Target has vowed to spend more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025. The retail giant promises to add new black-owned brands to its shelves, hire Black-owned companies for construction and advertising and launch a new program to help identify and support emerging black start-ups.
According to CNBC, the company’s new initiative comes after calls to advance racial equity in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery and protests all across the country in 2020.
In a press release, Target’s Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington said, “We have a rich history of working with diverse businesses, but there’s more we can do to spark change across the retail industry, support the Black community and ensure Black guests feel welcomed and represented when they shop at Target.”
The retailer said it would more actively recruit advertising firms, suppliers, construction companies, and other kinds of Black-owned businesses. They also announced that they would create a program called Forward Founders for early-stage start-ups led by Black entrepreneurs to help them develop, test, and scale products to sell at mass retailers like Target.
