Softer than expected sales trends prompted Target to lower its first quarter earnings outlook Tuesday morning.

Scott Kennedy was named president of Target financial and retail service to replace long time finance executive Terry Scully.

Target is planning a rollout in Canada that will be bigger than any single year's worth of its store openings in the United States ever, executives of the company said Wednesday morning in a call with Wall Street analysts to discuss the mass merchandise retailer's fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results.

Start-up expenses and other costs related to its Canadian entry reduced Target's earnings per share for the fourth quarter by approximately 18 cents.

Target salvaged its fourth quarter with a 3.1% increase in January same store sales that followed disappointing results in December and November.

Weaker than expected December sales at Target will cause fourth quarter profits to come in at the low end of an earlier forecast, the company said.

A worse than expected 1% decline in November same store sales indicates the holiday season is off to a slow start at Target.

A 2.4% same-store sales increase during October was toward the low end of Target’s expectations, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the company from achieving its guidance for the third quarter.

Target’s senior executive ranks are filled with women, but don’t look for any of them on Fortune’s recent listing of the 50 most powerful women.

A 4.2% increase in August same store sales at Target was at the high end of the company’s forecast range.

Target’s second-quarter sales increased 3.5% to $16.5 billion and the company’s profits grew 2.9% to $1.06 per share, five cents better than analysts expected.

July same-store sales at Target increased 3.1%, inline with the company’s guidance.