Target Loses Chief Innovator

Target's chief innovation and strategy officer is leaving the company as it hunkers down to refocus efforts on remodeling stores and lowering prices.Casey Carl, the executive who spearheaded the retailer's abruptly cancelled store-of-the-future concept, has watched the mass merchant reverse course on a number of his long-term projects amid falling sales. His departure is scheduled for May 5.Chief executive officer Brian Cornell recently said that the company could no longer afford to invest in projects that don't pay off within a few years, yet he maintains that innovation is alive and well at Target and says the company will search for a replacement for Carl."Our new leader's job will be to build upon the progress we've made. And while this leader will play a critical role in Target's innovation story, it's not a story they will write alone. Innovation must be a midset, an essential component of every business, every strategy and every team," Cornell wrote in an email to headquarters employees announcing Carl's departure, according to Minnesota's Star Tribune. Carl took the reins of target.com in 2011 after the company stumbled when taking control of its e-commerce business back from Amazon. Cornell promoted him to his current, newly created position when he took charge in 2014.There has been a high level of turnover at the mass merchant since Cornell took charge. And while sales at first showed a slow but steady growth under his leadership, they started slipping about a year ago. Now the company is hunting for solutions by lowering prices, remodeling stores, launching or refreshing multiple private labels and improving its supply chain.Other high-level departures have included chief digital officer Jason Goldberger, chief marketing officer Jeff Jones, senior vice president of strategy Jamil Ghani and vp of internal innovation and operations West Stringfellow.In related news, Target was preparing to shut down the Food + Future coLab it opened to bring more transparency to the food system, but various reports indicate a potential investment offer could save it.After this article was published, Target said the lab would close its doors for good in June after the retailer could not find a buyer at what it deemed to be an appropriate price.

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