Target CEO meets with Biden as the company — and White House — try to figure out U.S. consumers

Target CEO Brian Cornell met with President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon as the retailer — and the White House — try to figure out U.S. consumers.

Cornell is one of about a half dozen business leaders across industries who offered up their point of view on the economy and the labor market at the White House. Other attendees at the meeting with Biden were 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 venture capital firm General Catalyst; Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO of financial 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 at the meeting, but deferred to the White House for more details about the content of the meeting. The CEO huddle is closed to press.

Biden’s meeting with the business leaders comes as the White House gears up for the next presidential election, a time when his track record on the economy and inflation will be under the microscope. Inflation remains stubbornly high — a factor that has cut into consumer spending at Target — but Biden on Thursday cheered new data showing the rate of price increases continues to slow.

For Target, the meeting comes at a pivotal moment when the retailer’s business has taken a hit from a tougher economic backdrop and the divisive political climate. The big-box retailer also recently announced it would close nine stores in major American cities, including New York City and San Francisco, blaming the shuttered locations on heightened levels of organized retail crime and concerns about violence.

The big-box retailer cut its full-year forecast in August, saying its shoppers have continued to watch their dollars and spend mostly on necessities even as inflation cools. At the time, Cornell cited other factors that could hurt sales in the coming months and during the critical holiday season, including higher interest rates and the return of student loan payments.

Target also got caught in the crosshairs of conservative political furor over its Pride month merchandise. It has had a collection of LGBTQ-themed items for more than a decade, but the merchandise drew backlash this year. The company removed some items, citing concerns about employee and customer safety.

In August, Cornell said on an earnings call that the “negative reaction” contributed to the company missing Wall Street’s sales expectations for the most recent quarter.

Cornell has met with the White House before. During the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, he joined Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and other top executives at a press conference in the Rose Garden with then-President Donald Trump and pledged to help ramp up access to Covid testing.