By Jeanine Poggi, TheStreet

 

Target (TGT) is following Starbucks (SBUX) by quietly shedding its name from its iconic bull's-eye logo.

 

The change comes as the discount retailer looks to make a foray into markets dominated by rival Wal-Mart (WMT). The company has been beefing up its grocery offerings, and in October it introduced its 5% loyalty program.

 

Target joins a list of retailers that have changed  their branding strategies this year, with mixed reaction. Retailers say they're trying to make themselves more identifiable in key international markets.

 

Last week Starbucks decided to remove the outer green ring that bears the Starbucks Coffee name from its logo, and it enlarged the mermaid in the company's signature green hue. The change goes into effect in March, when the coffee chain celebrates its 40th anniversary.

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"This new evolution of the logo does two things that are very important," Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said in a video on the company's website. "It embraces and respects our heritage and at the same time evolves us to a point where we feel it's more suitable to the future."

 

The original Starbucks logo was brown and was changed to green in 1987. The logo has gone through two other small changes since then. But now "the world has changed and Starbucks has changed," Schultz said.

 

Gap (GPS) attempted to change its logo in October but returned to its original version after significant backlash from consumers and marketing gurus.

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"Ultimately, we've learned just how much energy there is around our brand. All roads were leading us back to the blue box, so we've made the decision not to use the new logo on gap.com any further," Marka Hansen, the president of Gap Brand North America, said in a statement posted on the company's website.

 

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