Dive Brief:

• Target announced Thursday that Jim Lee is the company’s new chief financial officer, effective Sunday. Lee, who will be a member of Target’s leadership team, will oversee accounting, investor relations, and financial planning and analysis, among other things, the company said in a press release.
• He will replace Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke, who had served as CFO since 2019 and was named COO in February. Fiddelke will now serve only as COO. Fiddelke took on the dual role following the retirement of former COO John Mulligan.
• Lee joins Target from PepsiCo, where he worked for over 25 years in various roles. In his most recent position as deputy chief financial officer, his responsibilities included leading the finance teams for PepsiCo's international business and overseeing tax, investor relations and other functions. 

Dive Insight:

Lee joins Target a month after the retailer saw second-quarter sales rise 2.6% to $25 billion, up from $24.4 billion last year. Both stores and digital channels saw growth, with drive up alone generating $2 billion during Q2.

"With decades leading core finance functions and nurturing growth, Jim will complement the strong and tenured leadership currently in place on our finance team,” CEO Brian Cornell said in a statement.

Lee’s compensation package includes an annual base salary of $850,000. It also includes a prorated annual cash incentive of up to 100% of the base salary, along with stock-based awards and a cash sign-on bonus of $2.2 million. Lee will also receive an award of stock with a target value of nearly $7 million in consideration for compensation left on the table at his prior employer, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a company blog post highlighting his appointment, Lee said he’s excited to pivot from the consumer products industry to retail. Lee also said he’s been walking stores in recent weeks, taking mental notes on things he’d like to learn more about, including what drives consumer loyalty for the big-box brand and its stores.

“I’m a lifelong Target shopper and a big believer in where Target is headed as a company,” Lee said. “I think its competitive advantages — from the value and differentiation it offers through things like its owned brands to a shopping experience that generates such loyalty from its guests — are a strong foundation for outsized growth.”

During a March financial community meeting, Fiddelke said the company was focused on three growth drivers – comparable sales, new stores and other revenue, with comps expected to serve as a primary source of growth. Over the next decade, Fiddelke said, the company expects its total revenue to grow by an average rate of about 4% a year, according to an event transcript. If that goal comes to fruition, Fiddelke said Target will add more than $50 billion of revenue on top of the $107 billion it delivered in 2023.

Lee is coming on board just ahead of the critical holiday season. Earlier this week, the company announced several operational and merchandising initiatives. They include the return of Target Circle Week from Oct. 6 through Oct. 12, a goal of hiring about 100,000 seasonal in-store and supply chain employees, and plans to offer a holiday assortment that’s 50% larger than last year.