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Target

Jake Davis

Arizona State University

OGL 260

15 April 2021
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Target

Brian Cornell, the CEO of Target, joined in August of 2014 after 30+ years in

leadership positions in other retail and global consumer companies. According to

Corporate Target, “He previously served as a director for other global brands, including

The Home Depot and Polaris Industries” (“Corporate responsibility,” (n.d.), 2020).

Before coming over to target he worked as both a vendor and a competitor. Cornell

brings many different insights to the business.He has led the company into the 37th

position on the Fortune 500 list (Staff, 2020) . Target is dedicated to, “putting the needs

of people, communities and the planet at the heart of how we work today, to help build a

better tomorrow” (“Corporate responsibility,” (n.d.), 2020).

The primary risk factors of the company can be broken down into three groups:

Infrastructure Risks, Reputational Risks, and Third Party Risks. If we look at the

environment that Target has made, we can see that they actively try to make the

shopping experience the best it possibly could be. According to the 2017 annual report

for ‌Target, “Our continued success is dependent on positive perceptions of Target

which, if eroded, could adversely affect our business and our relationships with our

guests and team members” (“Corporate responsibility,” (n.d.), 2020). One of the reasons

that people shop at target is because they understand that in order to grow they need to

provide an environment that people want to come back to.

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In chapter 12, section 1 of Foundations of Finance, it talks about business risks,

which refers to the possibility of a commercial business making inadequate profits due

to uncertainties (Keown, Martin, Petty, 2020, p.401). Since Target is so widespread, and

not always accessible they have an online version of the store. However, being online

opens them up to viruses and other security threats. They admitted in the 2017 report

that, “A significant disruption in our computer systems and our inability to adequately

maintain and update those systems could adversely affect our operations and our ability

to maintain guest confidence” (“Corporate responsibility,” (n.d.), 2020). To prevent any

security mishaps they must constantly work to update and upgrade their systems. Not

only does this affect online shoppers but it also affects accounting as well as import and

export. These distributors are just another potential risk taken by the company.

However in the 2017 report they explain the relationship between the company

and the third party partners. “We rely on third parties to support our business, including

portions of our technology development and support, our digital platforms and fulfillment

operations, credit and debit card transaction processing ... the infrastructure supporting

our guest contact centers, [and] aspects of our food offerings, and delivery services”

(“Corporate responsibility,” (n.d.), 2020). If Target was unable to contract the parties

needed to achieve the goals then the effects of that would be felt company wide.

However, some parties can have a positive effect such as when Target partnered up

with ‘Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy’, which aims to reinvent

the plastic retail bag (“Corporate responsibility,” (n.d.), 2020).

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Moving forward I would advise Target to continue to listen to their customers and

continue to have a positive outlook on the environment as well as society. Companies

now have surveys that you can fill out or they ask you to leave a review or they have a

loyalty program. No matter what they have it is important to note that it provides a way

for them to receive feedback for things that they can improve to increase customer

loyalty which, in turn, would increase their probability of returning to the store. Target

should also be aware of their risks and the difficulties they face in the industry, such as

security and privacy risks. The incredible part of Target is the people who support and

consume their products, which made them into such a well known company today. To

think that this multibillion dollar company in 37 out of 500.

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References

Corporate responsibility. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://corporate.

target.com/corporate-responsibility

Fortune 500, Target. (2021, April 10). Target: 2020 Fortune 500. Fortune.

https://fortune.com/company/target/fortune500/.

‌Keown, A. J., Martin, J. D., & Petty, J. W. (2020). Foundations of finance: The logic

and practice of financial management (10th ed). Harlow, Essex:Pearson