Jeff England joins from QXO as CEO Michael Fiddelke pushes to fix in-stock problems that have weighed on sales for 3 years
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Target $TGT named Jeff England as its executive VP and chief global supply chain and logistics officer on Tuesday, bringing in a former Walmart $WMT executive to help fix the retailer's persistent in-stock problems under a broader turnaround led by CEO Michael Fiddelke.
England will join Target on May 31, reporting to COO Lisa Roath, the company said. Most recently the top supply chain executive at building materials distributor QXO, England previously logged nearly two decades at Walmart — from 2004 to 2022 — rising through operations, strategy, and finance to reach the senior VP level for supply chain, The Wall Street Journal reported.
England replaces Gretchen McCarthy, 47, who has led Target's supply chain since 2022 and will stay on as a strategic advisor through August, the company said. England is 48.
"Guests come to Target for great style, design and value — and they trust we'll be in stock and ready for them every time they shop," Michael Fiddelke said in a statement. "Elevating that guest experience is one of our top priorities, and Jeff's deep expertise across operations, engineering, technology and automation...is exactly what will be required to strengthen how we deliver for our guests."
Since stepping into the CEO role in February, Fiddelke has assembled a new leadership bench; England's hire comes after Cara Sylvester was brought in to oversee merchandising and Lisa Roath was appointed COO, Reuters noted.
Fiddelke has made restoring reliable shelf availability a central aim of his tenure. Speaking to investors at a March meeting, Fiddelke said the chain sees an "opportunity for efficiency within supply chain," pointing to better shelf availability and a broader rollout of same-day delivery across its roughly 2,000 locations as twin goals, CNBC reported. "You, guys, will get sick of me talking about we're going to get more in-stock, we're going to get more in-stock, we're going to get more in-stock," Fiddelke told The Wall Street Journal at that meeting.
Target has reported 13 consecutive quarters of weak or falling sales, with shoppers often unable to reliably find or order what they need, a problem that worsened after the pandemic disrupted the retailer's inventory management. To address those gaps, Target has committed roughly $6 billion toward overhauling how it manages inventory, serves shoppers inside stores, and fulfills deliveries. A new facility in Houston — Target's first so-called receive center — began operating on April 29, giving the retailer a place to stage goods from suppliers before they reach stores or distribution centers, easing congestion further down the chain.
Target has trimmed its corporate headcount while directing more resources toward frontline store workers, and it has lowered prices on roughly 3,000 items over the course of the year.
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