May 19, 2026
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Are the Stars Finally Aligned for Target To Recapture its Former ‘Aura’ Ahead of Q1 2026 Earnings?
With Target set to deliver its Q1 2026 earnings early tomorrow, May 20, investors are sitting up and taking notice. According to Bloomberg News (via Financial Post), shares are up 26% this year, although these gains still remain in the shadow of the losses the retailer has endured over the four years prior.
Now, under the leadership of CEO Michael Fiddelke, Target has expanded on its assortment of baby good, beauty products, apparel, home goods, and food. The most recent news — that former Walmart exec Jeff England will be taking the helm on supply chain and logistics, and that a renewed and sustained wellness category push could prove fruitful — also appears to align with the goal of recapturing the former glory once held by Target prior to its steep decline.
Two analyst opinions were cited by Bloomberg, both showing cautious optimism over Target’s future prospects.
“The results will be better and we’re early in the turnaround, but the setup in the short term, heading into the earnings report, is a little bit tricky because expectations are higher,” D.A. Davidson analyst Michael Baker said.
“The quarter looks great and traffic appears to be strong, but underlying all of this is the fact that the comparisons are just exceptionally easy. From here, the bar will start to get more difficult,” John San Marco, an analyst at Neuberger Berman, said.
On the supply chain and logistics front, England brings nearly 20 years of experience across operations, strategy, and finance leadership at Walmart — followed by a term serving as chief supply chain officer for Genuine Parts Company. Most recently, England served as chief supply chain officer for QXO, where he “improved inventory availability, reduced transportation costs and strengthened operational excellence,” per a press release.
Wellness as the ‘Connective Tissue’ To Rekindle Customer Relationships for Target?
Forbes senior contributor Pamela N. Danziger suggested that Target could be setting itself up for sustained success — and the reclamation of a lost “Tar-zhay” aura — by leaning hard into wellness.
“Restoring that aura will take more than offering trendy products at affordable prices. Trends move too fast these days, and a retailer has to get the timing just right or miss the moment entirely. Relying on trends alone is not a sustainable business model,” Danziger wrote.
“Rather, Target is leaning into what matters most to its core customers—especially busy parents who want to provide the best for their families. It has identified wellness as the connective tissue to forge a deeper, more meaningful bond with the customer’s body, mind, soul and wallet. Target doesn’t want to be just a good place to shop; it wants to be a good place for my family and me to shop—it’s a subtle but meaningful shift,” she added.
Danziger stated that wellness was here to stay, and not simply a fad: McKinsey numbers place the wellness market at $500 billion annually in the U.S. alone, growing at 4%-5% each year. Further, wellness products are not as susceptible to consumer budgetary constraints or cutbacks as compared to more discretionary categories.
Target has expanded wellness beyond the health, beauty, and food aisles to span the entire store: “sporting goods and toys for active and educational play; apparel for activewear and environmentally responsible clothing; baby essentials for health and safety; home for better bedding and sleep; technology for wearables and health monitors; and household essentials for cleaner cleaning products,” as Danziger noted.
And with Target leading the way on removing products with artificial dyes and colors, adding trending tech wearables, expanding its men’s health range while also promoting women’s health (from menstrual care through menopause), and bringing all of these initiatives together in a binding principle around real-world customer lifestyle practices and choices, it appears that a comprehensive approach could seed positive results.
“We are relentlessly focused on the consumer, making sure the products we curate are committed to innovation, accessibility and design. Wellness is about being healthier but also about being the best version of yourself and how you want to live your life,” Amanda Nusz, Target’s SVP of merchandising, beauty and essentials, said.
BrainTrust
Nicholas Morine
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Are you convinced that Target’s recent moves (taken as a whole), in combination with a strong earnings report, could see it recapturing its former reputation with consumers? If so, why? If not, what’s missing?
Do you believe bringing Jeff England on board to handle supply chain and logistics — a previous and highly criticized pain point for Target — will improve the situation?
How can Target position itself as a wellness leader beyond improving its assortment across aisles, in the minds of shoppers? Do you believe it can stake out a major claim in this market?
Poll
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While all of these moves feel like a good approach, it’s still a fact that Target lost a key demographic 17 months ago, and it shows no sign of returning. I wish them good luck.
Shares are up because investors hear a change in tone and have seen some of the plans to deliver better performance – including remedying many of the issues that have plagued the chain and lost them share. However, Target management have always made it clear that any turnaround will take some time to deliver as there are a lot of areas to retool. In my view, that’s fair. What Target needs to do now is show incremental wins before driving much better performance into the next fiscal. But, as I have said many times before, all of this comes down to the ability to execute.
It’s a black-and-white issue in so many ways. Until they deal with the embarrassing pivot against DEI and allowing Ice raids in their own stores, I imagine more people continue to talk about how out of Touch they are rather than giving them another chance.
I see no reason to return there. This may be one time when activist investors are right. I don’t feel meaningful change
Target can regain momentum, but “aura” is not won back through assortment moves or one strong quarter alone. It returns when customers consistently feel that Target understands their lives, removes friction, and delivers the experience its brand has always promised.
The wellness push is smart because it can give Target a stronger organizing idea across categories. But the real test will be execution: in-stock reliability, store conditions, service consistency, ease of shopping, and whether the experience feels curated rather than simply expanded.
Bringing in stronger supply chain leadership matters, because brand love fades quickly when the basics break. Target’s opportunity is to connect inspiration with operational discipline. If it can do both, the “Tar-zhay” feeling can return. If not, wellness risks becoming another merchandising theme instead of a renewed customer relationship.
I’m a big believer in Target’s wellness opportunity because wellness is not tied to one generation, one gender or one category. It is a lifestyle. It crosses personas because it connects to how people want to feel: healthier, more confident, more balanced, more in control of their day.
That gives Target a real platform if they merchandise it well across beauty, food, baby, home, apparel and tech.
On supply chain, Jeff England brings strong credentials, but one leader alone will not fix an inventory issue that has been building for years. The question is how deep the problem runs: systems, forecasting, vendor flow, store execution, allocation, speed and accountability.
Target has the pieces. Now they need the operating discipline to make the promise show up in the aisle.
Here’s a thought: why don’t we actually wait – a day! – to see what the results are, rather than speculating what they’re going to be.
Am I convinced? That I have to ask “of what, exactly?” suggests I’m not.
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While all of these moves feel like a good approach, it’s still a fact that Target lost a key demographic 17 months ago, and it shows no sign of returning. I wish them good luck.
Shares are up because investors hear a change in tone and have seen some of the plans to deliver better performance – including remedying many of the issues that have plagued the chain and lost them share. However, Target management have always made it clear that any turnaround will take some time to deliver as there are a lot of areas to retool. In my view, that’s fair. What Target needs to do now is show incremental wins before driving much better performance into the next fiscal. But, as I have said many times before, all of this comes down to the ability to execute.
It’s a black-and-white issue in so many ways. Until they deal with the embarrassing pivot against DEI and allowing Ice raids in their own stores, I imagine more people continue to talk about how out of Touch they are rather than giving them another chance.
I see no reason to return there. This may be one time when activist investors are right. I don’t feel meaningful change
Target can regain momentum, but “aura” is not won back through assortment moves or one strong quarter alone. It returns when customers consistently feel that Target understands their lives, removes friction, and delivers the experience its brand has always promised.
The wellness push is smart because it can give Target a stronger organizing idea across categories. But the real test will be execution: in-stock reliability, store conditions, service consistency, ease of shopping, and whether the experience feels curated rather than simply expanded.
Bringing in stronger supply chain leadership matters, because brand love fades quickly when the basics break. Target’s opportunity is to connect inspiration with operational discipline. If it can do both, the “Tar-zhay” feeling can return. If not, wellness risks becoming another merchandising theme instead of a renewed customer relationship.
I’m a big believer in Target’s wellness opportunity because wellness is not tied to one generation, one gender or one category. It is a lifestyle. It crosses personas because it connects to how people want to feel: healthier, more confident, more balanced, more in control of their day.
That gives Target a real platform if they merchandise it well across beauty, food, baby, home, apparel and tech.
On supply chain, Jeff England brings strong credentials, but one leader alone will not fix an inventory issue that has been building for years. The question is how deep the problem runs: systems, forecasting, vendor flow, store execution, allocation, speed and accountability.
Target has the pieces. Now they need the operating discipline to make the promise show up in the aisle.
Here’s a thought: why don’t we actually wait – a day! – to see what the results are, rather than speculating what they’re going to be.
Am I convinced? That I have to ask “of what, exactly?” suggests I’m not.