Target will close its Orange Park store that was a fixture near the intersection of Wells Road and Blanding Boulevard for 25 years, the company announced Friday.

The Super Target store on 1919 Wells Rd. is one of eight locations across the country the Minneapolis-based company will close after a "careful consideration of each location's financial performance," according to a news release.

"Typically, a store is closed as a result of seeing several years of decreasing profitability," Target spokeswoman Luz Varela said in an email.

The store, which employs 150 people, will close its doors on May 3. A company spokeswoman declined to say how many people will lose their jobs, but said that some employees will be eligible to transfer to nearby locations.

After a remodeling in 2002, the store became Northeast Florida's first Super Target, which combined a full-service grocery store with the traditional department store. The new concept replaced the original Target that opened 15 years earlier, as well as a Montgomery Ward that formerly occupied the site.

Target has other locations at Fleming Island, Oakleaf Town Center, Mandarin and Roosevelt Boulevard.

The company announced the closures alongside its fourth-quarter outlook, which anticipated a 2.5 percent decrease in sales compared to last year.

The company also will close stores in West Dundee, Ill.; Las Vegas; North Las Vegas, Nev.; Duluth, Ga.; Memphis, Tenn.; Middletown, Ohio; and Trotwood, Ohio.

Christopher Hong: (904) 359-4272