Makeover adds more foods, better visibility at Coral Ridge Target

A makeover of the Target store at Coral Ridge Mall will mean more food offerings and a better shopping experience for customers, according to the company.

Set for completion in March, the project includes an expanded food layout and improvements in the beauty, home, electronics and shoe departments, according to Antoine La Framboise, a spokesman for Minneapolis-based Target.

Changes to the food department will include more fresh fruit and produce, and a limited assortment of fresh-packaged meat and prepackaged baked goods, La Framboise said.

The store will have about 40 percent more food offerings. It was previously considered a general merchandise store, a category that did not feature produce or meat.

Target will upgrade its beauty department in the 132,000-square-foot store to give it more of a department store feel, La Framboise said, with brighter lighting and touchscreen displays with information to help shoppers learn more about the products available.

Shelving units will be lowered to bring merchandise down to eye level in the home department, electronics department and shoe department, La Framboise said. The company will also add some suspended lighting in the home department and more benches and mirrors to the shoe department.

A touchscreen display will quickly tell shoppers which gaming software titles are available in the electronics department, and the gaming software will be displayed on tethers instead of behind locked glass so that shoppers can see all the information and illustrations on the software cases.

Target piloted the new store format in 2008 and remodeled 350 stores to the new format in 2010. A total of 400 stores will be upgraded to the new format in 2011, La Framboise said.

New renovation procedures developed by Target enable it to make the transformation without closing the stores, La Framboise said.