Target returns to Minneapolis after a retreat as new CEO pushes turnaround

Target’s Gulfstream G280 (N484EM) arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on May 15 after a brief flight from Wolf River Landing Strip in Wisconsin. The 59-minute hop from a rural airstrip near the Wolf River suggests a corporate retreat or executive getaway for the retailer’s leadership.

The return to headquarters follows a period of intense strategic change. Target’s new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, who took the helm on Feb. 1, is in the midst of a turnaround effort that includes a $1 billion investment to remodel stores, refresh merchandise, and expand technology, per a March report from the Minnesota Star Tribune. The retailer has also launched a new supply chain facility in Houston and overhauled categories like home and beauty, as covered by CNBC and Retail Dive.

Recent flights from Target’s fleet show a pattern of cross-country travel: on May 13, one jet flew from Minneapolis to Washington D.C., and earlier that week another visited Colorado Springs. The Wolf River stop—a remote area known for outdoor recreation—fits the occasional use of the company’s three Gulfstream jets for executive transport to leisure sites, before returning executives back to the hub for the coming week’s business.