In his second week as Target CEO, Michael Fiddelke shuffled his leadership team and consolidated store districts — moves that drew mixed reactions from retail experts.

After several quarters of lackluster performance, the actions addressed some of the loudest criticism of the Minneapolis-based retailer: the state of its stores and product assortment, especially in apparel and home goods.

The changes came with a price.

Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez, a company veteran once considered a potential CEO candidate, and Chief Merchandising Officer Jill Sando will leave the company.

And 500 people at distribution centers and regional offices will lose their jobs with Target using the saved money to increase in-store staffing.

Cara Sylvester, previously chief guest experience officer, will take over as the company’s sole chief merchant. The role previously was split between Sando and Lisa Roath, who will step into Fiddelke’s former role as chief operating officer after serving as chief merchandising officer for food, essentials and beauty.

“These leadership changes align the right talent and expertise with key roles, and simplify our structure so we can advance our strategy with greater speed, clarity and accountability,” Fiddelke said in a Tuesday news release.

Both Gomez and Sando will remain with the company briefly to help with the transition. The leadership changes will take effect Sunday.

As part of its supply-chain moves, Target is reducing the number of store districts overseeing its nearly 2,000 stores and shifting that payroll to stores. A company spokesman said 100 of the 500 eliminated positions will largely affect regional store directors and other management roles. Roughly 400 positions will be cut from supply-chain sites and will affect a variety of roles.

The retailer has struggled to maintain the momentum it gained during the pandemic when people were spending more on their homes, while Walmart has continued to capture a larger share of higher-income shoppers.

Fiddelke has acknowledged the retailer’s missteps, saying his top priorities are improving the in-store experience, expanding the company’s use of technology and restoring the retailer’s reputation as a leader in style and design. Before officially stepping into the top job, Fiddelke announced Target would eliminate 1,800 corporate positions.

The leadership and supply-chain shifts have drawn mixed reactions from analysts who have been critical of Target’s store experience in recent months, namely its staffing and merchandise assortment.

Carol Spieckerman, a retail consultant, called the move to consolidate merchandising under Sylvester “smart and overdue,” noting that splitting leadership risks fragmented vision and slower decisionmaking. Sylvester’s background in digital, loyalty and marketing gives her insight into the customer experience, she added.

“This latest reorganization confirms that Target is doubling down on merchandising, style, design and the in-store experience,” Spieckerman said. “That’s Target playing to its historic strengths.”

Some analysts, however, questioned whether the moves would meaningfully improve the retailer’s performance.

“It’s not clear that reappointments will bring sufficient cultural change to drive better outcomes,” UBS analyst Michael Lasser said in emailed comments.

Kelly Bania, an analyst at BMO, said in a research note that the supply-chain shifts could improve in-store execution but warned that “sustained improvement would require deeper supply chain investments.”

Company executives said the additional spending will also support new guest-experience training. Some stores will give employees more hours, potentially moving part-time workers to full time, while others will hire additional staff, the company spokesman said. Target has roughly 400,000 in-store workers, raising questions about whether cutting 500 jobs will lead to noticeable changes in stores.

“The more important question is whether the redeployment actually reaches the sales floor or gets absorbed by other operational priorities,” Spieckerman said. “If this payroll shift translates to better-maintained apparel and a more organized store environment, customers will notice. But structural changes take time to show up, and Target needs visible wins.”

Fiddelke said on a November earnings call that the retailer would be investing an additional $1 billion to remodel stores, refresh merchandise and expand technology. He’s expected to share more details in March at Target’s 2026 Financial Community Meeting, which will be held in Minneapolis rather than New York.

With Sylvester and Roath shifting into new roles, Target will be looking for a chief guest experience and marketing officer, something Toopan Bagchi, a former Target executive, said, “will be crucial to bringing in a fresh perspective.”

The company has faced continued cultural backlash over the past year, first after it rolled back some diversity and inclusion programs in January 2025, and more recently after U.S. Border Patrol agents detained two of its employees who are U.S. citizens. The pressure, including boycotts by Black advocacy groups and local clergy, comes as Target struggles to find its place in the shifting national retail landscape.

The retailer maintained its guidance for fourth-quarter sales and full-year earnings for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31. Target said in November that it expected sales to decline by a low single-digit percentage in the fourth quarter and expected full-year adjusted earnings per share to range between $7 and $8.

U.S. retail sales were flat in December after an increase in November, according to the latest report issued by the Commerce Department. The figures, which are not adjusted for inflation, showed declines in furniture and electronics sales and gains in building materials and garden stores.

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