零售业翘首以盼数月之久的消息终于在周三公布：塔吉特首席执行官布莱恩·康奈尔（Brian Cornell）在执掌公司11年后终于卸任，明年2月，公司运营总监迈克尔·费德尔克（Michael Fiddelke）将接任这一职位。
但该行业翘首以盼的另一则消息——塔吉特恢复销售额增长——仍需等待。塔吉特再次公布了疲软的季度财务业绩，可比销售额下滑1.9%，这家主打平价时尚的零售商重申，预计今年销售额将出现低个位数百分比下滑，这将是其销售额连续第三年下滑。
近年来，塔吉特的发展陷入停滞，而其主要竞争对手沃尔玛（Walmart）却一路高歌猛进——要知道，塔吉特曾在疫情期间实现爆发式增长，成功抢占大量市场份额。分析师指出，塔吉特已失去部分“魔力”：就在不久前，它凭借时尚平价的商品、整洁有趣的门店环境，以及周到的客户服务脱颖而出，从竞争对手（尤其是百货公司）手中夺走大量市场份额。
“曾对消费者需求极为敏锐的塔吉特，如今却难以满足美国消费者的需求。”GlobalData董事总经理尼尔·桑德斯（Neil Saunders）在研究报告中写道。塔吉特面临诸多问题：缺货情况再度出现（2014年康奈尔刚上任时，缺货便是困扰塔吉特的难题，后来得以解决）、结账时等待时间过长，以及桑德斯所说的门店环境愈发杂乱。此外，塔吉特在多元化、公平性与包容性议题上摇摆不定，也加剧了其困境。该零售商先是激怒保守派，面临抵制威胁；随后又因缩减相关举措，惹恼了众多消费者与员工。
据美国消费者新闻与商业频道（CNBC）报道，费德尔克于20年前加入塔吉特，先后担任首席财务官、首席运营官等职。周三与记者通话时，他承认了上述问题，并提出三大核心目标：在消费者心中重塑“塔吉特式魔力”、优化客户体验，以及更好地利用技术提升运营效率、削减成本。此外，他还需凝聚员工士气。《华尔街日报》近期报道称，塔吉特在6月开展的全公司调查显示，40%的员工对公司未来缺乏信心。
尽管49岁的费德尔克强调“深入了解塔吉特”的重要性，但其任命消息公布后，该公司股价在早盘交易中下跌10%。花旗（Citi）分析师保罗·莱朱兹（Paul Lejuez）表示，投资者原本“期待引入外部首席执行官”，以带来全新视角。与此同时，GlobalData的桑德斯也指出，塔吉特需要一位能够打破“群体思维”的首席执行官——他认为，这种思维模式已对公司创新形成阻碍。自四年前触及历史高点以来，塔吉特股价已累计下跌64%（同期沃尔玛股价涨幅超一倍）。
2014年上任的康奈尔将继续担任执行董事长。多年来，康奈尔成功推动塔吉特实现现代化转型：通过整合线上电商与线下门店，将塔吉特打造成电商巨头，升级门店设施，领导团队精准洞察消费者需求，推出Cat & Jack等一系列备受追捧的自有品牌。
在康奈尔的带领下，塔吉特还成功应对了疫情引发的动荡：营收从2019年的780亿美元攀升至2022年1091亿美元的峰值，但此后持续下滑（与此同时，沃尔玛、开市客（Costco）、亚马逊（Amazon）等竞争对手仍保持增长态势）。如今，如何让塔吉特重拾昔日“魔力”，已成为费德尔克亟待解决的难题。 （*）
译者：中慧言-王芳
零售业翘首以盼数月之久的消息终于在周三公布：塔吉特首席执行官布莱恩·康奈尔（Brian Cornell）在执掌公司11年后终于卸任，明年2月，公司运营总监迈克尔·费德尔克（Michael Fiddelke）将接任这一职位。
但该行业翘首以盼的另一则消息——塔吉特恢复销售额增长——仍需等待。塔吉特再次公布了疲软的季度财务业绩，可比销售额下滑1.9%，这家主打平价时尚的零售商重申，预计今年销售额将出现低个位数百分比下滑，这将是其销售额连续第三年下滑。
近年来，塔吉特的发展陷入停滞，而其主要竞争对手沃尔玛（Walmart）却一路高歌猛进——要知道，塔吉特曾在疫情期间实现爆发式增长，成功抢占大量市场份额。分析师指出，塔吉特已失去部分“魔力”：就在不久前，它凭借时尚平价的商品、整洁有趣的门店环境，以及周到的客户服务脱颖而出，从竞争对手（尤其是百货公司）手中夺走大量市场份额。
“曾对消费者需求极为敏锐的塔吉特，如今却难以满足美国消费者的需求。”GlobalData董事总经理尼尔·桑德斯（Neil Saunders）在研究报告中写道。塔吉特面临诸多问题：缺货情况再度出现（2014年康奈尔刚上任时，缺货便是困扰塔吉特的难题，后来得以解决）、结账时等待时间过长，以及桑德斯所说的门店环境愈发杂乱。此外，塔吉特在多元化、公平性与包容性议题上摇摆不定，也加剧了其困境。该零售商先是激怒保守派，面临抵制威胁；随后又因缩减相关举措，惹恼了众多消费者与员工。
据美国消费者新闻与商业频道（CNBC）报道，费德尔克于20年前加入塔吉特，先后担任首席财务官、首席运营官等职。周三与记者通话时，他承认了上述问题，并提出三大核心目标：在消费者心中重塑“塔吉特式魔力”、优化客户体验，以及更好地利用技术提升运营效率、削减成本。此外，他还需凝聚员工士气。《华尔街日报》近期报道称，塔吉特在6月开展的全公司调查显示，40%的员工对公司未来缺乏信心。
尽管49岁的费德尔克强调“深入了解塔吉特”的重要性，但其任命消息公布后，该公司股价在早盘交易中下跌10%。花旗（Citi）分析师保罗·莱朱兹（Paul Lejuez）表示，投资者原本“期待引入外部首席执行官”，以带来全新视角。与此同时，GlobalData的桑德斯也指出，塔吉特需要一位能够打破“群体思维”的首席执行官——他认为，这种思维模式已对公司创新形成阻碍。自四年前触及历史高点以来，塔吉特股价已累计下跌64%（同期沃尔玛股价涨幅超一倍）。
2014年上任的康奈尔将继续担任执行董事长。多年来，康奈尔成功推动塔吉特实现现代化转型：通过整合线上电商与线下门店，将塔吉特打造成电商巨头，升级门店设施，领导团队精准洞察消费者需求，推出Cat & Jack等一系列备受追捧的自有品牌。
在康奈尔的带领下，塔吉特还成功应对了疫情引发的动荡：营收从2019年的780亿美元攀升至2022年1091亿美元的峰值，但此后持续下滑（与此同时，沃尔玛、开市客（Costco）、亚马逊（Amazon）等竞争对手仍保持增长态势）。如今，如何让塔吉特重拾昔日“魔力”，已成为费德尔克亟待解决的难题。 （*）
译者：中慧言-王芳
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. Target reported yet another quarter of weak financial results, with comparable sales down 1.9%, and the cheap-chic retailer reaffirmed its expectation that sales will decline by a low single-digit percentage this year, projecting a third year in a row of declines.
In recent years, after a torrid run that included Target making massive market share gains during the pandemic, the retailer has stagnated even as archrival Walmart has soared. Analysts say that Target has lost some of its magic touch. That is, the hip but affordable merchandise; fun, well-kept stores; and attentive customer service that helped it stand out and steal a lot of market share from rivals, notably department stores, in the not too distant past.
“Target, which used to be very attuned to consumer demand, has lost its grip on delivering for the American shopper,” Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, wrote in a research note. 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 been overcome); long wait times at checkout 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.
Fiddelke, who started at Target two decades ago and went on to become finance chief and then COO, acknowledged those problems on a call with reporters on Wednesday, according to CNBC. He has three main goals: reestablish the “Tar-zhay” magic with customers, improve customer experience, and make better use of technology to make operations more efficient and less costly. He’ll also have to rally the troops: The Wall Street Journal recently reported that a companywide survey in June found that 40% of Target workers didn’t have confidence in its future.
Though Fiddelke, 49, extolled the value of knowing Target deeply, shares fell 10% in morning trading on the news of his appointment. Citi analyst Paul Lejuez said investors were “hoping for an external CEO” with fresh eyes. Meanwhile GlobalData’s Saunders said Target needs a CEO who can cut through the groupthink he says has impeded innovation. Target’s stock is down 64% since its all-time high four years ago. (During that time, Walmart shares have more than doubled.)
Cornell, who took the reins in 2014, will stay on as executive chairman. For a number of years, Cornell was wildly successful in modernizing Target by integrating its e-commerce with its physical stores to turn it into a massive online player, upgrading its stores and overseeing teams that always seemed to know what fun items shoppers might want, with launch after launch of wildly popular store brands like Cat & Jack.
Under Cornell, Target also successfully navigated the turmoil of the pandemic, with revenue rising from $78 billion in 2019 and peaking at $109.1 billion in 2022 before slipping ever since. (Meanwhile, Walmart, Costco, and Amazon continue to thrive.) It will be up to Fiddelke to figure out how to put the “zhay” back in Target.