TGT, §1A diff (2019 → 2020)

Item 1A. Risk Factors Our business is subject to many risks. Set forth below are the material risks we face. Risks are listed in the categories where they primarily apply, but other categories may also apply. Competitive and Reputational Risks Our continued success is dependent on positive perceptions of Target which, if eroded, could adversely affect our business and our relationships with our guests and team members. We believe that one of the reasons our guests, team members, and vendors choose Target is the positive reputation we have built over many years for serving our four primary constituencies: guests, team members, shareholders, and the communities in which we operate. To be successful in the future, we must continue to preserve Target's reputation. Reputational value is based in large part on perceptions, and broad access to social media makes it easy for anyone to provide public feedback that can influence perceptions of Target. It may be difficult to control negative publicity, regardless of whether it is accurate. Target’s position or perceived lack of position on social, environmental, public policy or other sensitive issues, and any perceived lack of transparency about those matters, could harm our reputation with certain groups or guests. While reputations may take decades to build, negative incidents can quickly erode trust and confidence and can result in consumer boycotts, governmental investigations, or litigation. In addition, vendors and others with whom we do business may affect our reputation. For example, CVS operates clinics and pharmacies within our stores, and our guests’ perceptions of and experiences with CVS may affect our reputation. Negative reputational incidents could adversely affect our business through lost sales, loss of new store and development opportunities, or team member retention and recruiting difficulties. If we are unable to positively differentiate ourselves from other retailers, our results of operations could be adversely affected. In the past, we have been able to compete successfully by differentiating our guests’ shopping experience through a careful combination of price, merchandise assortment, store environment, convenience, guest service, loyalty programs, and marketing efforts. Guest perceptions regarding the cleanliness and safety of our stores, the functionality, reliability, and speed of our digital channels and fulfillment options, our in-stock levels, and the value of our promotions are among the factors that affect our ability to compete. In addition, our ability to create a personalized guest experience through the collection and use of accurate and relevant guest data is important to our ability to differentiate from other retailers. No single competitive factor is dominant, and actions by our competitors on any of these factors or the failure of our strategies could adversely affect our sales, gross margins, and expenses. Our owned and exclusive brand products help differentiate us from other retailers, generally carry higher margins than equivalent national brand products and represent a significant portion of our overall sales. If we are unable to successfully develop, support, and evolve our owned and exclusive brands, if one or more of these brands experiences a loss of consumer acceptance or confidence, or if we are unable to successfully protect our intellectual property rights, our sales and gross margins could be adversely affected. RISK FACTORSTable of Contents The retail industry's continuing migration to digital channels has affected the ways we differentiate ourselves from other retailers. In particular, consumers are able to quickly and conveniently comparison shop and determine real-time product availability using digital tools, which can lead to decisions based solely on price or the functionality of the digital tools. Consumers may also use third-party channels or devices, such as voice assistants and smart home devices, to initiate shopping searches and place orders, which could sometimes make us dependent on the capabilities and search algorithms of those third parties to reach those consumers. Any difficulties in executing our differentiation efforts, actions by our competitors in response to these efforts, or failures by vendors in managing their own channels, content and technology systems to support these efforts could adversely affect our sales, gross margins, and expenses. If we are unable to successfully provide a relevant and reliable experience for our guests across multiple channels, our sales, results of operations and reputation could be adversely affected. Our business has evolved from an in-store experience to interaction with guests across multiple channels (in-store, online, mobile, social media, voice assistants, and smart home devices, among others). Our guests are using those channels to shop with us and provide feedback and public commentary about our business. We must anticipate and meet changing guest expectations and counteract developments and investments by our competitors. Our evolving retailing efforts include implementing technology, software and processes to be able to conveniently and cost-effectively fulfill guest orders directly from any point within our system of stores and distribution centers and from our vendors. We also need to collect accurate, relevant, and usable guest data to personalize our offerings. Providing multiple fulfillment options and implementing new technology is complex and may not meet expectations for accurate order fulfillment, faster and guaranteed delivery times, low-cost or free shipping, and desired payment methods. Even when we are successful in meeting expectations for fulfillment, if we are unable to offset increased costs of fulfilling orders outside of our traditional in-store channel with efficiencies, cost-savings or expense reductions, our results of operations could be adversely affected. If we do not anticipate and respond quickly to changing consumer preferences, our sales and profitability could suffer. A large part of our business is dependent on our ability to make trend-right decisions and effectively manage our inventory in a broad range of merchandise categories, including apparel, accessories, home décor, electronics, toys, seasonal offerings, food, and other merchandise. If we do not obtain accurate and relevant data on guest preferences, predict changing consumer tastes, preferences, spending patterns and other lifestyle decisions, emphasize the correct categories, implement competitive and effective pricing and promotion strategies, or personalize our offerings to our guests, we may experience lost sales, spoilage, and increased inventory markdowns, which could adversely affect our results of operations by reducing our profitability. Investments and Infrastructure Risks If our capital investments in remodeling existing stores, building new stores, and improving technology and supply chain infrastructure do not achieve appropriate returns, our competitive position, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Our business depends, in part, on our ability to remodel existing stores and build new stores in a manner that achieves appropriate returns on our capital investment. Our store remodel program is larger than historic levels and is being implemented using a custom approach based on the condition of each store and characteristics of the surrounding neighborhood. When building new stores, we compete with other retailers and businesses for suitable locations for our stores. Pursuing the wrong remodel or new store opportunities and any delays, cost increases, disruptions or other uncertainties related to those opportunities could adversely affect our results of operations. We are making, and expect to continue to make, significant investments in technology and selective acquisitions to improve guest experiences across multiple channels and improve the speed, accuracy, and cost efficiency of our supply chain and inventory management systems. The effectiveness of these investments can be less predictable than remodeling stores, and might not provide the anticipated benefits or desired rates of return. In addition, if we are unable to successfully protect any intellectual property rights resulting from our investments, the value received from those investments may be eroded, which could adversely affect our financial condition. RISK FACTORSTable of Contents Pursuing the wrong investment opportunities, being unable to make new concepts scalable, making an investment commitment significantly above or below our needs, or failing to effectively incorporate acquired businesses into our business could result in the loss of our competitive position and adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations. A significant disruption in our computer systems and our inability to adequately maintain and update those systems could adversely affect our operations and negatively affect our guests. We rely extensively on computer systems throughout our business. We also rely on continued and unimpeded access to the Internet to use our computer systems. Our systems are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, malicious attacks, security breaches, catastrophic events, and implementation errors. If our systems are damaged, disrupted or fail to function properly or reliably, we may incur substantial repair or replacement costs, experience data loss or theft and impediments to our ability to manage inventories or process guest transactions, and encounter lost guest confidence, which could require additional promotional activities to attract guests and otherwise adversely affect our results of operations. We continually invest to maintain and update our computer systems. Implementing significant system changes increases the risk of computer system disruption. The potential problems and interruptions associated with implementing technology initiatives, as well as providing training and support for those initiatives, could disrupt or reduce our operational efficiency, and could negatively impact guest experience and guest confidence. For example, during the past year we experienced disruptions in our point-of-sale system that prevented our ability to process debit or credit transactions, negatively impacted some guests’ experiences, and generated negative publicity. Information Security, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Risks If our efforts to provide information security, cybersecurity and data privacy are unsuccessful or if we are unable to meet increasingly demanding regulatory requirements, we may face additional costly government enforcement actions and private litigation, and our reputation and results of operations could suffer. We regularly receive and store information about our guests, team members, vendors, and other third parties. We have programs in place to detect, contain, and respond to data security incidents. However, because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and may be difficult to detect for long periods of time, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventive measures. In addition, hardware, software, or applications we develop or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture or other problems that could unexpectedly compromise information security, cybersecurity, and data privacy. Unauthorized parties may also attempt to gain access to our systems or facilities, or those of third parties with whom we do business, through fraud, trickery, or other forms of deceiving our team members, contractors, and vendors. Prior to 2013, all data security incidents we encountered were insignificant. Our 2013 data breach was significant and went undetected for several weeks. Both we and our vendors have had data security incidents since the 2013 data breach; however, to date these other incidents have not been material to our results of operations. Based on the prominence and notoriety of the 2013 data breach, even minor additional data security incidents could draw greater scrutiny. If we, our vendors, or other third parties with whom we do business experience additional significant data security incidents or fail to detect and appropriately respond to significant incidents, we could be exposed to additional government enforcement actions and private litigation. In addition, our guests could lose confidence in our ability to protect their information, discontinue using our RedCards or loyalty programs, or stop shopping with us altogether, which could adversely affect our reputation, sales, and results of operations. The legal and regulatory environment regarding information security, cybersecurity, and data privacy is increasingly demanding and has enhanced requirements for using and treating personal data. Complying with new data protection requirements, such as those imposed by the recently effective California data privacy laws, may cause us to incur substantial costs, require changes to our business practices, limit our ability to obtain data used to provide a differentiated guest experience, and expose us to further litigation and regulatory risks, each of which could adversely affect our results of operations. RISK FACTORSTable of Contents Supply Chain and Third-Party Risks Changes in our relationships with our vendors, changes in tax or trade policy, interruptions in our supply chain or increased commodity or supply chain costs could adversely affect our results of operations. We are dependent on our vendors to supply merchandise to our distribution centers, stores, and guests. As we continue to add capabilities to quickly move the appropriate amount of inventory at optimal operational costs through our entire supply chain, operating our fulfillment network becomes more complex and challenging. If our fulfillment network does not operate properly or if a vendor fails to deliver on its commitments, we could experience merchandise out-of-stocks, delivery delays or increased delivery costs, which could lead to lost sales and decreased guest confidence, and adversely affect our results of operations. A large portion of our merchandise is sourced, directly or indirectly, from outside the U.S., with China as our single largest source, so any major changes in tax or trade policy, such as the imposition of additional tariffs or duties on imported products, between the U.S. and countries from which we source merchandise could require us to take certain actions, including for example raising prices on products we sell and seeking alternative sources of supply from vendors in other countries with whom we have less familiarity, which could adversely affect our reputation, sales, and our results of operations. Political or financial instability, currency fluctuations, the outbreak of pandemics or other illnesses (such as the recent coronavirus), labor unrest, transport capacity and costs, port security, weather conditions, natural disasters or other events that could slow or disrupt port activities and affect foreign trade are beyond our control and could materially disrupt our supply of merchandise, increase our costs, and/or adversely affect our results of operations. There have been periodic labor disputes impacting the U.S. ports that have caused us to make alternative arrangements to continue the flow of inventory, and if these types of disputes recur, worsen, or occur in other countries through which we source products, it may have a material impact on our costs or inventory supply. Changes in the costs of procuring commodities used in our merchandise or the costs related to our supply chain, could adversely affect our results of operations. A disruption in relationships with third-party service providers could adversely affect our operations. We rely on third parties to support our business, including portions of our technology infrastructure, development and support, our digital platforms and fulfillment operations, credit and debit card transaction processing, extensions of credit for our 5% RedCard Rewards loyalty program, the clinics and pharmacies operated by CVS within our stores, the infrastructure supporting our guest contact centers, aspects of our food offerings, and delivery services. If we are unable to contract with third parties having the specialized skills needed to support those strategies or integrate their products and services with our business, or if they fail to meet our performance standards and expectations, then our reputation and results of operations could be adversely affected. For example, if our guests unfavorably view CVS’s operations, our ability to discontinue the relationship is limited and our results of operations could be adversely affected. Legal, Regulatory, Global and Other External Risks Our earnings depend on the state of macroeconomic conditions and consumer confidence in the U.S. Nearly all of our sales are in the U.S., making our results highly dependent on U.S. consumer confidence and the health of the U.S. economy. In addition, a significant portion of our total sales is derived from stores located in five states: California, Texas, Florida, Minnesota and Illinois, resulting in further dependence on local economic conditions in these states. Deterioration in macroeconomic conditions or consumer confidence could negatively affect our business in many ways, including slowing sales growth, reducing overall sales, and reducing gross margins. These same considerations impact the success of our credit card program. We share in the profits generated by the credit card program with TD Bank Group (TD), which owns the receivables generated by our proprietary credit cards. Deterioration in macroeconomic conditions or changes in consumer preferences concerning our credit card program could adversely affect the volume of new credit accounts, the amount of credit card program balances, and the ability of credit card holders to pay their balances. These conditions could result in us receiving lower profit-sharing payments. RISK FACTORSTable of Contents Uncharacteristic or significant weather conditions, natural disasters, and other catastrophic events could adversely affect our results of operations. Uncharacteristic or significant weather conditions can affect consumer shopping patterns, particularly in apparel and seasonal items, which could lead to lost sales or greater than expected markdowns and adversely affect our short-term results of operations. In addition, our three largest states by total sales are California, Texas and Florida, areas where natural disasters are more prevalent. Natural disasters in those states or in other areas where our sales or operations are concentrated could result in significant physical damage to or closure of one or more of our stores, distribution centers, facilities, or key vendors. In addition, natural disasters and other catastrophic events, such as the recent coronavirus outbreak, in areas where we or our vendors have operations, could cause delays in the distribution of merchandise from our vendors to our distribution centers, stores, and guests, affect consumer purchasing power, or reduce consumer demand, which could adversely affect our results of operations by increasing our costs and lowering our sales. We rely on a large, global and changing workforce of team members, contractors and temporary staffing. If we do not effectively manage our workforce and the concentration of work in certain global locations, our labor costs and results of operations could be adversely affected. With over 300,000 team members, our workforce costs represent our largest operating expense, and our business is dependent on our ability to attract, train, and retain the appropriate mix of qualified team members, contractors, and temporary staffing and effectively organize and manage those resources as our business and strategic priorities change. Many team members are in entry-level or part-time positions with historically high turnover rates. Our ability to meet our changing labor needs while controlling our costs is subject to external factors such as labor laws and regulations, unemployment levels, prevailing wage rates, benefit costs, changing demographics, and our reputation and relevance within the labor market. If we are unable to attract and retain a workforce meeting our needs, our operations, guest service levels, support functions, and competitiveness could suffer and our results of operations could be adversely affected. We are periodically subject to labor organizing efforts. If we become subject to one or more collective bargaining agreements in the future, it could adversely affect our labor costs and how we operate our business. We also have support offices in India and China, and any extended disruption of our operations in those locations, whether due to labor difficulties or otherwise, could adversely affect our operations and financial results. Failure to address product safety and sourcing concerns could adversely affect our sales and results of operations. If our merchandise offerings do not meet applicable safety standards or Target's or our guests’ expectations regarding safety, supply chain transparency and responsible sourcing, we could experience lost sales and increased costs and be exposed to legal and reputational risk. All of our vendors must comply with applicable product safety laws, and we are dependent on them to ensure that the products we buy comply with all safety standards. Events that give rise to actual, potential or perceived product safety concerns, including food or drug contamination and product defects, could expose us to government enforcement action or private litigation and result in costly product recalls and other liabilities. Our sourcing vendors, including any third parties selling through our digital channels, must also meet our expectations across multiple areas of social compliance, including supply chain transparency and responsible sourcing. We have a social compliance audit process that perform audits on a regular basis, but we cannot continuously monitor every vendor, so we are also dependent on our vendors to ensure that the products we buy comply with our standards. If we need to seek alternative sources of supply from vendors with whom we have less familiarity, the risk of our standards not being met may increase. Negative guest perceptions regarding the safety and sourcing of the products we sell and events that give rise to actual, potential or perceived compliance and social responsibility concerns could hurt our reputation, result in lost sales, cause our guests to seek alternative sources for their needs, and make it difficult and costly for us to regain the confidence of our guests. RISK FACTORS & UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTSTable of Contents Our failure to comply with federal, state, local, and international laws, or changes in these laws could increase our costs, reduce our margins, and lower our sales. Our business is subject to a wide array of laws and regulations. Our expenses could increase and our operations could be adversely affected by law changes or adverse judicial developments involving an employer's obligation to recognize collective bargaining units, minimum wage requirements, advance scheduling notice requirements, health care mandates, the classification of exempt and non-exempt employees, and the classification of workers as either employees or independent contractors (particularly as it applies to our Shipt subsidiary, a technology company that connects Shipt members through its online marketplace with a network of independent contractors who select, purchase, and deliver groceries and household essentials ordered from Target and other retailers). The classification of workers as employees or independent contractors in particular is an area that is experiencing legal challenges and legislative changes. If our Shipt subsidiary is required to treat its independent contractor network as employees, it could result in higher compensation and benefit costs. Changes in the legal or regulatory environment affecting information security, cybersecurity and data privacy, product safety, payment methods and related fees, responsible sourcing, supply chain transparency, or environmental protection, among others, could cause our expenses to increase without an ability to pass through any increased expenses through higher prices. In addition, if we fail to comply with other applicable laws and regulations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and local anti-bribery laws, we could be subject to reputation and legal risk, including government enforcement action and class action civil litigation, which could adversely affect our results of operations by increasing our costs, reducing our margins, and lowering our sales. Financial Risks Increases in our effective income tax rate could adversely affect our business, results of operations, liquidity, and net income. A number of factors influence our effective income tax rate, including changes in tax law and related regulations, tax treaties, interpretation of existing laws, and our ability to sustain our reporting positions on examination. Changes in any of those factors could change our effective tax rate, which could adversely affect our net income. In addition, our operations outside of the U.S. may cause greater volatility in our effective tax rate. If we are unable to access the capital markets or obtain bank credit, our financial position, liquidity, and results of operations could suffer. We are dependent on a stable, liquid, and well-functioning financial system to fund our operations and capital investments. Our continued access to financial markets depends on multiple factors including the condition of debt capital markets, our operating performance, and maintaining strong credit ratings. If rating agencies lower our credit ratings, it could adversely affect our ability to access the debt markets, our cost of funds, and other terms for new debt issuances. Each of the credit rating agencies reviews its rating periodically, and there is no guarantee our current credit rating will remain the same. In addition, we use a variety of derivative products to manage our exposure to market risk, principally interest rate fluctuations. Disruptions or turmoil in the financial markets could reduce our ability to fund our operations and capital investments, and lead to losses on derivative positions resulting from counterparty failures, which could adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. Item 1B.