Dive Brief:

• Target announced Thursday that Michael Fiddelke is the retailer’s new chief operating officer. Fiddelke will start the position on Feb. 4. Target also announced new merchandising team leadership to account for the “size, scale and complexity” of its operations, according to a company press release.
• Fiddelke joined Target in 2003 as an intern. During his tenure, Fiddelke has served in various leadership roles at the company in merchandising, operations and human resources. He has served as chief financial officer since late 2019 and will hold both roles until a replacement CFO is hired.
• On the merchandising side, Rick Gomez, the company’s chief food and beverage officer, will expand his purview to include Target’s frequency categories as chief food, essentials and beauty officer. Chief Merchandising Officer Jill Sando will oversee discretionary categories as chief merchandising officer of apparel and accessories, home and hardlines.

Dive Insight:

Fiddelke succeeds COO John Mulligan. The retailer announced Mulligan’s departure last fall.

“Operations are at the heart of how we serve our guests, and I'm looking forward to spending even more time with our team members in the field as we build for the future,” Fiddelke said in an announcement.

In his new role, Fiddelke will oversee nearly 2,000 stores, the company’s global supply chain network and fulfillment services, including same-day delivery. He will also lead the teams responsible for building and remodeling Target’s stores and other facilities, the retailer said.

"With his 20 years with the company, spanning roles across our business and most recently as our chief financial officer, Michael brings a diverse set of experiences and an end-to-end view of our business that will benefit Target and our continued growth well into the future,” CEO Brian Cornell said in an announcement.

During the company’s Q3 earnings call, Cornell said its drive-up service represents over $7 billion in annual sales for Target. The company said same-day services grew more than 8% in the quarter and drive-up saw 12% growth. Overall, Target’s Q3 revenue was $25.4 billion, down 4.2% year over year. As CFO, Fiddelke said during the last earnings call that operations generated more than $5.3 billion in cash through the first three quarters of 2023. That’s up from about $550 million for the same period in 2022.

In a separate blog post on his appointment, Fiddelke said the operations teams are involved with “everything we do on behalf of our guests.”

“We can dream up anything and put it in a PowerPoint, but what matters is what happens when someone interacts with Target. The operations team is front and center on delivering so much of that,” Fiddelke said.

Gomez joined Target in 2013 and was named to the company's leadership team in 2017. Sando joined the company in 1997 and joined the leadership team in 2020. They will both continue reporting to Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington.

Target also said this week that Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Don Liu will retire. Liu has been with the company since 2016. He also serves as the corporate secretary. Once a successor is named, Liu will stay on with the company as a strategic adviser until next year.

"Don has played a critical role as a member of our leadership team and a trusted advisor to many across the organization,” Cornell said. “We appreciate his support as we identify his successor and look forward to celebrating him as he nears his official retirement.”