Target said yesterday it will reduce prices and cancel orders in order to reduce an excessive amount of inventory.
Retailers are finding that American pandemic-related spending habits are declining much faster than they had anticipated. Last month, Target reported its fiscal first quarter profit fell by 52% as compared to the same period last year.
According to The Associated Press, “Sales of big TVs and small kitchen appliances that Americans loaded up on during the pandemic have faded, leaving Target with a bloated inventory that it said must be marked down to sell.”
Target said it is planning for growth in areas such as groceries, household essentials and beauty products.
The retailer also plans to improve growth in its “upstream supply chain” by adding five distribution centers over the next two fiscal years.
Target gave no details on how deep the discounts would be or when it would occur.
But, Target, like other retailers is facing another challenge with the cost of fuel and transportation. Target said it will take “pricing actions to address the impact of unusually high transportation and fuel costs.”
Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO of Target said, “Target’s business continues to generate healthy increases in traffic and sales, despite sustained volatility in the macro environment, including shifting consumer buying patterns and rapidly changing operating conditions.
Since we reported our first quarter results, we have continued to monitor external conditions and have determined the necessary actions to remain nimble in the current environment.
The additional steps we are announcing today will ensure that we deliver for our guests while driving further growth.
While these decisions will result in additional costs in the second quarter, we’re confident this rapid response will pay off for our business and our shareholders over time, resulting in improved profitability in the second half of the year and beyond.”
RadioJared on June 8th, 2022 at 00:05 UTC »
Target team member here. Our prices have been inflating constantly for the past few months—sometimes multiple times in one week, it’s become almost impossible to keep up with price changes and everyday I run in to a customer saying “well the sign said X price” and you know I used to try to challenge it (I dunno, always in the back of my mind think it’s just someone trying to scam you) but now I’m like fuck it, what did it say? Cool bro. Let me change that price for you. And Target tells us to do this. Better to lose money on a sale than bother arguing with a customer over a few dollars and cents. Generally, we go by the “ten or ten” rule, for example if the price the customer claims it to be is either ten bucks or ten percent (for high value item) of what the register says it should be, we just say fuck it and give it to them for that price. And if it’s anything more than that you just call over a team lead (Target’s name for assistant managers) and odds are they will override it for you as long as it isn’t something stupidly cheap price for a high value item. Use this knowledge how you see fit.
educateyourself1 on June 7th, 2022 at 20:55 UTC »
So, prices for necessities are going up so we buy fewer non necessities. Seems logical.
the_missing_worker on June 7th, 2022 at 20:37 UTC »
Coming soon: Deceptive packaging which sells you substantially less actual product at an insignificantly lower price.