Target Recovers from Data Breach

In December 2013, Target disclosed that hackers had stolen the credit and debit card information of 40 million customers -- later revised to 70 million when personal data like names, addresses, and phone numbers were included. It was the largest retail data breach in history at the time. The CEO resigned. The CIO resigned. Customer traffic plummeted. Target's stock dropped 46% over the following year. Lawsuits piled up, eventually costing over $200 million in settlements.

Brian Cornell became CEO in August 2014 and launched a comprehensive turnaround. He invested $7 billion in store remodels, creating a brighter, more modern shopping experience. He grew Target's private-label brands (Cat & Jack, Good & Gather, All in Motion), which offered higher margins than national brands. He rebuilt the digital infrastructure from scratch. And critically, he invested massively in cybersecurity -- turning Target's greatest vulnerability into a competitive strength.

Target's stock went from $54 in 2014 to over $250 by 2021. Revenue grew from $72 billion to $109 billion. The data breach that nearly destroyed Target became the catalyst for a top-to-bottom transformation that made the company stronger than it had ever been.