Erik of Retail Archaeology asks 'What Is Going On At Target?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse

Change of plans — I'm postponing the next installment of my series on the News & Doc Emmy Awards until tomorrow for the Sunday entertainment feature, so stay tuned. In its place, I'm returning to Company Man asks 'Target - The Rise and Fall?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse for Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day with Erik of Retail Archaeology asking What Is Going On At Target?

In this episode of Retail Archaeology we take a look at Target.

I found the AI summary more informative.

Retail Archaeology explores the history of the Target Corporation, from its roots as the Dayton Company to modern retail shifts. The video examines store operations, grocery section changes, the partnership with CVS, and the evolving presence of boutique departments like Ulta Beauty within Target locations.

Erik actually did a better job at researching and presenting the history of the Dayton Company and its transition to Target Corporation than Company Man. I don't think I've ever seen Erik being a better historian than Company Man Mike before. I've also never seen him delve into politics as deeply as in this video, which the AI summary missed. I'm being a good environmentalist and recycling what I wrote on Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day for my reaction.

[T]his is the first time I've seen Company Man Mike list DEI initiatives, or rather their abandonment, as contributing to a company's problems. I'm not surprised, as my wife and I shifted our shopping from Target to Costco because the former abandoned DEI. We did the same for Amazon: "My wife and I have decided to cut back on our Amazon purchases and will re-evaluate our Amazon Prime membership when it expires this summer. Jeff Bezos rolling over for Hoover Cleveland pissed us off."* Our disappointment extended to Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon. Target should have realized that knuckling under to Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump would have had a major effect because of their customer base, the people like me who call the company "Tar-zhey" and declare "between Walmart and KMart, I shop at Target." Now I'm shopping at none of them.
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*This is the mirror image of "Losing Identity, Alienating Core Customers, [and] Negative Publicity" in Company Man wonders 'Cracker Barrel - The Rise and Fall?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse and consumer pressure, all of which upset conservatives.

Erik agrees that Target made a dumb move by abandoning DEI. He also passed along that the boycott seems to be winding down because of the new CEO. Good. I've only shopped at Target once since Black Friday. That was because my wife was unable to physically shop at Costco for three months and she has the membership card, so I went there when I was in the neighborhood. Listening to Erik listing the lost sales revenue and stock value makes me think that Target has been punished enough and has learned its lesson. I certainly hope so.

Erik also mentioned the failure of Target Canada, which I referred to in Company Man explains 'Walmart - Why They're Hated' for Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day. I am still planning on writing about it, which connects to Bright Sun Films 'Bankrupt - Hudson's Bay Company,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse for Department Store Day through Zeller's. That's a topic for another day.