- During November and December combined, total sales increased
2.8 percent, comparable sales increased 2.0 percent and digital
sales grew nearly 9 percent over the prior year
- Guest traffic increased nearly 3 percent over last year,
reflecting growth in both stores and digital channels
- Discretionary categories, most notably apparel and toys, saw
a meaningful sales acceleration when compared with Q3 sales
trends
- Both the Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotional periods
saw record-high sales
- The company announced executive leader retirements and named
successors across its stores, technology and digital teams, further
positioning Target to meet long-term goals
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 16,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Target Corporation (NYSE:
TGT) today announced an update on its holiday sales performance for
the combined November and December period, along with a number of
changes across its leadership team to position Target for success
in 2025 and beyond.
Total sales during the two holiday months grew 2.8 percent over
last year, reflecting a comparable sales increase of 2 percent and
record-high sales during both the Black Friday and Cyber Monday
promotional periods. Sales were driven by a nearly 3 percent
increase in traffic, representing gains across both stores and
digital channels. December marked the company's eighth consecutive
month of year-over-year traffic growth.
During November and December combined, digital sales grew nearly
9 percent over last year, reflecting more than 30 percent growth in
same-day delivery powered by Target Circle 360TM. In
addition, the company saw nearly 50 percent growth in Target Plus,
the company's third-party marketplace. More than 97 percent of the
company's sales were fulfilled by stores.
Compared with its third quarter sales trends, the company saw a
meaningful acceleration in discretionary categories during the
holiday timeframe, most notably in apparel and toys, and saw
continued strength in beauty and frequency categories.
"Our team delivered continued traffic growth and
better-than-expected holiday-season performance, thanks to their
focus on serving guests with an inspiring, easy, and joyous
shopping experience," said Brian
Cornell, chair and chief executive officer, Target.
"With an unmatched combination of quality and value, on-trend
assortments and a seamless shopping experience, our team continues
to make Target a destination for consumers, both during important
seasonal moments like the holidays and in the everyday moments in
between."
Guidance
The company now expects growth of approximately 1.5 percent in
its fourth quarter comparable sales and continues to expect fourth
quarter GAAP and Adjusted earnings per share1 (EPS) of
$1.85 to $2.45 and full-year GAAP and Adjusted EPS of
$8.30 to $8.90.
1Adjusted EPS, a non-GAAP financial measure, excludes
the impact of certain discretely managed items, when applicable.
The most comparable GAAP measure is diluted earnings per share. See
the tables of the Company's 2024 third quarter earnings press
release for applicable reconciliations, available at
corporate.target.com.
Leadership team changes
Target shared a number of changes across its executive
leadership team that will further position the company to meet its
long-term goals.
Mark
Schindele, executive vice president and chief
stores officer, will be retiring after 25 years with Target. The
company announced Adrienne
Costanzo, senior vice president, store operations, as
its next chief stores officer.
Since joining the company in 1999, Schindele has served in
multiple roles spanning merchandising and operations. Over the past
five years as chief stores officer, he led the stores organization
through the pandemic and during the largest period of growth in the
company's history, improving retail fundamentals and the guest
experience. To support a smooth transition, Schindele will move
into a strategic advisor role Feb. 2
and retire effective March 29.
Costanzo will succeed Schindele as executive vice president,
chief stores officer. In this role, effective Feb. 2, she will lead more than 350,000 store
team members and oversee the operations of the company's nearly
2,000 locations across the United
States. Costanzo has more than 20 years of experience
leading teams and driving business results across Target's stores,
human resources and merchandising functions. She will report to
Michael Fiddelke, executive
vice president and chief operating officer, and join Target's
leadership team.
Also effective Feb. 2, the company
announced additional transitions to continue powering its strategic
priorities with proven leaders who bring considerable industry
experience to these new posts.
Brett Craig, executive
vice president and chief information officer, will retire after 15
years at Target. In addition to various positions in technology,
Craig held roles in merchandising and digital before leading the
technology team. With his departure, Prat Vemana, executive vice president, chief
digital and product officer, will take on the role of chief
information and product officer and remain on the leadership team.
This change will usher in new leadership to further strengthen the
role technology plays in Target's strategy, including the company's
operations.
Since joining Target in 2022, Vemana has redesigned the
company's digital platforms and capabilities, enhancing the digital
shopping experience and resulting in strong growth. As chief
information and product officer, Vemana will accelerate the
company's technology strategy with a focus on furthering the use of
automation, data and artificial intelligence to enhance the working
and shopping experience. In addition to overseeing Target's
technology roadmap, Vemana will continue to lead the company's user
experience strategy and enterprise product function to speed
development of technology solutions that deliver a fast, reliable
and inspiring experience for consumers and the Target team.
Sarah Travis, senior vice
president, Roundel and social commerce, will be promoted to
executive vice president and chief digital and revenue officer and
join the leadership team. Travis is an accomplished leader who has
significantly grown the retailer's in-house media company, Roundel,
putting it on pace to deliver nearly $2
billion in value to Target in fiscal 2024. Her new role
brings together the growing power of Target's ecommerce business
with other revenue drivers — including Roundel and the company's
social commerce efforts that inspire consumers to shop Target on
new platforms — to fuel each other's success and growth.
"These leadership updates will help us continue to deliver a
differentiated shopping experience every day across every channel,"
said Cornell. "I want to thank Mark and Brett for the notable
contributions they've made during their long tenures with the
company and wish them both well in their retirements. Adrienne,
Prat and Sarah all bring tremendous retail expertise to their roles
and Target's leadership team as we accelerate Target's
strategy."
Miscellaneous
Statements in this release regarding the company's long-term
goals, strategy and future financial performance, including its
fiscal 2024 fourth quarter and full-year guidance and value from
Roundel, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause the
company's results to differ materially. The most important risks
and uncertainties are described in Item 1A of the company's Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3,
2024. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
they are made, and the company does not undertake any obligation to
update any forward-looking statement.
About Target
Minneapolis-based Target
Corporation (NYSE: TGT) serves guests at nearly 2,000 stores and at
Target.com, with the purpose of helping all families
discover the joy of everyday life. Since 1946, Target has given 5%
of its profit to communities, which today equals millions of
dollars a week. Additional company information can be found by
visiting the corporate website and press
center.
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SOURCE Target Corporation