From: Target.Communications
To: All-TGT-Team Members-Worldwide
Subject: A Message from Gregg Steinhafel
Target team members,
As you know, we are operating in uncertain times and the most difficult economic environment I’ve seen in my 29 years with the company. The housing slump, deterioration of global credit markets, and increased energy and food costs are in the news, on the minds of our guests, and likely to result in the worst holiday season for retailers in well over a decade.
I want to assure you, however, that while we are facing serious short-term pressures on our sales and profit growth, and our share price, our strategy is unwavering and our company remains profitable.
Every pyramid is continuing to focus on managing expenses thoughtfully and looking for new ways to improve productivity. We also remain dedicated to offering our guests an exceptional shopping experience and exciting merchandise content; we’re increasing our emphasis on the “Pay Less” portion of our brand promise to underscore our value message and drive traffic to our stores; and we’re working hard to manage inventory effectively to limit our overall markdown liability and protect our margins.
While the current environment has limited access to financial resources for some companies, Target has a strong credit rating and we believe we have ample access to the funding we need to meet our obligations and operate our business. This is the result of our long-standing careful, conservative approach to managing our finances. To retain this positive position, we are regularly re-assessing our financial plans in light of our outlook and continuing to update our contingency plans for possible economic developments.
By balancing short-term tactics with long-term strategy and being responsible with our financial resources, we will meet the current challenges and will be well-positioned to capture even greater market share profitably once the environment improves.
I appreciate the contributions of this unbeatable team and want to thank each one of you for your continued commitment to our winning strategy and our powerful brand.
Thank you.
Gregg Steinhafel
President and CEO, Target Corporation