Tags: target | ceo | earnings

Target CEO Steps Down Due to DEI, Sales Decline

Target CEO Steps Down Due to DEI, Sales Decline
A Target store in Harlem, New York. (Anthony Behar/AP)

By    |   Wednesday, 20 August 2025 01:37 PM EDT

Target CEO Brian Cornell is stepping down at the beginning of 2026 amid declining sales and market valuation, MSN reports. Cornell is being replaced by Target Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke, who started as an intern at Target 20 years ago.

Target’s sales have been struggling since the COVID pandemic and its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives led to boycotts by conservatives.

“This is an internal appointment that does not necessarily remedy the problems of entrenched groupthink and the inward-looking mindset that have plagued Target for years,” GlobalData Retail analyst Neil Saunders said in a client note Wednesday. “Target, which used to be very attuned to consumer demand, has lost its grip on delivering for the American shopper.”

For the quarter ended August 2, Target reported a 21% drop in net income. The company has seen stagnant or declining comparable sales in eight of the last 10 quarters.

Target’s comparable sales are down 3.8% year-to-date in 2025, following flat comparable sales, up just 0.1%, in 2024, and a 3.7% decline in sales in 2023.

Amid conservatives’ anti-DEI Target boycotts in 2023 — followed by counter-protests in 2024 by African-American religious leaders when Target subsequently rolled back its DEI — Target’s market valuation has declined by $27 billion.

Some analysts say Walmart and TJ Maxx are beating out Target on price. Target’s challenges have also included merchandise missteps, retail crime, and inventory management issues.

"My number one goal is to get us back to growth," Fiddelke said during an earnings call Wednesday. Target reported a 1.9% decline in comparable store sales, smaller than analysts' expectations of a 3% drop.

Fiddelke, 49, who will assume the CEO position on Feb. 1, 2026, said his three priorities are to improve the quality of merchandise, value and style that Target offers; ensure a more consistent shopper experience; and to embed more advanced technology in all parts of its business.

"We need to move faster, much faster," he said.

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StreetTalk
Target CEO Brian Cornell is stepping down at the beginning of 2026 amid declining sales and market valuation, MSN reports.
target, ceo, earnings
323
2025-37-20
Wednesday, 20 August 2025 01:37 PM
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