Target February sales comparison rises

Target Corp. said Thursday that February sales in stores open at least one year rose 2.4 percent as more customers came into stores and spent more money than a year ago.

Results beat Target's expectations of a flat to slight rise in the sales figure. Analysts had expected a 1 percent increase.

Food and household essentials remained the biggest sellers with furniture and apparel sales about flat with last year.

The Minneapolis company expects March sales in stores open at least one year to be up in the mid- to upper-single digits because of an earlier Easter.

Sales at stores open at least a year are a key measure of retailer performance because they measure growth at existing stores rather than from newly opened ones.

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