There’s a new top marketer at Target’s helm, and, like her predecessor, she was promoted from within. Today, the Minneapolis-based retailer announced a management shuffle that includes the promotion of Cara Sylvester, a 14-year Target veteran, to the chief marketing officer post.
At the same time, Rick Gomez, who was promoted to CMO four years ago, will now serve as Target’s chief food and beverage officer. Both Gomez and Sylvester are executive VPs with the company.
For the year ended Feb. 1, 2020, Target spent $1.6 billion on worldwide advertising, a 2% portion of its sales, according to Ad Age Datacenter. One of the few retailers to benefit from pandemic-related lockdowns, and the focus on everyday essential products by consumers, Target has seen sales flourish in recent quarters. The holiday season was no exception, when same-store sales grew 17%, inclusive of a digital sales increase of 102%.
Now, Sylvester and Gomez are tasked with continuing that momentum as consumer behavior changes amid COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.