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Goal CEO Brian Cornell is stepping down subsequent 12 months after over a decade on the helm because the embattled retailer undertakes a high-stakes turnaround effort aimed toward reigniting progress and reversing sliding gross sales.
The Minneapolis-based firm’s board of administrators unanimously elected Michael Fiddelke, the corporate’s present chief working officer, to succeed Cornell and develop into a member of its Board of Administrators on Feb. 1, the corporate introduced Wednesday.
The information comes as Cornell, 66, wraps up the three-year dedication he made in 2022 to stay CEO. That 12 months, Goal’s board scrapped its necessary retirement age of 65, permitting him to remain on throughout a pivotal interval for the corporate because it labored to revive visitors and progress.
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Over the previous 20 years at Goal, Fiddelke, 49 years previous, has been credited with being instrumental in constructing most of the firm’s core strengths, holding management roles throughout merchandising, finance, operations and human sources. In his present place, Goal mentioned Fiddelke has overseen efforts that enabled exponential progress throughout the enterprise, together with investments to construct and scale the corporate’s shops, provide chain, digital capabilities and crew. He additionally spearheaded enterprise efforts to ship greater than $2 billion in efficiencies.
Brian Cornell, chief govt officer and chairman of Goal Corp., speaks throughout a Bloomberg Tv interview in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. (Sarah Blesener/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos / Getty Photos)
“It’s clear that Michael is the best chief to return Goal to progress, refocus and speed up the corporate’s technique, and reestablish Goal’s place as a pacesetter within the extremely dynamic and fast-moving retail atmosphere,” Christine Leahy, lead impartial director of Goal’s Board of Administrators, mentioned.
Leahy mentioned Fiddelke’s tenure offers him unmatched enterprise perception and a basis of sturdy crew belief, noting that “what units him aside is how he combines these strengths with a ‘recent eyes’ mindset, difficult the established order to evolve how the
enterprise operates, differentiates and delivers long-term worth.”

Michael Fiddelke, Goal’s present chief working officer, will develop into Goal’s subsequent CEO, efficient February 1, 2026. (Goal)
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In its newest fiscal quater, the corporate reported $25.2 billion in gross sales, down slightly below 1% from a 12 months in the past. The corporate blamed the dip on buyers pulling again on merchandise, although that was partly balanced out by stronger non-merchandise gross sales, like providers. Gross sales at shops open not less than a 12 months fell almost 2%, with in-store gross sales dropping greater than 3%. On-line gross sales, nonetheless, grew a little bit over 4%. General, revenue for the quarter got here in at $1.3 billion, which was down about 19% from final 12 months.
The corporate had already warned earlier this 12 months that there could be year-over-year revenue strain in its first quarter relative to the rest of the 12 months, due partially to tariff uncertainty.

Purchasing carts exterior a Goal retailer in Albany, California, US, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos / Getty Photos)
To attempt to get again to long-term worthwhile progress, the corporate introduced in Might that it had developed a brand new multi-year progress initiative, referred to as Enterprise Acceleration Workplace, and made modifications to its govt suite.
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The Enterprise Acceleration Workplace initiative will particularly assist the corporate function extra nimbly, “creating circumstances for pace, adaptability, innovation and resilience,” Cornell mentioned.
Ticker | Safety | Final | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
TGT | TARGET CORP. | 105.38 | +0.42 | +0.40% |
Goal is sustaining its expectation of a low-single digit decline in gross sales for fiscal 2025, down from its earlier forecast of web gross sales progress of about 1%. It expects adjusted earnings per share to be roughly $7 to $9 for fiscal 2025, down from its prior expectation of $8.80 to $9.80.