Doors swing open at Target in Moscow

Jessica Martin, of Clarkston, sat on a bench outside Moscow’s new Target on Tuesday just minutes before the store’s doors opened for the first time.

Martin, her husband and their three children were eating a late lunch at Qdoba at the Palouse Mall when they heard the new store, located just across the parking lot in the same shopping complex, would be open around 5 p.m.

The family decided to stick around and be among the first shoppers at the store.

Martin said she first gained appreciation for Target when she was a stay-at-home mom in Renton, Wash. — if one of her kids was having a bad day, she would load everyone up in the car and drive to Target.

“They would be distracted and I would like being there,” she said.

Martin was one of hundreds of people browsing the store’s aisles early Tuesday evening at the soft opening for the retailer, which was largely kept under wraps.

Many of them began filing in around 4 p.m. for an invitation-only event for employees and others, and then stayed to make purchases.

Cheers erupted from inside the 60,000-square-foot store around the time it opened. Customers began entering, some walking underneath an arch of red and white balloons with the store’s number, 3407, in gold balloons above it.

The shelves and racks were filled with thousands of products such as men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, cosmetics, toiletries, cleaning supplies, toys, bedding, towels and even some Christmas decorations.

A food section in the back had items such as milk, bread, eggs, canned goods, beer and wine, along with some frozen foods and fresh fruits and vegetables.

A Starbucks and CVS Pharmacy operate within the Target at 2132 W. Pullman Road that occupies 40,000 square feet where a Macy’s store once operated, and a 20,000-square-foot addition on the shopping center’s west side.

The arrival of the Target store culminates an effort that started about 30 years ago, involving Moscow’s chamber of commerce, real estate professionals and community leaders, said Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert, who was at the invitation-only event.

“It’s a neat store,” he said. “It’s very nice it’s here.”

The Target is helping diversify Moscow’s retail sector and fill the gap Macy’s left when it closed in 2016, Lambert said.

Lambert isn’t the only Moscow resident who welcomed Target, said Joseph Bodman, the store’s director, who was previously an executive team leader at a Spokane Target.

He and other store employees were approached multiple times by Target fans asking questions about the store.

“It’s going to be busy, and we’re thrilled,” he said.

The staff of just more than 100 employees began working in the store four weeks ago. The check lanes had been installed as well as skeletons of shelves when they started, but they had to assemble the contents of 120 pallets, Bodman said.

“They were so resilient,” he said.

One of the store’s employees who helped get the Target ready is Dani Hodgson, a University of Idaho student who lives in Moscow. She bought a sweater Tuesday.

The job at Target is a good fit for her for a number of reasons, including the fact that the store’s management is willing to work around her class schedule, she said.

The store’s debut is happening at a time when Target Corp. is thriving. The Minneapolis-based company has more than 1,900 stores in the United States, according to its website.

Its net earnings were $3.91 billion in the first six months of 2021, compared with $1.97 billion for the same time last year, according to its second quarter earnings report.

“Even after unprecedented growth over the last two years, we see much more opportunity ahead of us, and we’re leaning into opportunities to invest in the long-term growth and resiliency of our business,” said Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO of Target in the earnings report.

“Our team and operating model can seamlessly adapt to changes in the environment,” he said.

The Moscow Target will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.