MINNEAPOLIS, MN
It’s a new boss for Target Canada. Out with the old and in with the new? This seems to be Target’s most recent game plan as the company announces a number of leadership changes in the U.S. and Canada that will further Target’s efforts to drive U.S. traffic and sales, and improve its Canadian operations and advance its ongoing digital transformation.
President of Target Canada, Tony Fisher, will depart the company as Mark Schindele, SVP, Merchandising Operations, assumes the role of President, Target Canada. In this position, Mark will report to Kathee Tesija, chief merchandising and supply chain officer, whose responsibilities include Target Canada, according to a press release.
Currently the company is revealing that the timing of these changes is unrelated to Target’s first quarter 2014 financial results, which it plans to announce at 7 a.m. CDT on May 21, 2014. Target’s stock was down (10:55 am PST) about $1.68 to $56.61 a 2.88% decrease from its opening price of $57.92 on May 20th following news of the announcement.
This most recent restructuring effort comes on the heels of the company’s announcement that CEO Gregg Steinhafel had resigned after 35 years with Target’s U.S. operations; another step Target has made to improve its image among consumers and shareholders following the data breach back in November 2013 .
Click here to read our previous story on Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel Resigning
U.S. leadership changes are in store as well as Target elevates three senior merchandising leaders and realigns the team to better leverage functional expertise to focus on driving improved performance. Trish Adams has been promoted to Executive VP, Apparel and Home; Jose Barra has been promoted to Executive VP, Essentials and Hardlines; while Keri Jones has been promoted to Executive VP, Merchandising Planning and Operations.
“Moving more quickly to bring bold, innovative ideas to the marketplace will help us connect with our guests in more meaningful ways. By realigning the merchandising team we can better leverage our senior-level leaders, be more agile and deliver for our guests with a greater sense of urgency,” said Tesija.
For Target Canada's new President, the company notes that Mark is a results-driven leader who brings 22 years of retail experience, including 15 years at Target, to the position. During his Target tenure, he has played an integral role in launching new store formats, including PFresh, CityTarget, and Target Express.
“We are grateful to Tony for leading Target's first international launch. One of our key priorities is improving performance in Canada more rapidly and we believe it is important to be aggressive. We have a committed team who is focused on delivering an outstanding shopping experience to our Canadian guests and getting our performance on track,” said John Mulligan, Target’s interim president and CEO. “Mark’s broad understanding of the retail industry and his record of leading global operations will help accelerate efforts to drive improvements across our Canadian business.”
In addition to Canada’s new President, Target will also be naming a non-executive chair in Canada to bring further strategic counsel and deep Canadian market expertise to the team. In this newly created advisory role, the non-executive chair will provide counsel and support to the president of Target Canada to ensure all strategies and tactics align with the Canadian marketplace.
“Target is committed to making more rapid progress in Canada and I am personally very excited about working alongside the team to improve operations and deliver a Target experience that will earn us the trust and loyalty of our Canadian guests,” said Schindele.
As Target continues to shuffle its executive deck, how will the cards fall? The company has been considering a new U.S. CEO, possibly from outside the company, a new strategy for the retailer. Stay tuned as we watch the new game plans align.
