Happy Thursday.
Today we're in a Target boardroom, where the US retailer's own investors just sent its chairman a message.
Spoiler:
Not a kind one.
The Big Sip
Target's shareholder revolt just handed chairman Brian Cornell his worst vote ever (and the timing makes it sting).
At the 10 June AGM, only 87.2% backed his re-election, a grim figure for a sitting chair. It reads as a public no-confidence note from the people who own the company. He keeps the seat anyway.
And the bit the board won't headline:
The business just started recovering.
Revolt against the captain, right as the ship stops sinking. Awkward.
Here’s Your Brew
The vote looks worse the closer you look.
Cornell used to clear about 95%; S&P 500 directors average 96.6% this year. Lead independent director Christine Leahy slid to 88.5%.
New CEO Michael Fiddelke, meanwhile, cruised through on 99%.
Three investor groups — SOC, Trillium and Mercy — pushed the vote against Cornell.
Their charge: he oversaw three straight years of falling sales and a share price worth roughly half its old value.
The board's answer was to seat him as chair over his own successor.
The wound goes back to January 2025.
Days into Trump's second term, Target gutted its diversity programme, dropped supplier targets and quit a key equality index. A 40-day boycott followed. Foot traffic fell year-on-year for 25 of the next 27 weeks.
The founder's own daughters called it a betrayal.
Here's the awkward bit.
Under Fiddelke, Target just posted its first sales growth in over a year (comparable sales up 5.6%), and traffic is rising. The recovery is landing without Cornell steering. Yet he keeps the executive chair and a "special adviser" deal until 2027.
Owners resent paying him to hover beside it.
Two Sides, One Mug
Pro: Keeping Cornell holds a decade of institutional memory in place while a fragile turnaround steadies.
Con: It cushions the man who caused the damage and clouds the new CEO's independence.
Our read: Continuity helps a turnaround. A soft chair for the architect of the decline is insulation, and owners can tell the two apart.
Receipt of the Day
[Report] SEC / Trillium, SOC & Mercy — "Notice of Exempt Solicitation"
The filing urged holders to vote against Cornell and Leahy, citing missteps "compromising long-term shareholder value."
Why it matters: the revolt was a documented filing months ahead of the vote, not a passing protest.
Spit Take
87.2% backed Target's chairman — his lowest ever.
(CNBC)
Extra Curricular Coffee Break Links
[Analysis] Fortune — "Target still hasn't got its mojo back" — the boycott's traffic dent outlived the headlines.
[Report] CNBC — "Target's Q1 sales turn positive" — the turnaround receipt, delivered without Cornell at the wheel.
[Report] CNN — "Target's boycott and $2tn of Black buying power" — who walked, and what their wallets were worth.
Mugshot Poll 📊
Target's keeping Cornell as chair until 2027.
Your verdict?
Smart — keep the experience
A soft landing for failure
Just let Fiddelke breathe
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Enjoy your Thursday, keep it caffeinated.
There's your brew.
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