Target Announces Plans To Close 13 Stores: Report

Target announced that it plans to close 13 stores in the United States on Jan. 30, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The planned closings are a result of the stores’ individual performance, unrelated to Target’s overall performance, according to a spokeswoman for the retailer.

The popular retailer laid off 2,500 workers earlier this year as part of a $2 billion, two-year cost savings plan and also ceased a major expansion into Canada, which reportedly cost the company $7 billion. Aiming to compete with Walmart and Amazon.com, Target had also announced that it would discharge $1 billion into its e-commerce, Fortune reported.

The company suffered after a massive credit-card breach before Christmas 2013, which made some customers fearful of using their credit cards at the retailer. However, in August this year the store reported a 2.4 percent increase in comparable sales for the second quarter, besting rival mega-chains like Walmart and Macy's.

Other popular retailers that announced store closing this year include Macy’s, which said it would close 40 stores, and J.C. Penney.