Target CEO: 'We continue to invest in our team'
In an interview with Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi, Target CEO Brian Cornell breaks down how investing in the financial and mental well being of store staff has been vital during the pandemic.
Video Transcript
BRIAN SOZZI: True story, I was in a Target yesterday, I bought some Beyond Meat meatballs, some new makeup wipes for myself here, spent about $100, per the usual for me in Target. And I noticed a sign in the store, competitive wages, for this particular Target $16.75. Is that just the wage you need to now pay to get the workers you need?
BRIAN CORNELL: Yeah. Brian, I think, as you know, we have been focused on ensuring that we take a leadership position in pay and benefits going all the way back to February of 2017, when we made a commitment to get to a starting minimum wage of $15. And we've continued to invest in our team. I think about all the changes we've made at Target over the last few years and the success that we've been driving. While we put tremendous capital into our stores, investments in our digital channels, in our brands, the most important investment we've made has been in our team. And that continues to be the case as we sit here in 2021.
We just recently announced the fact that, on key weekends, during the holidays, we'll pay our teams an additional $2 an hour. We've been very focused on making sure that we're focused on the safety of our team. And now, we offered a very unique debt-free educational assistance program. So we're going to continue to invest in our team to make sure that we have the best team in retail, but also that we're offering a rewarding career opportunity for our team members.
So I'm really, really excited about the way our teams have showed up during the pandemic. I expect that to continue during the holiday season. And we're going to do the things that we have to be-- have to do to make sure that we are a place where team members want to work, want to serve our guests. I think our purpose as a company, our focus every day on bringing that little bit of joy to all the families that shop at Target, and our culture has been a real point of differentiation, a culture that starts with care and growth and winning together. And I think those investments in our team, surrounded by this company purpose and culture, that's why we've been able to navigate during a very challenging labor environment.
