A new Target store destined for metro Atlanta will measure larger than two football fields.
After years of focusing on smaller-sized stores, the retailer is planning its biggest metro area store in more than a decade east of Atlanta, says the developer behind the project.
Atlanta-based Fuqua Development said it signed a lease with Target for a new store along I-20, about 35 miles east of downtown Atlanta.
Friday, the developer closed on its purchase of 20 acres of land at the Covington Town Center, a mixed-use development that includes Publix and national chain restaurants, along with housing and hotels.
The Target store will span 128,500 square feet, a company spokesperson confirmed, adding that “as we get closer to opening the store, we’ll have more specific details to share.”
Credit: sour
Credit: sour
Minneapolis-based Target already has several large stores dotting metro Atlanta, but they were built more than a decade ago, said Jeff Fuqua, principal of Fuqua Development. He developed some of them, such as the Target stores at Lindbergh Plaza and Edgewood Retail District.
But Target pivoted to opening small-format stores, or those under 50,000 square feet. The retailer had nine small-format stores in 2015 and grew to 147 by 2022, according to an analysis by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
Now, Target is shifting back to the bigger boxes, as it pursues a “stores-as-hubs” model where the locations double as fulfillment centers for digital orders.
Target said last year it would open 300 new stores over the next decade.
“Increasingly, these new locations will be full-size Targets, giving us the space and flexibility to offer the very best Target experience,” Michael Fiddelke, Target’s incoming CEO and chief operating officer, said in a March earnings call.
Target last month reinforced that promise, saying it was “leaning into larger footprints” with six new stores that top 125,000 square feet. Some will feature Apple and Disney shop-in-shops or expanded grocery sections.
The new stores come amid a bumpy time for Target, marked by slumping sales and customer boycotts surrounding its corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Target’s stock price has dropped more than 30% so far this year.
In August, Target announced CEO Brian Cornell will step down after 11 years and transition to executive board chair. Fiddelke was named the new CEO.
“I know we’re not realizing our full potential right now,” Fiddelke said during an earnings call in August. “I’m stepping into the role with a clear and urgent commitment to build new momentum in the business and get back to profitable growth.”
Fuqua Development is the developer behind The Battery Atlanta in Cobb County and several grocery-anchored shopping centers such as Decatur Crossing and Madison Yards.
Fuqua, the company’s principal, previously worked for The Sembler Co., leading the development of well-known shopping centers such as the Prado, Town Brookhaven, Lindbergh Plaza and Edgewood Retail District.
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