Target CEO addresses 'price gouging' accusations in retail
There’s no room for price gouging in a ultra-competitive business like retail, Target CEO Brian Cornell said on Wednesday.
There’s no room for price gouging in a ultra-competitive business like retail, Target CEO Brian Cornell said on Wednesday.
In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” the retail chief disputed campaign talking points accusing grocers of inflating prices. He said retailers have to be responsive to customers or risk losing business.
He was asked by CNBC’s Joe Kernen, who referred to comments by Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and asked if Target or its competitors ever benefit from price gouging. Harris last week proposed the first-ever federal ban on “corporate price-gouging in the food and grocery industries,” saying some companies are charging excessively and fueling household inflation.
“We’re in a penny business,” Cornell responded, noting the small profit margins in the retail industry. He described the many places that customers can turn to check for lower prices or to find merchandise elsewhere, from going to stores to browsing on their phones to compare the prices of a gallon of milk at different retailers.
Target’s retail chief made the comments after the discounter beat Wall Street’s expectations for earnings and revenue on Wednesday, but struck a cautious note with its full-year guidance. It said it expects comparable sales, which take out the impact of store openings and closures, to be on the lower side of its range of flat to up 2%. Yet it raised its profit guidance, saying it expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $9 to $9.70, up from the previous outlook of $8.60 and $9.60.
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