Target Forces Kmart To Surrender National Ad Campaign.

In response to a federal lawsuit brought last week by Target Corporation, Kmart Corporation has permanently removed from its stores all “Dare to Compare” price comparisons.

Kmart used in-store signs to compare Kmart’s prices to those at other retailers. Target’s suit charged Kmart with false advertising.

“False advertising hurts everyone and undermines consumer confidence,” said James T. Hale, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Target Corporation. “We are pleased that Kmart’s deceptive advertising campaign has stopped, but the real winner is the consumer.”

Target retained a leading market research firm to audit the “Dare to Compare” advertising. The audit found that 74 percent of Kmart’s advertised price comparisons were wrong. That is, 74 percent of the signs had at least one of the following errors:

— Kmart had its own price wrong;

— Kmart listed the wrong Target price; or

— Kmart made a comparison to a product that the competing Target store does not sell.

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