Ugh Canada!
Target Corp. CEO Gregg Steinhafel briefed analysts Wednesday on the progress of Target's expansion into Canada, saying "initial sales have fallen well short of expectations." But Target remains confident it will hit longer-term goals of $6 billion in annual sales by 2017.
Wells Fargo analyst Matt Nemer called Target's Canada business "a work in progress."
"Both the store tour and management commentary indicated that not only has the market launch performed well below plan, but the company has a lot on its plate to right the ship," he wrote. Yet Nemer has kept his "outperform'' rating on Target's stock, though he has lowered his earnings estimates.
proto labs Exit
Proto Labs CEO Brad Cleveland announced his planned retirement on the company's third-quarter earnings conference call with analysts. Cleveland categorized himself as an "organizer" CEO and says its time for a "builder" CEO to take the company past $200 million in sales. Analyst Brian Drab of William Blair offered his congratulations and said he admired Cleveland's plan in the next phase of his life to give back to the community. "One of the things that they always said when I was in business school is that you learn, earn and return," Drab said.
PATRICK KENNEDY
