Business Notes RETAILING

In a U.S. retail industry beset by sluggish sales, Dayton Hudson has been a - star performer. Profits of the Minneapolis-based company, whose 666 stores include Dayton's, Hudson's, Mervyn's and the Target discount chain, rose 43% last year, to a record $410 million. In its boldest expansion yet, the company said last week it would acquire Chicago-based Marshall Field's, a premier retailer, for $1.04 billion from London's B.A.T. Industries. B.A.T., which is battling a takeover attempt by Sir James Goldsmith, will use proceeds from the sale to buy back part of its stock.

Dayton Hudson's acquisition of the 138-year-old Marshall Field's, which earned $90 million before taxes in 1989, would create a new regional stronghold. Already the leading department-store operator in Minneapolis and Detroit, Dayton Hudson would become the largest in the Windy City as well by taking over Marshall Field's 24 stores, including 13 in the Chicago area.