In April of 2021, Target made a commitment to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025. The general merchandise retailer vowed to expand the number of Black-owned brands available in Target stores as well as spend more with Black-owned suppliers. Target plan is exemplifying their purpose through an end goal that creates more equitable experiences for Black guests, obtains new resources for Black entrepreneurs, and harnesses the full impact, scale, and size of their economic resources.
Today, Target is honoring their dedication to these goals and upholding transparency. They are launching a new media fund initiative through an in-house media company, Roundel. Since 2020, Target’s spending budget in conjunction with Black-owned companies and suppliers has increased by over 50 percent. Additionally, the number of Black-owned brands across their assortment has doubled to more than 100. Target’s clarity in their endeavors moving forward keeps power in the hands of their mission. The Roundel Media Fund, which serves to offset the cost of marketing programs at Target will award over $25 million in media to Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) brands by 2025.
In May, Target announced ‘Forward Founders’, the accelerator program for early-stage CPG companies looking to better understand retail. It’s designed to help historically under-resourced founders be the next wave of wealth-building companies.
A closer look at some of Target’s progress since the start of this initiative includes over 30 Black entrepreneurs supported through Forward Founders, over 2,000 underrepresented entrepreneurs have been granted access to free resources through Target’s virtual Forward Founders program, over 100 Black-owned brands are now available at Target across every major category, a 65% increase in Black-owned beauty brands at Target over the past year, and over 200 books from Black authors added to this assortment over the last year.
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