The Red Kettle Effect?

I can't say why for sure, but maybe Target could've used some Red Kettles at its stores to help things along...hehe


NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Retail behemoth Wal-Mart hit its mark Thursday, reporting December same-store sales in line with Wall Street expectations while holiday sales at other retailers were mixed.
December sales at Wal-Mart (WMT: news, chart, profile) stores open longer than a year grew 3 percent, matching the Bentonville, Ark., company's forecasts, but down from the 4.3 percent growth in same-store sales in December 2003.
Wal-Mart said Thursday it doesn't see the pace picking up significantly in January, and forecast same-store sales growth of 2 to 4 percent for this month. Wal-Mart shares rose 1.4 percent to $54.05
Target Corp. (TGT: news, chart, profile) shares slid 5.4 percent to $48.50, after it said December same-store sales rose 5.1 percent. But it warned that fourth-quarter results would come in below the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call for earnings from continuing operations of 94 cents per share.