Mapping and Animating Growth of Target Across United States

After I produced a map that shows the growth of Walmart, there were tons of comments that were along the lines of, “I would love to see this for insert company here.” I was happy to see the enthusiasm, but the hard part is getting the data for all store locations and opening dates.

Well, fortune was smiling on me last week, and I got a hold of data for Target opening dates and locations (thnx, Cole). So here it is – a map that shows the growth of Target from 1962 through 2008.

Target vs Walmart

You might guess that Target and Walmart expanded similarly (I did, at least), but you’d be wrong. Both started in Central United States, and both were officially founded in 1962 by two men who both owned stores under a different name before the Target and Walmart boom. However, besides more rapid growth, Walmart first expanded outwards from its home state before going country-wide while Target seems to have gone wherever opportunity knocked.. Well, here, watch for yourself.

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