By Savyata Mishra
(Reuters) -U.S. retailer Target on Thursday named long-time PepsiCo executive Jim Lee as its chief financial officer effective Sept. 22.
Lee succeeds Michael Fiddelke, who was appointed as the company's chief operating officer early this year after serving as its finance chief since late 2019.
Lee has more than 25 years of financial, strategy and business experience and was most recently PepsiCo's deputy CFO.
In his prior role, he oversaw Pepsico (NASDAQ:PEP)'s global tax, treasury, investor relations and environmental, social and governance reporting functions, and led the finance teams for the beverage maker's international business.
At Target, he is tasked with overseeing its financial planning and analysis, finance capabilities, internal audit and corporate development.
"We believe that Lee's experience in food & beverage will be beneficial for Target as the company looks to expand its offering and value in the category," Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe said.
The CFO appointment comes ahead of the crucial holiday season, with retailers sharpening their strategies to lure bargain-hunting shoppers.
The Minneapolis-based company returned to comparable sales growth in August after several sluggish quarters. It raised its full-year profit forecast as shoppers who visited the big box retailer's stores for its discounted food and daily household items ended up browsing through other aisles as well.
In an attempt to win over more price-sensitive shoppers, Target cut prices on over 5,000 popular items this year, including on bread, soda, paper towels and pet food.
In January, Fiddelke was appointed as operations head replacing long-time executive John Mulligan. At that time, Target had said Fiddelke would exit the CFO role after a replacement was named.