In 1990, the former Dayton Hudson (now Target) bought Marshall Field's, the Chicago-based department store. A year ago, Dayton and Hudson were dropped when the corporate name was changed from the Dayton Hudson to Target Corp., a reflection that the Target discount stores now accounted for about 80 percent of the corporation's sales.

``We're doing it to strengthen our brand and competitive position as a national department store,'' said Melissa Stark, a Target spokeswoman. Target says it wanted to develop a strong, national brand for its department store division, and of the three names, Marshall Field's clearly has the most national recognition, Stark said.

While Target has no intentions of expanding the department store chain to other markets -- it's primary focus is on expanding its Target chain -- one national brand will greatly enhance its e-commerce efforts, she said. Right now, Dayton's, Hudson's and Marshall Field's each has its own Internet site; by combining them into one, they will have a stronger identity and presence on the Internet, Stark said.