By Kavita Kumar
Star Tribune
Some analysts and shoppers say Target has lost some of its “Tar-zhay” magic. Mark Tritton doesn’t buy it.
“We haven’t lost anything,” said Tritton, who’s the ultimate decisionmaker on what products Target sells.
Legions of devoted shoppers for decades have adopted the Frenchified Tar-zhay nickname to reflect the elevated shopping experience the Minneapolis-based retailer created while still being a discount chain.
“How do we capitalize on that now and take it even further? It’s Tar-zhay plus or Tar-zhay squared,” said the newly crowned chief merchant.
What exactly that vision looks like remains to be seen.
For now, Tritton is calling it the “Target mojo” as he meets with vendors and his team to capture the spirit of innovation he wants to bring to merchandising and the shopping experience.
Tritton, a loquacious, exuberant man with thick dark-rimmed glasses and a big laugh, joined Target in June from Nordstrom.
He’s already seen plenty of examples of forward movement. He lavishes praise on Target’s new kids apparel line Cat &Jack, which replaces longtime in-house brands, Cherokee and Circo. He sees other private-label brands within Target that could be up total reinvention, too.
“How do we leverage that level of refresh and redefine on our overall portfolio,” he said. “I think there’s opportunity for that.”
He’s not yet ready to discuss what may be coming next, even a new women’s apparel line reportedly in the works.
“Uff da,” he said, laughing, when pressed for details. He had just learned the common Minnesota phrase the night before
Wendy Liebmann, chief executive of consulting firm WSL Strategic Retail, also sees a lot of room for Target to revamp its offerings, especially as other fast-fashion retailers such as H&M, Zara and Forever 21 are more quickly offering customers fashion trends.
“Target was always that perfect balance of need and want,” she said. “To me, that is really out of kilter right now.”
Tritton acknowledges he has his work cut out for him.
“It’s a really exciting time to join,” he said. “Lots to do — but no one’s saying that’s not the case. We’re very transparent about that.”
Last month, Target lowered its sales forecast for the year amid a troubling drop in store traffic. Executives think that is partly because they had not done a good enough job focusing on the second part of their “Expect More, Pay Less” brand promise. So now the company has been highlighting promotions in its ads and store displays, including a recent one-day sale with 10 percent off everything in the store and online.
Tritton also oversees one of Target’s biggest conundrums at the moment — its grocery department, which lacks clear positioning. The retailer is in the midst of a multiyear makeover of its food offerings, adding more organic and natural products. But so far, the changes have not led to the sales boost or traffic gain they desired.
CEO Brian Cornell has a deep background in groceries having previously worked at Sam’s Club and Safeway. But it’s not an area of expertise for Tritton, who, besides Nordstrom, previously worked at Nike and Timberland.
“If you’re a merchant, you’re a merchant,” Tritton said. “I’m doing a lot more listening than I am doing speaking in those spaces. For me, I’m putting together the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle so I can see the bigger picture.”
A native of Australia, Tritton moved his wife and three young kids to the U.S. in 2001 to take the Nike job.
“We sold the house, we sold everything we owned — cars, refrigerators — and moved to the other side of the world. And where did we go shopping first? Target,” he said. “It’s so weird, right? It’s like a bookend experience.”
Cornell invited him to visit Minneapolis a couple weeks later. Tritton came — and it snowed. A lot. His wife took videos of herself walking against the snow and wind downtown.
But it was sunny the other days. And one night, members of the leadership team and their partners took them out for drinks.
“You don’t look for a job, you look for a home,” he said. “And so for me, it was like I kind of found my peeps.”
The first couple months have been a whirlwind, Tritton said, adding that his team has been kind to indulge him with his “27 questions” at each meeting.
He and his wife have bought a house in Minneapolis.
A foodie in his free time, the couple has been checking out many restaurants around town. Highly acclaimed Spoon and Stable is already one of Tritton’s favorites.
A voracious reader of magazines and blogs, Tritton usually checks about 20 retail websites a day both for research and fun. While he hasn’t had as much time to shop for himself lately, when he does it usually is mostly housewares since he’s furnishing his new home (and peppering Jill Sando, Target’s senior vice president of home, with his finds).
He said he continues to dig into customer and industry data and research to guide his decisions. But he said it will come down to crafting a good story.
“I think when Target is at its best is when it’s a great storyteller,” he said. “I think we have great stories we’ve told and yet to tell.”
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