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Target (TGT) to Expand Apple Shop-in-Shops Ahead of Holidays

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The upcoming festive season is keeping retailers busy as they prepare themselves with expanded offerings, exciting deals and also extra manpower. Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) is also putting its best foot forward for the holiday season. Per latest developments, the company announced that it will expand Apple Inc.’s (AAPL - Free Report) footprint across its stores from 17 to 36. The move highlights the company’s effort to provide customers with greater accessibility to Apple’s much-acclaimed products during the festive season. Customers will be able to easily navigate through Target’s wide and robust range of electronic products through its updated Top Tech list.

More Apple Shop-in-Shops to Add Charm

Target prides in having a strong assortment of owned and national brands, making it one of the leading retail destinations for electronics and tech accessories. Just in time for the holiday season, it will expand the footprint of Apple at Target shop-in-shops. Customers can access the updated assortment of Apple products across select Target stores and online. This is likely to attract greater traffic as shopping for tech-related products and gadgets are popular during festive seasons.

The company is more than doubling the number of Apple at Target shop-in-shops. Shoppers will be able to buy products like the iPhone 13 Pro, iPad, Apple Watch Series, AirPods, HomePod, Apple TV and other Apple gadgets and accessories. The shop-in-shops will have an expanded floor space and will also be equipped with special tech consultants, trained by Apple. With this expansion, Target aims to become a one-stop destination for all Apple product-related needs.

Target’s strategic partnership with Apple has been standing for 15 years. Its latest initiative to expand Apple’s footprint follows a similar move undertaken earlier this year. With greater accessibility to Apple’s shop-in-shops — supported with efficient delivery and fulfillment services — Target will be able to elevate its offerings across stores. We note that the retailer has been successful at building on its strategic relations with partners like Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA - Free Report) , The Walt Disney Company (DIS - Free Report) and Levi Strauss & Co. among others.

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Bucking up For the Holiday Season

Target, like other retail biggies, has been undertaking measures to rake in greater revenues this holiday season. The company updated its Top Tech list with popular collections from brands like LG and Sony as well as top gaming brands like Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation. Its owned electronics brand, “heyday”, is introducing nearly 150 new and colorful on-trend products in stores and online at an incredible value.

Few weeks back, the company announced that it will reward hourly and seasonal team members with an additional $2 for each hour worked during peak moments through the holiday season. This is likely to encourage employees and provide them an extra boost to perform well this season. The company will provide five million more working hours to its existing store employees, which will result in an increase in pay by more than $75 million. The company had previously unveiled plans to recruit 100,000 seasonal team members across stores to support its current team.

Target has also come up with exciting holiday deals, featuring discounts on thousands of items across categories. The company is offering “Holiday Price Match Guarantee”, which will run through Dec 24, and is designed to give shoppers a sense of confidence that they are getting the best deals, regardless of when they shop. Consumers can also make use of RedCard savings of 5%. The company’s offerings, including electronic products, are eligible for same-day fulfillment services including Order Pickup, Drive Up and Same Day Delivery with Shipt. Eligible orders can also avail free delivery services.

Wrapping up, the company’s robust product assortments across a wide range of categories, prudent store offerings and growing omni-channel retailing capacity, steered by an effective workforce, are likely to keep it in good shape during the upcoming holiday season.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have gained 22% in the past six months compared with the industry’s rise of 8.4%.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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