Target to close

A Target Store in Commack is one of six underperforming rentals in five states that the retailer will close in February, the company said Monday.

The stores, including the location referred to Commack South at Henry St. 4, will close Feb. 2, the last day of Target's fiscal 2018 year, Minneapolis-based Target Corp. said.

About 140 full-and-part-time employees at the store, which has been open since 2002.

"The decision to close is always difficult. … Typically, it's been shown several years of decreasing profitability, "Target spokeswoman Jenna Reck said.

The other five closing stores are in Chicago – with two locations – and in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Memphis and Milwaukee.

After closing "rigorous evaluation," reck said.

In fiscal 2017, the retailer closed 13 stores, she said.

Target leases the 143,000-square-foot Commack South store building, which includes a CVS and Starbucks.

The closing location is in the South Shopping Center, including other stores including Costco, ShopRite, Marshalls and HomeGoods. A home goods seller, HomeSense, opened beside Target, in May.

Target employees in the South Commodity have been informed of the closing Monday, Reck said.

The two Targets closest to the closing are at 98 Veterans Memorial Hwy. in Commack, which is 3.5 miles away, and 160 N. Research Place in Central Islip, which is 7.7 miles away.

Target has 16 stores on Long Island.

A new small-format Target, 54,300 square feet, will open on Nov. 11 in Selden in Independence Plaza, near the intersection of Middle Country and Boyle Road, as planned, the retailer said.

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She Has Worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.