Target Chief Puts Stores at Center of Retailer’s Universe

At a time when the industry continues to feel the pain of store closures and bankruptcies — and even as its digital sales grew 31 percent in the fourth quarter — Target Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Brian Cornell sounded as bullish as ever about physical retail. “The digital component is important, but at the end of the day the majority of guests go to stores,” Cornell told a room of retail analysts at Target’s annual meeting for the financial community. “The point of our investments is to put more team members on the sales floor. There’s new technology at their fingertips to improve service. It’s all about an elevated guest service and experience. We’re hiring experts and team members who are passionate.” Stores are key to reducing shipping and delivery costs, Cornell said, with shipping from stores resulting in cost savings of 40 percent. A 90 percent savings with a lower average unit cost is realized through drive-up pickup, where a customer alerts the local store that she’s on the way, and a sales associate puts the order in the trunk. “With our store base, our own brands and the investments we’ve made in service and fulfillment, we have lots of

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