I spent my Saturday with the Target exec on a mission to fix its stores

Target's chief stores officer, Adrienne Costanzo, is responsible for more than 350,000 workers across 2,000 stores in all 50 US states.

Dominick Reuter/Business Insider Back-to-school is Target's biggest shopping moment outside of the holidays.

Business Insider went behind the scenes with Target's stores chief to see how it's tackling the rush.

"This is the 16th state in three weeks of visits," Adrienne Costanzo told us.

If the holiday shopping season is a retailer's final exam each year, back-to-school is the midterms .

For Target, this year's test is a big one.

Success depends on getting the basics right: exciting merchandise, fully stocked stores, and competitive pricing .

Those are all areas where Target has stumbled in recent years.

This year's season is also an early read on CEO Michael Fiddelke's turnaround plan.

He took the reins earlier this year after a rough patch for Target, which faced boycotts in 2025 after winding down several diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Last week, it faced fresh criticism over a children's Halloween costume resembling racist minstrel imagery; Target pulled it and apologized.

To see how Target is trying to pull it off, Business Insider visited a pair of stores in Madison, Wisconsin, with chief stores officer Adrienne Costanzo.

Costanzo huddles with store manager, Ben Cossack, before her walkthrough.

Dominick Reuter/Business Insider Costanzo is a 22-year veteran of Target and has held numerous roles in HR and store operations.