John Mulligan is fully aware of those embarrassing photos floating around the Internet — the ones showing empty shelves at some of Target's Canadian stores and visibly illustrating the company's inventory struggles up north.
"I've seen those for far too long, and I would tell you I have the same reaction as the entire Canada team: it's unacceptable," Target Corp.'s interim chief executive said Wednesday in an interview with the Star Tribune.
The comments came as the Minneapolis-based retailer revealed continuing losses in its Canadian division. During its earnings announcement Wednesday, the retailer said it lost another $211 million in Canada for the quarter and the unit fell short of internal sales forecasts.
Mulligan said Target has no choice but to move swiftly to fix the challenged business. But more importantly, he said the company is taking a "no excuses" approach to getting things done.
Already, Target is revamping its leadership team in Canada, including ousting its division president on Tuesday. The retailer also is taking a hard look at the supply chain, and is actively searching for a nonexecutive chairman with deep experience in Canada to advise the team, Mulligan said.
He wouldn't put a timeline on the turnaround, but said Target already has begun to see some improvement in its surveys of Canadian customers, including better perceptions of product availability and pricing.
Work also continues in Target's U.S. stores, which are suffering under the weight of increased retail competition and the massive credit card breach last year. Mulligan said the company will continue to lean on promotions to help drive traffic back to the stores following the breach. But it will be more selective as to how the deals are offered.
"We'll use promotions like pixie dust — spreading it around the store," he said.
