Smallest Target ever coming near U of M

As retail competition has stiffened, Target Corp. has been opening smaller stores in urban settings. Case in point: the company will soon open its smallest store ever near the University of Minnesota.

Located at 1329 5th Street St., and at 20,000 square feet, the TargetExpress store will be about one sixth the size of a typical Target big box. The doors open July 23.

Spokeswoman Erika Winkels said the new store will help the company gain new insights about when, where and how customers want to be served.

"It's really focused on meeting urban guests' quick-trip wants and needs, including pharmacy, a larger selection of grab-and-go food and beverage options. And then an assortment of basics in home, mobile, portable electronics and other discretionary categories," she said.

Target will evaluate the new format to determine if it should be expand the number of small stores. In recent years the retailer has opened eight somewhat downsized CityTarget stores in Chicago, Los Angeles and other markets. Walmart has several hundred neighborhood stores of less than 40,000 square feet.