Target Closing Stores in 8 States as Underperformers Shuttered

Target is closing 11 underperforming stores across eight states, including one in its headquarters state of Minnesota and three in Michigan.

"The decision to close a Target store is only made after careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of a particular location. All eligible store team members are being offered the option to transfer to other Target stores. Team members who choose not to transfer will be offered a separation package," the retail giant wrote on its company blog Tuesday.

The stores, located in Minnesota, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, and Texas, will be shuttered by Feb. 1, 2015.

"In most cases, a store is closed as a result of seeing several years of decreasing profitability," a Target spokesperson wrote in an email to The Minneapolis StarTribune.

Time magazine reported that there are roughly 1,800 Target stores across the U.S., and that including the newly announced 11, the company has closed 19 stores in less than 12 months.

Target also hired new CEO Brian Cornell, a former CEO at Pepsi, to help the company rebound from its recent sales funk, as well as guide the company into a new era where credit card hacks threaten to steal millions of customers' data.

Earlier on Tuesday, Target announced that its struck a deal with 3-D printing company Shapeways to offer customers personalized charms, rings, and ornaments in various shapes for the holiday season.

Related Stories:

• Target's Troubles Go Deeper Than Data
  
• Target Hacking Mastermind Identified as 17-year-old Russian
  
• #AlexFromTarget, a Random Store Clerk, Made Famous by the Internet