Thefts at Target have become increasingly violent and dangerous for staffers, the retail giant’s CEO told investors on Wednesday.
Shoplifting that included “violence of threats of violence” surged 120% during the first five months of the year, said Brian Cornell, chief executive of the Minneapolis-based big-box chain.
“Our team continues to face an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime,” Cornell said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. “Unfortunately, safety incidents associated with theft are moving in the wrong direction.”
Cornell said that Target’s inventory shrink — which accounts for retail theft and other losses of merchandise — is “well-above the sustainable level where we expect to operate over time.”
The National Retail Federation, the nations largest retail trade group, said its latest security survey of roughly 60 retailers found shrink clocked in at an average rate of 1.4% last year, representing $94.5 billion in losses.
The greatest portion of shrink — 37% — came from external theft, including products taken during organized shoplifting incidents, the trade group said.
It also noted retailers, on average, saw a 26.5% uptick in organized theft incidents last year.
Target reported its first quarterly sales drop in six years — contributed in part by the calls to boycott the brand over the LGBTQ-friendly merchandise.
Profit for the fiscal second quarter came in above expectations, however, as Target brought inventories closer in line with cautious spending on discretionary items by customers.
Cornell also addressed the threats to staffers in the wake of the controversy surrounding the sale of LGBTQ-related merchandise during Pride Month.
In May, customers knocked down Pride displays at some stores, angrily approached workers and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.
The backlash, which included calls to boycott the company over its sale of “tuck-friendly” bathing suits, prompted Target to remove some items from its store and even relocate the merchandise to the rear of the locations.
“We denounce violence and hate of all kinds, and safety of our team and our guests is our top priority,” Cornell told investors during Wednesday’s earnings call.
Despite the losses, Target will still be celebrating Pride Month in 2024, Cornell said, noting that future collections will focus on being celebratory and joyous, with wide-ranging relevance.
Target will also be mindful of timing, placement and presentation of its future Pride collections, Cornell added.
Pride is one of many heritage moments that are important to our guests and our team, and well continue to support these moments in the future.
Targets CFO Michael Fiddelke addressed Targets disastrous rainbow-clad collection in an earnings call on Wednesday, saying: Traffic and top line trends were affected by the reaction to our Pride assortment.
Cornell said higher high prices for food and household essentials are taking a bigger chunk out of the paychecks of customers, who have also pulled back on buying some goods in favor of travel or spending time out of the house in other ways.
Guests are out at concerts, Cornell told reporters on a media call Tuesday.
Theyre going to movies. Theyve seen Barbie. Theyre enjoying those experiential moments, and theyre shopping very carefully for discretionary goods.
Target earned $835 million, or $1.80 per share, in the quarter that ended July 29. That compares with $183 million, or 39 cent per share, in the year-ago period.
Sales fell nearly 5% to $24.77 billion as shoppers focused more on groceries than discretionary items.
Additional Reporting by Shannon Thaler and Post Wires
Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ has passed and he’s due to sign it into law on Independence Day. Mark Stone and David Blevins discuss how the bill will supercharge his presidency, despite its critics.
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If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.
Image: Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk. Pic: Reuters
Image: Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo (right) arrive at the funeral of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. Pic: PA
Jota, 28, leaves behind his wife of only 11 days, Rute Cardoso, and three young children.
His younger brother, 25, was an attacking midfielder for Penafiel in the second tier of Portuguese football.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot, captain Virgil Van Dijk and teammates including Andy Robertson, Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez were seen at the service.
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Former teammates Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho were also there.
Van Dijk carried a red wreath with Jota’s number 20, while Robertson had a wreath featuring number 30, Silva’s number at Penafiel.
Image: Manchester United and Portugal player Bruno Fernandes. Pic: PA
Image: Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool’s player Andrew Robertson. Pic: Reuters
Some of Jota’s teammates in the Portuguese national side also attended, including Bruno Fernandes, of Manchester United, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva, of Manchester City, Joao Felix and Renato Veiga, of Chelsea, Nelson Semedo, from Wolves, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio.
Ruben Neves was one of the pallbearers after flying in from Florida where he played for Al Hilal in the Club World Cup quarter-final on Friday night.
‘More than a friend’
In a post published on Instagram before the service, he told Jota he had been “more than a friend, we’re family, and we won’t stop being that way just because you’ve decided to sign a contract a little further away from us!”
Jota’s fellow Liverpool midfielder, Alexis Mac Allister, said on Instagram: “I can’t believe it. I’ll always remember your smiles, your anger, your intelligence, your camaraderie, and everything that made you a person. It hurts so much; we’ll miss you. Rest in peace, dear Diogo.”
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Porto FC president Andre Villas-Boas and Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez were also in attendance.
‘With us forever’
Speaking after the ceremony, Martinez said the period since their deaths had been “really, really sad days, as you can imagine, but today we showed we are a large, close family.
“Their spirit will be with us forever.”
The service was private, but the words spoken by the Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, were broadcast to those standing outside the church.
He told Jota’s children, who were not at the service, that he was praying for them specifically, as well as their mother and grandparents.
“There are no words, but there are feelings,” he said, adding: “We also suffer a lot and we are with you emotionally.”
The brothers died after a Lamborghini they were travelling in burst into flames following a suspected tyre blowout in the early hours of Thursday morning.
No other vehicles are said to have been involved in the incident.
Liverpool have delayed the return of their players for pre-season following Jota’s death and players past and present paid tribute to him and his brother on social media.
Hidden among the majestic canyons of the Utah desert, about 7 miles from the nearest town, is a small research facility meant to prepare humans for life on Mars.
The Mars Society, a nonprofit organization that runs the Mars Desert Research Station, or MDRS, invited CNBC to shadow one of its analog crews on a recent mission.
“MDRS is the best analog astronaut environment,” said Urban Koi, who served as health and safety officer for Crew 315. “The terrain is extremely similar to the Mars terrain and the protocols, research, science and engineering that occurs here is very similar to what we would do if we were to travel to Mars.”
SpaceX CEO and Mars advocate Elon Musk has said his company can get humans to Mars as early as 2029.
The 5-person Crew 315 spent two weeks living at the research station following the same procedures that they would on Mars.
David Laude, who served as the crew’s commander, described a typical day.
“So we all gather around by 7 a.m. around a common table in the upper deck and we have breakfast,” he said. “Around 8:00 we have our first meeting of the day where we plan out the day. And then in the morning, we usually have an EVA of two or three people and usually another one in the afternoon.”
An EVA refers to extravehicular activity. In NASA speak, EVAs refer to spacewalks, when astronauts leave the pressurized space station and must wear spacesuits to survive in space.
“I think the most challenging thing about these analog missions is just getting into a rhythm. … Although here the risk is lower, on Mars performing those daily tasks are what keeps us alive,” said Michael Andrews, the engineer for Crew 315.