*

Target ( TGT ) revises holiday-quarter sales forecast upward due

to

strong demand

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Target's ( TGT ) sales contrast with Macy's downbeat holiday

outlook

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Target ( TGT ) announces leadership changes, including new chief

stores

officer

By Siddharth Cavale

NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Target ( TGT ) raised its

holiday-quarter comparable sales forecast on Thursday, buoyed by

robust shopper demand for clothing, toys and beauty products

during November and December.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday were record sales days, the

Minneapolis-based chain said in a statement, prompting it to

raise its comparable sales growth forecast for the three months

through January to 1.5% from prior expectations of flat growth.

Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected fourth-quarter

comparable sales to rise 0.2%. However, the retailer maintained

its forecast for fourth-quarter and full-year adjusted earnings

per share to be in the range of $1.85 to $2.45 and $8.30 to

$8.90, respectively.

Target's ( TGT ) performance is in contrast to rival Macy's,

which issued a more downbeat outlook for the holiday quarter. It

also surpassed initial estimates from data and research firms

that had predicted a slightly weaker Black Friday and Cyber

Monday for Target ( TGT ) compared to rivals Walmart ( WMT ), PDD's

Temu and Shein.

Comparable sales rose 2% during November and December,

Target ( TGT ) said, driven by a nearly 3% rise in shopper visits to its

website and 1,963 U.S. stores.

The retailer experienced a "meaningful acceleration" in

purchases of non-essential items, particularly apparel and toys,

during those months, which was a change from the previous

quarter, where apparel sales were weak due to unusually warm

weather across the U.S. which reduced spending on winter

clothing. As a result of those trends, Target ( TGT ) had issued a much

weaker than expected holiday-quarter sales forecast, causing its

shares to drop.

Since then the company boosted advertising on streaming

platforms like Peacock and Hulu after Black Friday and on Cyber

Monday. It also increased promotions to attract cash-strapped

customers and cut prices across a wide assortment. Some of these

promotions included up to 40% off sweatshirts, sweatpants,

fleece and denim products and increasing its collection of toys

priced under $20.

The company also benefited from its exclusive merchandise

partnership with pop star Taylor Swift, a Target ( TGT ) spokesperson

said, with shoppers queueing up to buy her Eras Tour book and

vinyl albums across stores on Black Friday. Besides that apparel

was a category that did particularly well during November and

December, he added.

Target ( TGT ) on Thursday also announced several executive

leadership changes, including the elevation of Adrienne Costanzo

senior vice president, store operations, as its new chief stores

officer and Prat Vemana's transition to chief information

officer and product officer from chief digital and product

officer.

Costanzo and Vemana replace Mark Schindele and Brett Craig,

respectively, who are retiring. The company also announced the

promotion of Sarah Travis, currently the head of its retail

media business, to executive vice president and chief digital

and revenue officer.