Facts you didn't know about Target

Over 1,800 stores in the U.S.

Target says there were 1,802 stores operating in the United States at the end of 2016, an increase of 10 in the calendar year.

Target on LI

According to Target's website, there are 15 retail locations on Long Island, with the two newest being smaller-scale stores that opened in 2016 in Elmont (illustrated above) and Freeport.

Target customers

According to Target, the median age of a Target shopper is 40, with a median income of approximately $64,000. Fifty-seven percent of Target shoppers have completed college, while 43 percent have children at home.

Eighth-largest retailer in the U.S.

According to the National Retail Federation, Target was the eighth-biggest retailer in 2016 in terms of sales, recording $69.495 billion in sales during that calendar year. Only Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Home Depot, CVS Health (which has locations in certain Target stores), Walgreens and Amazon.com sold more last year.

Target and CVS

In 2015, Target sold its pharmacy and clinic business to CVS Health for $1.6 billion, converting 1,660 in-store pharmacies into CVS pharmacies that operate as a store within a store.

Dayton's Department Store

Target got its beginnings when George D. Dayton, who was born in upstate New York, bought into Goodfellow's Dry Goods Company in Minneapolis in 1902. The store changed to Dayton's Dry Goods in 1903 and became Dayton's, a department store which served the Midwest until 2001.

First Target

Started as a discount chain version of Dayton's, the first Target opened in Roseville, Minn., in May 1962, with the chain adding two other Minnesota locations before the end of the year.

Bullseye logo

The chain's name was selected from 200 possible names for the store, with Target and the red bullseye logo emerging. According to Target, the reasoning behind the choice was, "As a marksman's goal is to hit the center bulls-eye, the new store would do much the same in terms of retail goods, services, commitment to the community, price, value and overall experience." The current version of the logo, above, was introduced in 1968.

First foray outside Minnesota

The first Target outside Minnesota opened in 1966 in Colorado in the Denver area.

SuperTarget

The first SuperTarget store, which included a grocery section with fresh produce, dairy and meat, opened in 1995 in Omaha, Neb.

Bullseye mascot

Target introduced its mascot, Bullseye, in 1999 in a television commercial. The dog proved to be a hit, and is used in the retailer's ads to this day.

Bullseye Inn

In 2004, Target made the then-Bull's Head Inn, just off Route 27 in Bridgehampton, a pop-up store called the Bullseye Inn, selling items for summer living for a few months before it reverted back to its original use after July 4. The location is now known as the Topping Rose House.

Target in Canada

In 2011, Target purchased the Zellers chain of stores in Canada, and reopened some of them as Target stores north of the border in 2013. However, the expansion didn't prove profitable, and the 133 Target stores in Canada were closed by April 2015.

Only one state without a Target

After opening stores in Alaska and Hawaii in 2009, there's only one U.S. state that doesn't currently have a Target store: Vermont.