Target Drops "Express" and "City" Branding...

Between TargetExpress and CityTarget, the country’s No. 2 big box retailer appears to have the mini urban store market down. But when you operate three similarly named stores, there’s bound to be a bit of confusion, right? Apparently that’s the case for Target, which now plans to rebrand its smaller-format stores to simply "Target".

Consumerist reports that the retailer has announced it will drop the “Express” and “City” designation from its smaller stores’ names in favor of its traditional – and more widely recognized – moniker beginning in October.

While the company’s announcement doesn’t specify that the changes were made because of confusion regarding the smaller format stores’ names, a spokesperson tells the Star Tribune the rebranding is an effort to clarify that the mini stores are in fact real Target locations.

“It’s about a simplified experience for our guests,” Erika Winkels, a Target spokeswoman, said. “It also helps guests understand that you’re not only limited to what’s in the four walls of that store.”

When Target first began experimenting with the mini-store concept it said the locations would be about 15% of the size of a standard Target discount store, and fit into former urban grocery stores.