Target’s incoming chief executive officer Michael Fiddelke joined more than 60 CEOs in co-signing an open letter calling for “an immediate deescalation of tensions” in Minnesota.
The letter, released on Sunday by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, also included Best Buy CEO Corie Barry on the list of signatories. Both Target and Best Buy are headquartered in Minnesota. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment from Retail Dive.
“With yesterday’s tragic news, we are calling for an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions,” the co-signed letter said. “In this difficult moment for our community, we call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that enables families, businesses, our employees, and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future.”
Tensions have risen in Minneapolis and St. Paul with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by federal officials earlier this month. The letter comes after the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday by federal agents, which state officials shared details about during a press conference. While the letter did not directly mention either shooting, it spoke of the "widespread disruption and tragic loss of life" across the state.
“The recent challenges facing our state have created widespread disruption and tragic loss of life,” the letter added. “For the past several weeks, representatives of Minnesota’s business community have been working every day behind the scenes with federal, state and local officials to advance real solutions.”
Prior to Saturday, pressure arose from some activists and consumers pushing for Target specifically to make a public statement on recent federal immigration activities in Minnesota.
Minnesota-based interfaith group ISAIAH had publicly called on Target to speak out against ICE activity in the region, with several clergy members visiting Target’s headquarters earlier in the month to voice their concern. Additionally, hundreds of businesses in Minnesota on Friday held a strike in protest of the federal immigration efforts going on in the state, as reported by local publication The Minnesota Star Tribune.
The pressure on Target partly stems from previous consumer backlash to a shift in its corporate DEI initiatives announced last January and its decision to pull some products from its LGBTQ+ Pride Month merchandise assortment in 2023.
“I think that Targets have the bulk of the commentary and scrutiny over DEI rollbacks, even though it hasn't done anything particularly different from Walmart or anyone else,” Alison Taylor, professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, told Retail Dive. “So we're paying disproportionate attention to Target partly because it's led on DEI for well over a decade.”
While companies such as Best Buy and General Mills are also based in the same region, Target is the most prominent business in Minneapolis, Taylor noted, which adds to the increased attention on its brand decisions.
“I think corporations have been backed into a corner,” Taylor said. “You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. I think companies have an array of really, really bad choices.
