Target CEO rebuts Kamala Harris' price gouging accusations, defends retail industry

Target CEO Brian Cornell has strongly refuted allegations of price gouging made by Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

In a recent CNBC interview, Cornell defended the retail industry's practices amid accusations that retailers are exacerbating inflation through pricing strategies.

The exchange comes in the wake of Harris's proposal to implement price controls as a measure to combat inflation, a plan that has faced criticism from many economists. When questioned about potential profit boosting through price gouging, Cornell highlighted Target's recent efforts to reduce prices on approximately 5,000 items, the Daily Wire reports.

"Is there a more competitive space than retail?" Cornell asked rhetorically, emphasizing the industry's razor-thin profit margins. He pointed out Target's recent celebration of achieving a margin rate of just over 6%, contrasting it with other sectors where CEOs report profits of "20%, 30%, 40%, 50%."

Cornell described retail as a "penny business" characterized by intense competition and a focus on providing value to consumers. He also addressed the impact of corporate tax policies on business operations, noting that the 2017 tax reductions enabled Target to invest significantly in its infrastructure.

"Since 2017 when the corporate taxes were reduced, we spent close to $50 billion of capital building new stores across the country, remodeling over 1,000 stores," Cornell stated. He argued that this reinvestment strategy has contributed to substantial growth for the company, with top-line revenue increasing by nearly $40 billion since the tax cuts were implemented.