Target Suffers Sales Downturn Thanks to Conservatives, Plans Changes for Future 'Pride' Months
“Go woke, go broke” is the saying.
That’s being borne out for some corporations like Target.
The retail giant put more than its toe into the swirling waters of “pride” month this year — it immersed much of its entire corporate image.
And like Anheuser-Busch with its Bud Light fiasco, Target ran into problems.
Selling “tuck-friendly” swimsuits and pro-LGBT merchandise aimed at kids, Target faced a boycott by conservatives and traditionalists.
As a result, Target sales took a big dip in June.
In a Wednesday conference call with investors, Christina Hennington, Target’s chief growth officer, said the company faced “headwinds” (MBA-speak for “problems”), “including the strong reaction to this year’s ‘pride’ assortment.”
Michael Fiddelke, the company’s chief financial officer, told investors the boycott affected store traffic and “top-line trends.”
CEO Brian Cornell said factors such as inventory control and reduced consumer spending dampened second-quarter profits.
But he couldn’t sidestep that “pride” thing.
“Beyond these factors, in the second quarter, many of our store team members [faced] a negative guest reaction to our ‘pride’ assortment,” Cornell said. “As you know, we have featured a ‘pride’ assortment for more than a decade.”
Target’s “pride” efforts this year began in mid-May, he said, and sales were down that month by a bit more than 3 percent.
June — “pride” month proper — saw a sales drop of about 7 percent, with the losses remaining at 5 percent in July. And total revenue for the second quarter, which ended June 30, was down by 4.9 percent.
This quarter’s sales are also expected to be down for Target, along with its overall profit goal for the year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In a call with reporters, Cornell said, “As we navigate an ever-changing operating and social environment, we are applying what we learned,” the Journal reported.
But Target may not be applying too much of what it learned, as Cornell said in the investors’ call, “‘Pride’ is one of many heritage moments that are important to our guests and our team. And we’ll continue to support these moments in the future.
“They are just one part of our commitment to support a diverse team, which helps us serve a diverse set of guests. … Specific to ‘pride’ and heritage months, we’re focused on building assortments that are celebratory and joyous with wide-ranging relevance,” he said.
According to the Journal, executives said they would still promote the LGBT agenda next year, “but with a more focused assortment of merchandise.”
Is Target going to tone it down? If not, does that mean it is planning to solidify many of its customers as ex-customers?
It will be interesting to see. Go woke…
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