Target has announced a bold new initiative where the store will reportedly appropriate $2 billion towards Black business owners nationwide between now and 2025.
The move is part of the Minneapolis-based superstore’s reckoning and painstaking introspection on racial equality in the aftermath of the untimely passings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery and the subsequent social uprising across the country in 2020.
In a press release obtained by CNBC, Target’s Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington said, “We have a rich history of working with diverse businesses, but there’s more we can do to spark change across the retail industry, support the Black community and ensure Black guests feel welcomed and represented when they shop at Target.”
Target plans to reach its objective in a multiplicity of ways. The retailer said it will hire more Black construction companies and suppliers, recruit more Black-owned advertising firms and do business with other kinds of Black proprietors.
At the same time, Target said it will soon launch a program called Forward Founders. This is targeting early-stage start-ups led by Black entrepreneurs to aid them in the development, testing and scaling of their products. This is intended to help more Black proprietors sell at behemoth retailers like Target.
