• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, January 4, 2010

With the Christmas season safely behind it, Target Corp. has a decidedly new strategy for the post-holiday mop-up, and Costco better watch its back.

The Minneapolis-based Target says it is introducing a warehouse-club like promotion called the Great Save, a nationwide event with reduced prices on bulk-packaged items and designer brands, without membership fees or ID cards.

The sale is scheduled to run through Feb. 21, and represents a very different flavor from its usual markdowns. In a release, it says: "The Great Save is a way for Target to offer ... exceptional deals on everyday essentials ... and a treasure-hunt experience with a variety of exciting designer brands."

The company, which says the concept is a new interpretation of its "Expect More. Pay Less" positioning, will offer everything from paper towels and granola bars to T-shirts and bath towels, as well as designer brands Target doesn't usually stock at about 1,000 of its more than 1,700 stores. Products include household staples such as food, health and beauty products, in addition to home goods, apparel and electronics.

Target says it will promote the event with in-store signing, offering "hundreds of national and owned brand products at incredible prices."

Like most large retailers, the chain will not release its December sales numbers until later this week. But it looks as though the holiday period ended on an upbeat note for many chains: The International Council of Shopping Centers says its weekly sales index -- tracked in conjunction with Goldman Sachs -- gained 0.4% in the week ending Dec. 26, recovering from the prior week's big snowstorm. On a year-over-year basis, sales for the week gained 2.3%.