon may be hedging their bets with hq2 in the event they are split into two companies by regulators.

(01-02-2018 09:58 PM)hawghiggs Wrote:  If Amazon wanted buildings. Then why didn't they buy Kmart/Sears? They could acquire them on a cheap stock buy.

K-mart and Sears failed for many reasons, but chief among them was location. Good sites become bad sites over time. K-mart falsely believed that they could remain a destination as neighborhoods around them declined. Instead of paying more rent over time they decided to leverage their anchor position in centers around the country to lower their rents. This led to a lack of cash flow for shopping center owners giving them no ability to reinvest in their properties to keep them modern and desirable.

Sam Walton took note of this. That's why Walmarts are more likely to be free standing and almost exclusively owned by the company, not rented. If a location starts to deteriorate they will eat the building cost and build a new store in a better location in the market. Even when you see a Walmart as a center anchor it is likely that they purchased their pad site and can leave when they want without being saddled with a 20 year lease.

Amazon wouldn't buy Kmart for this reason, they don't want dated stores, in declining (or dead) locations, in aging shopping centers. Target is much more like Walmart, maybe even better, with their locations and structure on real estate.

I'd be very surprised if Amazon purchases Target. They seem to have purchased Whole Foods because they were struggling to break into grocery, and I don't see them struggling to break into traditional retail.

While Amazon would have no financial concern buying Target, and it makes sense (in the same way Amazon could buy a bank, or a pharmacy, or an oil company to leverage more sales) I'd put the odds on Amazon buying Target at pretty low. But we'd all be stupid to think the M&A group at Amazon doesn't have a Target file.

Something more interesting to watch would be CVS buying Aetna and offering full health insurance and health care. And, CVS is the pharmacy provider for Target so you could see Targets with full medical clinics. See a doc, get your prescription, buy a Mossimo t-shirt.

(01-03-2018 09:28 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  I'd be very surprised if Amazon purchases Target. They seem to have purchased Whole Foods because they were struggling to break into grocery, and I don't see them struggling to break into traditional retail.

Cloths is an area where Amazon has struggled, and that's something Target does quite well.

Quote:While Amazon would have no financial concern buying Target, and it makes sense (in the same way Amazon could buy a bank, or a pharmacy, or an oil company to leverage more sales) I'd put the odds on Amazon buying Target at pretty low

.

Target has been struggling and could be had for a bargain, and you get a lot of stores in good locations. I would bet, if they do this, then they can do what Best Buy does and turn a portion of those stores into warehouses.

(01-03-2018 10:06 AM)Bull_Is_Back Wrote:  

(01-03-2018 09:28 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  I'd be very surprised if Amazon purchases Target. They seem to have purchased Whole Foods because they were struggling to break into grocery, and I don't see them struggling to break into traditional retail.

Cloths is an area where Amazon has struggled, and that's something Target does quite well.

Quote:While Amazon would have no financial concern buying Target, and it makes sense (in the same way Amazon could buy a bank, or a pharmacy, or an oil company to leverage more sales) I'd put the odds on Amazon buying Target at pretty low

.

Target has been struggling and could be had for a bargain, and you get a lot of stores in good locations. I would bet, if they do this, then they can do what Best Buy does and turn a portion of those stores into warehouses.

this is basically why JCI bought YRK ~11.5 yrs. ago....our local custom air handler mfg facility went from the pimple to the puss on the arse.....

now, that puss is clicking at 3 full shifts, 24/7/365.25 with over 250 shop employees.....it was around 125 when I left 10 yrs ago....

I still don't regret my decision to leave world.....

(01-03-2018 10:06 AM)Bull_Is_Back Wrote:  Target has been struggling and could be had for a bargain, and you get a lot of stores in good locations. I would bet, if they do this, then they can do what Best Buy does and turn a portion of those stores into warehouses.

Word on the street is that Target could be purchased for around $41B. Which is only 8% of Amazon's market cap, amazingly enough.

If anyone could do it (outside of some sort of more traditional retailer to retailer merger) then Amazon would be that party. Target storefronts remain middle-class high-end, back of the stores stock fidget spinners from China to ship. It could work.

Wonder how Minneapolis would turn out, as a town? Seattle doesn't seem terribly enthused with how Amazon has treated the city and the high Amazon salaries changed the housing market considerably to the worse for the lower and true middle class.

The high today in Minneapolis is 6 and the low is projected to be -11. It's tough for a logistics company to be based in a place where the planes are too frozen to move.

(01-03-2018 10:24 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  Wonder how Minneapolis would turn out, as a town? Seattle doesn't seem terribly enthused with how Amazon has treated the city and the high Amazon salaries changed the housing market considerably to the worse for the lower and true middle class.

Well it's important to remember that Target already gave Minneapolis the middle finger when they move to Brooklyn Center. By the way, I took an interview at their Corporate HQ and it's nice, put's Best Buy's to shame.

And the are where that HQ is already really pricey. I don't think this touches the cities themselves too much if Amazon buys Target and puts their second HQ either on or adjacent to Targets campus.

(01-03-2018 10:56 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  The high today in Minneapolis is 6 and the low is projected to be -11. It's tough for a logistics company to be based in a place where the planes are too frozen to move.

And the last time our airports were shut down for a hurricane, nor-easter, flooding, or earth quake was?

Can't say I'm thrilled with the -11 temperatures but the planes are flying out just fine today

The thing to consider is that our Airport was built out as the primary hub for Northwest and is now only a secondary for Delta and a Primary for Sun Country. The infrastructure is already in place.

The top 10 most whether delayed airports in the nation (2016):

10 - Philly
9 - Dallas Fort Worth
8 - Boston
7 - NY (JFK)
6 - Houston
5 - Denver
4 - NY (LGA)
3 - Chicago
2 - Newark
1 - San Fransico

https://weather.com/travel/commuter-cond...ts-us-2016

Meanwhile MSP is considered to be one of the most punctual airports in the country.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n...untry.html

(01-02-2018 10:03 PM)chess Wrote:  

(01-02-2018 09:58 PM)hawghiggs Wrote:  If Amazon wanted buildings. Then why didn't they buy Kmart/Sears? They could acquire them on a cheap stock buy.

Target is very much alive and has expertise. Sears/Kmart is walking dead. It isn't just about the real estate.

Amazon $$$ and logistics could turn KMart into a winner quickly...It would also give them 510 pharmacy locations. (they've wanted into Pharmacy for awhile now)

I would think Sears could use the cash from the sale too.

(01-03-2018 10:58 AM)Bull_Is_Back Wrote:  Well it's important to remember that Target already gave Minneapolis the middle finger when they move to Brooklyn Center.

Funny story about this, but I don't know 100% if it is true. Sounds probable.....

The SVP of Real Estate was sick and tired of her commute from the far north west suburbs (like St. Michael or something like that) to downtown, and it was her and only her pushing the idea of the BC campus. Certainly she got the buy-in at the end, but from what I heard it wasn't so much a middle finger to Mpls as it was a vanity project for a C-suite'r.

(01-03-2018 10:58 AM)Bull_Is_Back Wrote:  By the way, I took an interview at their Corporate HQ and it's nice, put's Best Buy's to shame.

I'm downtown at City Center about once a quarter. I'm always surprised at how non-corporate HQ their entrance is - like you are walking by a Sport's Authority on the Skyway then have to know that those glass doors lead to to the main HQ entrance. Most certainly done on purpose, I'd have to imagine.

(01-03-2018 10:58 AM)Bull_Is_Back Wrote:  And the are where that HQ is already really pricey. I don't think this touches the cities themselves too much if Amazon buys Target and puts their second HQ either on or adjacent to Targets campus.

Looking at Amazon's HQ requirements it seems BC is too far from the airport and from city "culture." I believe that downtown makes perfect sense and there is no lack of empty tower space. If Amazon went over towards US Bank Stadium there is no lack of buildable space. You could then even take LRT between the HQs.

If this happens, the sale prices of SMpls bungalows is going to make a lot of sellers very happy.