"Both retailers' CEOs-Walmart's Doug McMillon and Target's Brian Cornell-started in 2014 and are leaving in February, handing their companies off to lieutenants who are company lifers. Target and Walmart have long duked it out for the U.S.'s budget-conscious shopper, with Target skewing a bit more to discretionary and "fun" items and Walmart to low-price staples. Though both chains thrived during the pandemic as people consolidated their shopping at fewer chains, Walmart pulled away from Target in 2022 and has never looked back."
"Walmart has become a tech and e-commerce powerhouse capable of holding its own against Amazon and positioned itself well for the AI era. Walmart shares have risen 300% under McMillon. In contrast, Target's shares are only up 60% under Cornell whose tenure was considered stellar before the retailer began struggling with merchandise misses, backlash to its diversity efforts and then backlash for abandoning those efforts, complaints about customer service, and supply chain problems that led to empty shelves."
Both Walmart and Target CEOs started in 2014 and will leave in February, handing leadership to company lifers. Target and Walmart serve budget-conscious shoppers, with Target emphasizing discretionary 'fun' items and Walmart focusing on low-price staples. Walmart pulled ahead in 2022 and built strong tech and e-commerce capabilities, with shares up 300% under McMillon. Target's shares rose about 60% under Cornell and later faced merchandise misses, diversity backlash and reversal, customer service complaints, and supply-chain problems that produced empty shelves. Target's comparable sales fell 2.7% last quarter while analysts expect a 3.8% U.S. comp sales gain at Walmart. One departing CEO will leave the board in 2026; the other will become executive chair overseeing his successor, Michael Fiddelke.
Read at Fortune
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