Target’s new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, took over on Monday and faces the difficult task of turning around the retailer that has suffered a prolonged period of declining sales and now faces ongoing unrest in its hometown of Minneapolis.

Target announced in August that Fiddelke, then COO and a 20-year Target veteran, would succeed Brian Cornell as the embattled retailer.

Cornell had been at the helm for more than a decade. In 2022, he pledged to remain CEO for three years. That year, Target’s board abandoned its mandatory retirement age of 65, allowing him to stay on during a crucial period for the company as it worked to revive traffic and growth.

However, the company’s headwinds persisted, with reports from Target terraced rooms of the continued decline in sales.

Under his leadership, Fiddelke plans to improve the company’s merchandising and improve its digital and technology capabilities to drive growth and reactivate sales.

Michael Fiddelke previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Target. (Siddharth Cavale/Reuters)

In a Monday memo to employees, Fiddelke laid out some of his early priorities, including improving Target’s merchandise mix, improving stores and its website to make shopping easier and more engaging, and using technology to streamline operations and personalize the customer experience.

The company also plans to invest more in employees and strengthen ties to the communities where it operates, Fiddelke said in the memo.

“Priority 1 to 10 is accelerating Target’s growth,” Fiddelke said in a statement emailed to FOX Business, adding that the company is “moving with urgency and focus.”

Michael Fiddelke succeeded Brian Cornell as Target’s new CEO in February. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This strategy is coming to life across the business and we are already seeing progress,” he continued.

In November, Target reported $25.3 billion in third-quarter sales, down 1.5% from a year earlier.

Sales at stores open for at least a year, a key indicator of a health of the retailer, declined 2.7% in the third quarter, with a sharp decline in store sales, partially offset by growth in online sales.

In the previous three-month period, the company posted $25.2 billion in sales, down slightly less than 1% from a year ago. The company blamed the drop on shoppers pulling back merchandise, although that was partly offset by stronger non-merchandise sales such as services. Sales at stores open at least a year also fell nearly 2%, and same-store sales fell more than 3%.

The company is based in Minneapolis, where there have been large-scale protests against federal immigration crackdowns. Protests have intensified after two fatal shootings involving federal agents in the area, with some anti-ICE agitators occupying Target stores.

A shopper at a Target store before Black Friday in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and ICU nurse, was fatally shot by federal agents on Jan. 24 during an immigration enforcement operation in the city. On January 7, federal immigration agents fatally shot Renée Nicole Good, also 37, during an ICE enforcement action in Minneapolis; both incidents occurred as part of the broader Operation Metro Surge.

After Pretti’s death, Fiddelke was one of the 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies calling for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” and for state, local and federal officials to cooperate.

“We call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state and federal leaders to achieve a quick and lasting solution that allows families, businesses, our employees and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future,” the group said in a letter.