
If Target Corp. felt any sense of panicked urgency, the Minneapolis-based retailer sure isn't showing it.
Last week, Target said it would delay the sale of its credit card receivables business for a year, despite telling Wall Street for most of last year that it was "on track" to do so in December or January.
"Our desire to sell the portfolio on appropriate terms remains the same today as it was when discussions began, but we believe now is not the time to finalize a transaction," CFO Doug Scovanner said in a statement.
The company also just came off a lackluster holiday shopping season, including a weak December performance that forced it to reduce its fourth quarter profit forecast. But Target officials see no reason for to correct course, analysts say.
"While management is not pleased with the season, it is chalking it up to a promotional holiday and does not plan any major changes to marketing or price strategy," Daniel Binder, an analyst with Jefferies & Co., wrote in a research note.
There are two ways to look at Target's actions, or shall we say inactions.
The first is that Target knows what it's doing and will not base its strategies on the short-term whims of the stock market. That's certainly how the company sees itself.
The second perspective is that Target's lack of decisive action might come back to haunt the retailer.