Target, the US discount retailer, on Tuesday disclosed an unexpected 4 per cent fall in quarterly earnings but remained upbeat about the prospects for the important holiday quarter.

Bob Ulrich, chief executive, insisted Target had “not observed any meaningful change in the intensity of the competitive environment”, though he conceded the third quarter had been “disappointing”. Target’s sanguine view of the forthcoming holiday contrasts with the bleak picture painted last week by JC Penney, whose customer-base overlaps with Target.