Target’s New CEO Confronts an Identity Crisis: Andrea Felsted

On Wednesday, Target Corp. named long-serving executive Michael Fiddelke to succeed Brian Cornell as chief executive officer.

Fiddelke’s mission is Target turnaround 2.0. And his task will be even harder than the revival Cornell pulled off after he took the top job in 2014.

This time around, the challenge for the current chief operating officer, who joined the company as an intern in 2003, is not just about getting the right products onto shelves in a pleasant environment. Revitalizing Target involves deciding what the retailer stands for, and imbuing this identity into every aspect of its business, to win back ...