Smaller, 'Flexible-Format' Target Now Open in Tribeca

TRIBECA, NY — A new, smaller Target is opening Wednesday on Greenwich and Murray streets in Tribeca as part of Target's new strategy to open up stores catering to a younger demographic. The new store is 45,000 square feet and sits next to the Financial District and Battery Park. It's what Target is calling a "flexible-format" store, which is technically less than 40 percent the size of a usual Target.

This particular Target was put in a building that was supposed to be a Fairway Market grocery store but never opened. It will sell baby items, apartment and condo furniture and decorations, groceries, tech products, and much more of ... whatever you can usually find at Target. Its services include a CVS Pharmacy, Target Mobile and Order Pickup.

There are a few things that make this particular location special to the neighborhood, including a mural by native New York artist Timothy Goodman; and a Chobani Cafe that will serve "Mediterranean-inspired" food.

Target's Chief Executive Brian Cornell told the Wall Street Journal that with these smaller "flexible-format" stores, he is reaching out to younger shoppers who typically order their products online. Cornell wants people to come to new stores to pick up online orders "as opposed to getting that ugly sticker from UPS or FedEx that says, 'Oops I missed you,'" he said.

The first "flexible-format" Target opened in 2012, and Target opened 14 of them around the country between 2012 and 2015. Cornell said he plans to have around 60 small stores open in the U.S. by next year. Target will be opening another "flexible-format" store in the East Village, but likely not until 2018.

Photo credit: Mike Mozart/Wikimedia Commons/CC by 3.0