Overview

• Tuesday marked the first formal day of a three-days-a-week in-office schedule for many employees at Target’s Nicollet Mall headquarters, coinciding with the company’s multi-day Target Together gathering.
• Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez directed parts of the commercial unit to adopt the schedule, while Target says its leader-driven “flex for your day” policy remains in place and affected teams can choose which days to come in.
• Downtown businesses reported heavier coffee lines and fuller parking ramps as hundreds of red-clad employees returned, though overall worker presence remains roughly 70% to 75% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Downtown Council.
• Some employees described confusion and uneven application of the rollout, with reports of denied exemptions, relocations, and at least one termination, even as Target says about 80% of headquarters staff plan to stay.
• The push comes as the retailer faces sluggish sales — same-store sales fell more than 3% for May through July — and leadership change, aligning with a broader national trend of tighter in-office expectations.