Target is a household name in American retail. Target as we know it came into being around 1960, but its origins stretch back to 1902. Founder George D. Dayton established the Dayton Dry Goods Company.

Dayton wanted to create a store based on his principle belief in “the higher ground of stewardship.” The first store was officially established after Dayton purchased major stake in the Goodfellow’s Dry Goods Company, already the fourth-largest department store in Minneapolis, Minnesota, thus founding Dayton Dry Goods Company. Over its next five decades, Dayton’s company became very successful. The company began to see great potential in the discount market in the 1960s. By 1962, Target opened its first store. The red and white Target logo is still an iconic symbol today. Its signature bullseye represents the goal to hit the center o...