Target earns credit for its omnichannel excellence, private label prowess, in-store merchandising efforts and addictive Circle Rewards program, but the feeling by market observers is that the chain has traditionally done a much better job with non-foods than foods.  Should Target be looking at the food category primarily as a traffic driver or as a much broader opportunity?

J.C. Penney is trying to fill the void left in its operations by Sephora’s departure by making its own branded in-store spot for beauty. What is your assessment of the value of the Kohl’s/Sephora, Ulta at Target and JC Penney Beauty shops for the respective retailers?

TikTok is piloting a program, “TikTok Resumes,” that lets its users apply for jobs on video. Approximately three dozen companies are taking part in the pilot, including Chipotle, Target and Shopify. What do you think of video resumes and the potential of TikTok as a job placement tool?

Amazon has already declared victory, claiming record-breaking sales for marketplace sellers during its Prime Day event last week. Was it, however, the biggest gainer among the major retailers that ran sales last week?  Are the 2021 Prime Day results a signal that Amazon’s history of rapid year-over-year growth is slowing down if not coming to an end?

Target has partnered with Hasbro to introduce a limited-edition, Target-themed Monopoly game to debut later this summer. How popular do you expect the Target-themed Monopoly game to be with the retailer’s customers?

Amazon is expected to achieve a new sales record when its annual Prime Day event is complete. The same could be true for many of its rival retailers that have jumped onto Amazon’s sales promotion bandwagon over the past several years.  How are you expecting results to shake out when Prime Day and rivals’ events are done?

Target turned in a record performance last year and followed that up with a better-than-expected start in 2021. But the retailer has no plans to rest on its laurels. Will Target’s store remodeling plan put it ahead, in-step with or behind the curve when it comes to offering the retail shopping experience that American consumers want?

The novel coronavirus pandemic gave e-commerce adoption an unprecedented boost and brought huge sales increases to some retailers. New data suggests, however, that retailers of all sizes did not benefit equally from the e-commerce boom. What factors have created winners and losers during the months since the pandemic hit the U.S.?

Walmart has joined Target in announcing plans to close its doors on Thanksgiving for the second straight year, describing the day off as a way to show appreciation to associates for their efforts during the pandemic. Do you see retailers reversing the common practice of opening stores on Thanksgiving in the coming years?

Strong, better than expected first quarter sales and earnings results for Target and Walmart may be further proof that, for most every rule (or widely held belief), there are exceptions. What is your current assessment of what the 2021 retailing year will look like?

Walmart has launched an expanded supplier program providing diverse and minority-owned businesses with early payment on invoices. What’s the best way retailers or brands to support Black-owned or minority-owned businesses?

Gig delivery workers now have something else to worry about. Shipt shoppers/drivers have fallen victim to criminals who steal their paychecks. How significant a challenge do security issues around third-party contractors pose for retailers and their vendors who use these workers?

People have the power to change their lives. That’s the simple proposition that retailers are putting to the test as participants in the Second Chance Business Coalition, a group of major corporations that are putting ex-convicts to work. Will retailers that actively recruit people looking for a second chance be rewarded for giving them jobs and, if so, in what ways?

Target is testing a new method of delivery that involves picking up merchandise in stores and sorting them at nearby mini-distribution centers for carriers in order to increase speed and reduce costs. Does Target’s new online order fulfillment test program sound promising to you?

The pandemic has accelerated the growth of online sales three to five times depending on the vertical and, even as in-store comes back, no one expects online to regress to pre-pandemic levels. What are the key strategies and/or tactics retailers need to consider to change their operating model and maximize omnichannel profitability?

Walmart thinks that collaborating with a big name American fashion designer, whose clients include Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama among others, will help give the chain the fashion cred it’s looking for. Will Brandon Maxwell’s designs help turn Walmart into a retail clothing destination worthy of a nickname like its rival, Target?

Target last week announced plans to significantly downsize its corporate offices, joining a number of other retailers embracing a flexible, hybrid work model that enables some employees to continue working from home. What challenges may retailers face trying to optimize the benefits of a hybrid in-person/work-from-home model?

Ulta Beauty is getting ready to give its c-suite a new management look. The nation’s largest beauty retailer announced yesterday that CEO Mary Dillon will be stepping down from that spot in June. What do you think are the reasons that Ulta Beauty has done so well under Mary Dillon for the eight years she has led the company?

Target this week released news that it will introduce a new wide-ranging snack products store brand that appeals to American’s desire to get a little decadent and self indulge. How likely is Target to replicate the same level of success with its grocery store brands as it has in categories such as apparel?

Shares of Target fell yesterday after the retailer chose not to release guidance on the upcoming fiscal year due to the complexity of forecasting in the age of COVID-19. What do you see as the keys to Target’s success in recent years?

Target announced yesterday that this month it is debuting a new and “enhanced shopping experience” for Apple products in the chain’s stores and online.  Do you expect Target’s “enhanced shopping experience” will grow the chain’s sales of Apple products in its stores and online?

Target is not standing on its laurels. The retailer announced earlier this week that it is making changes to its executive leadership team with continuing improvement and growth as the focus. How does Target’s executive leadership stack up against its retail industry peers?

Until recently, Target claimed to have nine $1 billion own brands under its roof. That number has risen to 10 as Target announced that its All in Motion activewear brand for the family has joined the club.  Is Target’s approach to creating, merchandising and marketing its  own brand soft goods different from what its retail rivals do?

The latest limited edition designer collection offered by Target will come from Levi Strauss & Co. The Levi’s for Target line will be made up of more than 100 home and lifestyle products as part of its very first partnership in the home category. What has made Target so successful with its designer collaborations in the past?

Amazon.com last week discontinued its single large box service known as Amazon Pantry. The service had been seen as a way to sell less expensive household items online that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive to ship. Has Pantry’s business model, based on bundled online orders of household essentials, become outdated?

Outside line monitoring, reservations, time limits and mobile checkout are some ways retailers have been managing customer queues during the pandemic. Do you see the pandemic helping to drive innovation around line management?

Fad toys get hot and profiteers scoop in to buy and resell at astronomical markups online. This year, scalpers have brought a whole new level of technological sophistication to their operations What are the best methods that retailers can use to combat the use of scalper bots?

Over a year ago, Patricia Waldron asked in a RetailWire article if 2020 would be the year when retailers instituted supply chain improvements with an eye towards enhancing the customer experience. That’s still the story today, but with much greater urgency. Do you see stores become the primary focal point for retailers’ digital supply strategies going forward?

The pandemic has led a number of retailers and brands to rediscover their religion when it comes to SKU rationalization after many reportedly became overly tempted by the promise of endless aisles online. Is the promise of endless aisles creating SKU proliferation challenges for retailers online?

CEO Brian Cornell recently pointed to one factor that has allowed Target to make the best out of an unprecedentedly bad situation — the fact that at Target you can buy most anything. Do you agree that one-stop shopping is the key to Target’s recent success and will it remain so after the threat from COVID-19 diminishes?

New research shows that only 32 percent of Christmas commercials reflect the current realities of the pandemic and, apparently, that’s okay with most American viewers. There isn’t a mask to be found in either of this week’s Christmas Commercial Challenge spots. What is your critique of the Christmas spots from Macy’s and Target?

The strong simply continue to get stronger in the retailing world of 2020. Two prime cases in point are Target and Walmart. What do you see as the relative strengths of Target and Walmart at this point in time?

A Target store near its Minneapolis headquarters gained national attention in May when it was looted. Now, the retailer is reopening the store with the goal of doing better by this community going forward. What is your assessment of Target’s response to racial equality protests in Minneapolis and elsewhere?

Target and Ulta Beauty have announced a strategic partnership that will result in the launch of a “shop-in-shop” concept — Ulta Beauty at Target — that the two retailers believe will elevate their respective businesses. What do you expect from the Ulta Beauty at Target concept?

Last week, Trader Joe’s announced that 1,250, or 2.4 percent, of its 53,000 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past eight months. Was Trader Joe’s decision to reveal its COVID-19 infection rates and deaths shrewd or excessive?

The core fundamentals of assuring a positive curbside and in-store pickup experience are: having a designated pickup location, easy online account creation, providing contactless order pickup and having orders ready when promised, according to a study from Ipsos. What pain points in the curbside and BOPIS experience have become more evident during the pandemic?

Target is putting in place a host of safety measures for the holiday season to keep traffic flowing inside and outside of its stores while allowing shoppers to shop and associates to work without fear of falling ill. Is Target moving closer to realizing CEO Brian Cornell’s boast that the chain is the easiest place to shop in the U.S.?

Target, showing no intention of ceding ground in the toys category this holiday season, announced a new collaboration with FAO Schwarz and the introduction of its largest Bullseye’s Top Toys list ever. Is the toy category more or less important to retail holiday success this year compared to Christmas seasons in recent years?

The retail world is anticipating a difficult Halloween season, but retailers, grocers and brands have begun exploring creative strategies that could save the holiday. Do you think promoting boo bags, holding curbside trick-or-treating events and employing other creative Halloween-themed strategies will enable retailers to have a successful Halloween?

2020 has been great for Target from a sales standpoint. It has not, however, been a banner year for the retailer’s Minneapolis hometown. What will Target’s commitment to the hiring, retention and advancement of Black employees mean to its brand?

It’s probably safe to say that the Target-owned Good & Gather grocery brand has lived up to expectations. Target is looking to build on the momentum by adding another 600 items to the brand’s lineup. How would you rank the strength of Target’s Good & Gather own-brand compared to competitive private labels offered by its grocery rivals?

The novel coronavirus pandemic slowed new store openings to a near halt, but some retailers are now moving ahead with opening plans, even as COVID-19 remains a significant public health concern.  Do you think newly opened grocery stores will do more business or less than they would have pre-pandemic?

This coming holiday season is expected to see the earliest promotions ever, although many of the reasons are tied to the pandemic rather than getting a jump on the competition. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks in holding promotions earlier this holiday season?

When COVID-19 hit, Target used its same-day services and local fulfillment options to attract millions of new customers, driving record quarterly results in the process. What stands out to you most about Target’s success during the pandemic months?

Because of the pandemic, some retailers with liberal return policies were forced to make all or most sales final. At Walmart, in-store returns remain unavailable, and some customers have gotten irate about it. Given the complaints, should Walmart consider liberalizing or changing its in-store return policy for the duration of the pandemic?

The “new” last mile of the customer journey emerging from the pandemic is positively rife with opportunity. Once curbside execution is mastered, attention can be turned to surprising — and, yes, delighting — your shoppers. How would you assess the transition to curbside pickup that has taken place at stores in recent months?

In the U.K., where a nationwide mask mandate is now in effect, Amazon.com has launched an online shop to help customers get masks that suit their safety needs and sense of style.  Will Amazon have success with this online store, and should it launch the same service in the U.S.?

Ron Margulis did a small study on ecommerce success on a drive down the New Jersey Turnpike, counting the brand names on the trucks along the way. Which retailers do you think have made the most significant gains based on their ecommerce performance going back to March?

Rivals CVS, Kroger, Target, Walgreens and Walmart have joined together in a consortium focused on finding a better, more eco-friendly solution to America’s plastic bag waste problem.. Do you think a consortium such as this can be successful in finding a sustainable alternative to plastic bag use?

As consumers have navigated their way through stay-at-home and social distancing restrictions during the pandemic, a new study says Amazon’s web traffic has soared, but other retailers are up even more. Why do you think Amazon’s major competitors have gained more traffic than it did during the stay at home period?