Target rebounds in third quarter on solid sales

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — Target reported a 3.1 percent gain in third-quarter profits to beat Wall Street expectations as its U.S. business rebounded from a massive data breach that occurred just before Christmas last year.

The results are encouraging as the discount retailer gears up for the holiday shopping season, a year after last year's data breach sent potential customers elsewhere.

It was a major factor in the ousting of CEO Gregg Steinhafel in May. Former PepsiCo executive Brian Cornell took over in August, but he is now tasked with keeping the momentum going and reclaiming the retailer's image as a purveyor of cheap chic fashions and home decor.

Cornell must also salvage Target's botched entry into Canada, which has been a big drag on profits.

FULL story at link.



FILE - In this July 23, 2014 file photo, Julie Wilkins helps her grandson, Griffin Brady, 3, put a box of crayons in a shopping cart while shopping for school supplies with her family at a Target store in Memphis, Tenn. Target reports quarterly financial results on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Brandon Dill, File)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141119/us-target-earns-623b19ae8a.html

[gvstn]

1. I guess my collective memory is about 8 months long.

I avoided Target for about 8 months after their breech and Albertson's for about the same period. They both got new card readers and I assume a new backend system for processing cards. Both stores are convenient to me and eventually I got tired of going somewhere else or making a stop at the ATM before shopping at them.

I still limit my debit card transactions to higher dollar amounts because I had my card replaced three times this past year due to breeches. Not sure what the last one was due to since my bank doesn't say exactly who compromised my data.