Brian Cornell will step down as Target CEO and Michael Fiddelke will replace him in February. Target reported comparable sales down 1.9% and reaffirmed a forecast of a low single-digit sales decline for the year, projecting a third consecutive year of sales decline. Target gained market share during the pandemic but has since stagnated while Walmart advanced. The retailer has lost elements of its prior appeal, including on-trend affordable merchandise, well-kept stores, and attentive service. Operational problems include resurging out-of-stocks, long checkout waits, and messy stores. Fluctuations on DEI policies provoked criticism from conservatives and from shoppers and employees. Fiddelke, a two-decade Target veteran and former finance chief and COO, acknowledged the problems and outlined three main goals to re-establish Target's strengths.
The news the retail industry has been anticipating for months was finally announced on Wednesday: Target CEO Brian Cornell is finally stepping down after 11 years at the helm and will be replaced by his operations chief Michael Fiddelke in February. But another piece of news the industry is looking for-Target returning to sales growth-will have to wait.
Those problems have included a resurgence of out-of-stocks, a problem that was plaguing Target when Cornell took the reins in 2014 but had licked, long wait times at check out registers, and what Saunders says are increasingly messy stores. Adding to Target's woes were its flip flops on the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) issue. The retailer attracted the ire of conservatives who threatened boycotts, but then angered many shoppers and employees when it curtailed some of its efforts.
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