Target represents the mid-GPI retailer that built its brand on being faster and more stylish than Walmart, but allowed organizational complexity to erode that advantage. Growth creates complexity, complexity slows response, and eventually the only visible lever is headcount reduction.
Too many layers and overlapping work slowed decisions per CEO diagnosis. Managers cut 3x harder than ICs.
Using layoffs as blunt error correction. 18 months of paralysis before action.
Store Companion GenAI and ChatGPT Enterprise pushing knowledge out, but corporate silos persist.
2,000 stores create rigidity, but stores-as-hubs strategy provides omnichannel flexibility.
Fiddelke 22-year intern-to-CEO shows mobility possible. Glassdoor 3.4/5 shows favoritism complaints.
$5B annual capex, 2,000 stores, stock down 50%+ from all-time high.
AI investments accelerating flow, but 18 months struggling with obvious problems.
"The complexity we have created over time has been holding us back. Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions."
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