Target to Add 26 Stores, 5,000 Jobs

(Updated with additional information regarding Target's underlying fundamentals and similar moves by competitors.)

MINNEAPOLIS (TheStreet) -- As other retailers shutter stores to cut costs, Target(TGT Quote) is going the other way, announcing today that it will open 26 new stores, creating 5,000 jobs in the process.

The stores are slated to open on Oct. 11. A majority of the new locations will be general merchandise stores with expanded food options, while five will be full-grocery SuperTarget stores.

But Target's move is not only inconsistent with the majority of the market -- as most retailers are trimming back store openings -- but also, arguably, with its own business.

Target was downgraded last week by UBS, which said it's image is tarnished.

According to UBS' research, the company has lost 14% of its shoppers over the last several years and 31% of those still shopping at the store are spending less.

In its second quarter, the company reported its eighth consecutive drop in quarterly profit and saw same-store sales sink 6.2%.

Target seems convinced, however, that improving trends in August are permanent. Same-store sales during the month dipped 2.9%, better than the 5.1% decline analysts' expected.

Monthly traffic was also flat, marking a meaningful improvement from second quarter trends.

Earlier in the month, Kohl's(KSS Quote) rolled out 37 new locations, creating 5,200 jobs -- but that company's move, in contrast to Target's, was in-line with its current outperformance in the department store sector.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York

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