Target readies for Sunday opening
Target Corp. unveiled its entry into the Uniontown area retail sector Tuesday night with an invitation-only event to its 120,000-square-foot store in South Union Township. Officially, the store will open its doors to the public at 8 a.m. Sunday – without fanfare, according to Keith Cohen, store manager.
“We won’t do anything spectacular. We like to open quietly,’ Cohen, a 12-year Target veteran, said.
However, visitors to the preview filled a large area of the parking lot during the five-hour event. Inside, dozens pushed shopping carts along spacious aisles filled with thousands of items ranging from electronics to housewares to clothing to dry and frozen food items.
“We have a very large dry and frozen foods section,’ Cohen said, adding it is bigger than those in standard Targets. It occupies about a quarter of the store’s selling space.
The store, Cohen added, employs about 150 people. While initial hiring is complete, Cohen said, “We are always hiring people. You have some who leave, some who find jobs elsewhere. So we are always looking for good people.’
Although he didn’t discuss specific wage levels, Cohen said employee benefits include a 401(k) savings plan, medical benefits and vacations.
“We like to make it a fun and friendly place, a great place to work. It’s not just a job,’ he said.
A general merchandise store, Target also features a Starbucks coffee shop, which has wireless Internet access, and a Pizza Hut restaurant in the front portion of the store. Target also has a pharmacy, photo lab and a layout that is geared toward helping people quickly and easily find the items they want to purchase.
In addition to a high-tech digital security system, the store also offers customers a series of customer service stations with phones shoppers can use to locate items.
Cohen, who opened Target’s West Mifflin store, came to Uniontown looking for a change.
A Peters Township resident, Cohen said the new store will draw customers from Uniontown and beyond.
“We are really looking at bringing customers from the region,’ he said.
Cohen also explained that Target has its customers while Wal-Mart, which is located just around the corner, “has its customers.
“When you look at our prices, you will see we offer some items less than they do. We will give you the same prices as Wal-Mart. It’s a misconception that we are more expensive than they are,’ he said.
“From a service standpoint, we make serving our guests a high priority,’ he said.
“We want to get the guest in and out as fast as we can so they don’t have to wait in line,’ he added.
The store hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Target stores are closed in observance of Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The store overlooks Cherry Tree Plaza and the Home Depot Plaza off Matthew Drive in South Union Township.
The Target project was announced in 2004. It sits on a 40-acre site developed by Widewaters Group Inc. of DeWitt, N.Y.
Target currently operates stores in the region in Morgantown, W.Va., Greensburg and Washington.
Target is general discount merchandise retailer providing items ranging from clothing to household goods to food. Target Corp. reported more than $50 billion in sales and about $2.4 billion in earnings for 2005.
Target Corp. operates Target Stores, a chain of large, general merchandise discount stores consisting of 1,418 locations in 47 states, as well as an on-line business called Target.com. The company has a goal of having 2,010 stores by the year 2010.