Target: A Chink in the Armor?

Target Corporation has long been a Wall Street darling. Thanks to innovative branding and the creation of a distinct niche--upscale discounting--they've long been outperforming competitors thanks to higher margins. Recently, that trend has changed a bit. Some say it's due to the current economic situation that's forcing many to become more thrifty. Others say it's due to getting away from their customer focus.

Based upon a recent experience, I can't help but to wonder if it's at least partially due to the latter hypothesis. My fiancee and I registered there, and after her shower, we determined that we'd like to exchange an inexpensive Target brand nightstand for our guest room for the same exact one in a different color. The lack of a receipt--something that is common with gifts--proved to be a show stopper. And, supposedly, even managers can't make an exception despite this being a case of exchanging one unopened item for the same one in a different color.

So, I decided to write them on this issue. I got the standard copy-and-paste response regarding their return policy. So much for differentiating themselves from their primary "Goliath" competitor. It looks like we'll be hassling the gift giver, which should make for another unhappy customer. It's hard to believe that registries can't be leveraged to track such purchases. Luckily, I found another place with a more reasonable registry return policy. While I'll continue to patronize Target as I believe they do what they do well, if they're not careful, they could lose their competitive advantage thanks to inflexible corporate policies like this one.