Target

Target added another brick to its virtual store. The big-box retailer on Tuesday agreed to buy the online beauty products portal DermStore.com for an undisclosed amount. It's the second acquisition Target's made this year to build up its e-commerce presence. In March, Target said it was buying Chefs Catalog, as well as some Cooking.com assets, to bolster its housewares business. And like those cooking purchases, DermStore won't move the needle regarding Target's 2013 results. Frankly, it isn't clear when they might will considering

shopkick, the iOS and Android app that lets users search for products, find out where they're sold, and then automatically get checked in at retail locations for discounts to buy them in-store, is making another move that widens its remit beyond simply driving more bricks-and-mortar business. The startup is launching in-app purchases, starting with 30 major stores that were already a part of shopkick's product aggregation platform, including Target, Macy's, Best Buy, Old Navy and Anthropologie.

Like real estate, retail has always been about location, location, location. But as the demographics of the American population continue to shift, retailers have placed more emphasis on targeting specific ethnic groups based on their location and spending patterns. As such, they must rely on advanced micro-geographic technology to get better insight into the prominent ethnicities of specific neighborhoods (both current and future projections) that they're targeting for stores nationwide. Having a better understanding of in-store consumers helps drive online purchases as well.

Three former Target employees are suing the nation's second-largest discount chain for discrimination and retaliation, citing alleged racial slurs from managers and a training document that included stereotypical portrayals of Hispanics. The lawsuit, filed recently in Northern California's Yolo County, says that workers who complained about the conditions at a distribution center in Woodland were fired. The complaint alleges that white managers regularly used racial epithets when speaking with Hispanic workers.

In advance of next Thursday's Retail Marketing Virtual Conference & Expo, I took the opportunity to interview one of the show's speakers, Richard Sexton, the founder and president of Carolina Rustica, an omnichannel retailer of high-end furniture and lighting. (Richard is also a member of Retail Online Integration's Editorial Advisory Board.) Richard will be hosting the "Showrooming: Your Secret Weapon for In-Store Sales" session. Here's a sneak peek into some of the issues that Richard will be addressing during the half-hour session:

The annual back-to-college marketing blitz will be kicked off on Monday by Target with a reality-themed digital campaign that lets online shoppers interact with YouTube personalities who are spending four days in dorm rooms filled with Target merchandise. It's Target's idea for something original this year to capture the rising amount of money parents and students are spending as they head off to college. 

Douglas J. Dayton, who served as the first president of Target department stores when his family's retailing company created the chain 61 years ago, has died. He was 88. He died on July 5 at his home in Wayzata, Minnesota, following a long battle with cancer, his wife, Wendy Dayton, said.

In 2012, Target ended the harmful practice of sandblasting denim and committed to increase its organic food selection, according to its newly released sustainability report. The discount department store chain said it will increase its organic food selection by 25 percent by the end of 2017 and is on track to meet its goal of offering a 100 percent sustainable seafood selection in its stores.

As other retailers struggle with slipping sales, branding problems and public relations controversies — or, in some cases, all three — an opportunity emerges for the once-venerable company. Brand strategist David Brier of DBD International shows how J.C. Penney can seize it.

Target and Macy's joined with 15 other retailers in suing Visa and MasterCard over credit card and debit card fees after dropping out of a multibillion dollar settlement of a similar case. The biggest U.S. payment card firms illegally restrained competition for interchange fees by setting default rates and imposing almost identical rules for accepting cards, the retailers said yesterday in a federal court complaint in New York.