Company Man asks 'Target - The Rise and Fall?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse for Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day

Happy Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day, when I usually tell a tale of the Retail Apocalypse. I'm continuing my tradition by sharing Company Man asking Target - The Rise and Fall?

One of the country's biggest retailers has been having issues. This video explores the recent struggles behind Target.

I couldn't resist this bar chart showing the top ten chains/companies by 2024 retail sales.


I've blogged about Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, and now Target. I've mentioned Costco, Home Depot, and Lowe's, but not Albertsons, until now. That's a company that does not operate under that name, or the other names I'm familiar with — Vons, Pavilions, and Jewel/Osco — in Michigan, so I haven't had an opportunity. On the other hand, Costco, Home Depot, and Lowe's are now on my to-do list, especially Costco.

There is also an AI summary.

Target's recent struggles are explored, examining the retailer's history from its 1960s origins to its current challenges. The video analyzes several contributing factors, including leadership changes and economic shifts impacting discretionary spending. A look at DEI initiatives and customer experience reveals further complexities in Target's current situation.

That's a good summary that reflects Company Man Mike's list closely.


Company Man has listed leadership as an issue three times before — four times if one includes the criminals running Crazy Eddie's — so I'm not surprised, but this example looks like the investors not having confidence more than Michael Fiddelke being an inherently bad choice. "Discretionary items" ties into tariffs and inflation, which have been an issue for other chains like At Home, Kohl's, Joann, and Claire's. None of the above are unique.

On the other hand, this 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.

Seeing customer satisfaction as reason number four reminds me of this graph that I embedded last year.

Costco treats its employees well while offering a great shopping experience, so I'm not surprised it's in first. My wife and I would shop there more often if it had a closer location and we ever needed to buy in bulk.

Or if we had a reason to boycott Target and Whole Foods, which happened this year.

That's enough about Target today. Stay tuned for Small Business Saturday.

*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.