Target to open two smaller-format stores in L.A.

Target Corp. is opening two smaller-format stores in Los Angeles, part of an expansion in urban markets across the country.

In recent years, the Minneapolis retailer and other big-box companies have expanded their offerings in urban locations, in an effort to serve city dwellers who previously had to drive to the suburbs in search of the firms’ bargains. By year’s end, Target plans to have opened nine urban-focused stores, compared with six traditional, big box locations.

“More and more folks are moving to urban centers,” Target spokeswoman Erika Winkels said. “It’s all about making sure that the Target experience is near and dear.”

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Locally, that means new stores in upcoming developments in Koreatown and near USC. And like other urban stores, including one in downtown Los Angeles, there will be an emphasis on smaller packs of toilet paper and other items, so goods are easier for people to carry on foot or public transportation.

The 25,000-square-foot USC-adjacent location, coming in July 2017 to the USC Village retail complex, will also have a focus on household items for dorms and apartments and sell USC clothing, in addition to groceries, tech products and more.

The 22,000-square-foot Koreatown location will have a baby and kids section because there is a need for it in the neighborhood, Winkels said. That store is scheduled to open in late 2017 or early 2018 on the bottom floor of a residential development off Virgil Avenue and 6th Street.

Target’s urban-oriented locations were previously known as CityTarget and TargetExpress, but the company is in the process of rebranding those locations as simply Target.

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