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Target’s industry can be best described as discount variety retailing. Its main competitor is Wal-Mart, which leads the industry in terms of size and sales. The competitive rivalry is very high. In United States, there are several discount department beside target and Walmart stores which sell the same or very similar products such as Costco, Kmart as well as dollar stores. Target competes directly against them. Because Target and these companies have similar portions of market share, each company wants to become the market leader, and as a result, competition get higher. Several factors contribute to intense rivalry in this industry. Due to Target’s broad product mix, many sellers sell similar or identical items. Although the big discount retailers are few in number, there is no collusion. Wal-Mart, the industry leader, is known for its aggressive price competition and low operating costs relative to other retailers. Buyers have little to no cost of switching from one competitor to the other. Firms can adjust their prices quickly, and these prices are often advertised so they are easily observable. It is relatively easy for customers to shop around for the best price. Target’s strategy has been to position itself as a higher- quality, fun and chic alternative to discount stores. Rather than compete strictly on price, Target focuses on competing on value. this strategy has helped Target cultivate its unique brand image and build customer loyalty . However, Wal-Mart has begun to show signs of upgrading its quality. Target seeks to differentiate the Target shopping experience overall from Wal-Mart by offering higher quality, stylish products. In the other hand, some of target products and other food items are difficult to differentiate. In this case Target does its best to price competitively on similar items but is usually slightly higher than Wal-Mart prices.

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