Bob Ulrich: Chairman, CEO, Dayton Hudson and Target; DSN's 1995 Discounter of the Year takes DH by the reins - The Power Players

Discount Store News, Dec 4, 1995 by Richard Halverson

Bob Ulrich, chairman of both Target and its parent, Dayton Hudson, has a little known artistic side that might help account for his success in carving out an upscale niche that has established Target as a premier discounter that can hold its own against Wal-Mart.

A collector of carved wooden masks and figures from Zaire "Bob has a beautiful sense for the form and emotional expression of a piece," says Evan Maurer, executive director of the Minnesota Institute of the Arts.

Ulrich sits as an active director of the institute, lending Target's marketing and advertising expertise to the museum shop and its real estate advice on traffic flow design for a museum building project. Ulrich also is interested in architecture and helped an architect design a house outside Minneapolis that shows Frank Lloyd Wright touches in its use of natural materials that emphasize form and the flow of space. And therein, perhaps, lies the tale.

"Ulrich has a good sense of style, form, color and design," Maurer says. "I think it rubs off on Target merchandise."

"Ulrich is a renaissance man," says Jim Adamson, formerly a senior vp and gmm at Target and now ceo of Flagstar Restaurants, including Denny's and Hardees. "He's bright. He has eclectic interests."

In addition to his interest in art, he also is an outstanding racquetball player, a music lover and an inveterate museum goer, Adamson says.

Ulrich "doesn't like to lose" at racquetball, says Warren Feldberg, former senior vp of merchandising at Target. Also, Ulrich has taken an interest in race horses, Feldberg adds.

"Speed is Life" is Ulrich's favorite slogan. Some top executives reportedly sport watches bearing that slogan along with images of race horses.

His interests also extend to the theater. Ulrich served six years on the board of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

"He's a man of broad interests, says Ed Martinson, executive directoin of the Guthrie. "Bob is so quick, he's `scary smart.' he can take the kernel of an idea. simplify it and make business flow from it."

Personally, Ulrich is "an extremely private person," says another former Target executive. "Bob has a tight, close circle of friends."

Ulrich's artistic sense has been a valuable asset in his retail career and has made its mark oil Target.

As soon as Ulrich arrived at Target in 1984, he developed a strategy to different Target from Wal-Mart and Kmart and has stuck to it consistently.

"Bob deserves all the credit for- differentiating Target from Wal-Mart, " Adamson says.

Ulrich emphasizes brands, fashions and trends. He creates a different shopping experience, Adamson adds.

By carving out a clear niche for Target, Ulrich proves "there is life after Wal-Mart," says George Jones, president of worldwide licensing for Warner Bros. and former executive vp for store operations at Target.

"Bob knows the importance that value plays in the equation for success in the world of discounting," Jones says.

Ulrich also focuses on having the right assortments. "He makes sure that Target stays in tune with customer interests," Jones says.

Ulrich encourages risk-taking on the part of his team members and won't waffle at the first sign of adversity. He is intensely competitive regarding everything, whether playing tennis or running a retailing giant, Jones says.

That intensity has earned Ulrich the nickname Bullet Bob. Jones, however, sees that nickname as a positive. "Bob is always consistent in direction and strategy."

Ulrich set the standards on product quality, presentation and systems in the discount industry, says Rob Gruen, former dmm, hard lines for Target. Now senior vp for worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Gruen emphasizes that Target just didn't respond defensively to the Wal-Mart onslaught.

He created a distinet position in the marketplace for Target, one based on a specific vision. Then

Ulrich surrounded himself with quality individuals and gave them the freedom to do their work, Gruen adds.

Given its department store heritage, Target has always taken an upscale approach, Feldberg says. The difference is that Ulrich has "executed more fully on that that his predecessors." Ulrich was a department store man, starting as a management trainee at Dayton's in 1967 upon his graduation from the University of Minnesota.

In 1995, his peers voted him DSN Discounter of the Year for the third time. As chairman and ceo of DH and Target, Ulrich must concern himself with votes of another-kind: Wall Street dollars.

Ulrich became chairman of DH in July 1994, after Ken Macke, burdened with the poor performance of the Mervyn's division, took early retirement.

Ulrich emphasizes that DH is becoming a boundaryless company that leverages as the "power of one" the assets and strengths of all three divisions. He remains committed to all three divisions: the department stoles, Melvyn's and Target.

The stock market has never been comfortable with a diversified approach that operates three distinet concepts at three different price points, says Dean Ramos, retail analyst for Dain Bosworth, Minneapolis. Diversification failed at Kmart and Melville, Ramos points out.