Target CEO Brian Cornell.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
Target CEO Brian Cornell will meet with President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon because the retailer — and the White House — try to determine U.S. consumers.
Cornell is one among a couple of half dozen business leaders across industries who will offer up their perspective on the economy and the labor market on the White House. Other attendees on the meeting with Biden are expected to include Brendan Bechtel, CEO of construction and engineering firm Bechtel Group; Calvin Butler, CEO of energy and utility company Exelon; Kenneth Chenault, chair and managing director of enterprise capital firm General Catalyst; Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO of economic services company TIAA; Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM; and Judy Marks, CEO of Otis Worldwide, a manufacturer of elevator, escalator and similar equipment, according to the White House.
Through a spokesperson, Target confirmed Cornell’s attendance on the meeting, but deferred to the White House for more details concerning the content of the meeting. The CEO huddle is closed to press.
Biden’s meeting with the business leaders comes because the White House gears up for the following presidential election, a time when his track record on the economy and inflation can be under the microscope. Inflation stays stubbornly high — an element that has cut into consumer spending at Target — but Biden on Thursday cheered recent data showing the speed of price increases continues to slow.
For Target, the meeting comes at a pivotal moment when the retailer’s business has taken successful from a tougher economic backdrop and the divisive political climate. The large-box retailer also recently announced it could close nine stores in major American cities, including Recent York City and San Francisco, blaming the shuttered locations on heightened levels of organized retail crime and concerns about violence.
The large-box retailer cut its full-year forecast in August, saying its shoppers have continued to watch their dollars and spend totally on necessities whilst inflation cools. On the time, Cornell cited other aspects that might hurt sales in the approaching months and throughout the critical holiday season, including higher rates of interest and the return of student loan payments.
Target also got caught within the crosshairs of conservative political furor over its Pride month merchandise. It has had a set of LGBTQ-themed items for greater than a decade, however the merchandise drew backlash this 12 months. The corporate removed some items, citing concerns about worker and customer safety.
In August, Cornell said on an earnings call that the “negative response” contributed to the corporate missing Wall Street’s sales expectations for probably the most recent quarter.
Cornell has met with the White House before. Through the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, he joined Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and other top executives at a press conference within the Rose Garden with then-President Donald Trump and pledged to help ramp up access to Covid testing.