The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — Target Corp.'s bid to overhaul the company and better compete with Amazon.com Inc. and a resurgent Walmart Inc. is taking a toll on profit.
The retailer posted fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ estimates. Target also is spending more to deliver online orders — part of its push to catch up in e-commerce.
The results threatens to renew the debate over whether a $7 billion turnaround plan by Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell is coming at too high a price. While new brands and store remodels have helped revive the retailer’s “Tar-zhay” cachet, the investments are squeezing earnings. And the company has been further constrained in recent months by a wage hike in October.
The shares fell as much as 4.7 percent to $71.60 in premarket trading after the earnings report was released.
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The good news is Target’s sales are improving, helped by stronger traffic in stores and online. On a comparable basis, they grew 3.6 percent last quarter -- better than the 3.4 percent estimate. Profit came in at $1.37 a share during the period, excluding some items, a cent shy of Wall Street projections.
Target expects adjusted earnings of $5.15 to $5.45 a share this year, reiterating a forecast it delivered in January.
By Matthew Boyle; editors: Crayton Harrison and Nick Turner.
In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.
For fashion’s private market investors, deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry, reports The State of Fashion 2024.
A blockbuster public listing should clear the way for other brands to try their luck. That, plus LVMH results and what else to watch for in the coming week.
L Catterton, the private-equity firm with close ties to LVMH and Bernard Arnault that’s preparing to take Birkenstock public, has become an investment giant in the consumer-goods space, with stakes in companies selling everything from fashion to pet food to tacos.