OAN’s Roy Francis
1:01 PM – Saturday, May 27, 2023
The retailer giant’s shares fell after the controversy surrounding its “pride-friendly” merchandise, which included its “tuck-friendly” swimsuits, led to nationwide boycotts.
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Since the backlash began against Target, its stock value has dropped almost 13%, according to the Dow Jones Market Data Group, which amounted to around $9.3 billion in market value, its lowest value in the past year.
The falling value of Target is due to the boycott of the retail giant since they introduced, and prominently displayed, this year’s “pride friendly” merchandise.
Among the merchandise were “tuck-friendly” swimsuits, which allow transgender individuals who have not had their transition surgeries to “hide their private parts.”
Although Target had told the Associated Press that “kids’ swimsuits in the Pride collection did not include the ‘tuck-friendly’ label that angered so many customers,” many have said that they have found such products in the kids and teens sections.
Customers have also found a kids’ swimskirt that was displayed at the stores which featured a tag that read: “Thoughtfully Fit on Multiple Body Types and Gender Expressions.”
Another line of clothing that Target had received backlash for was a shirt from the clothing brand “Abprallen,” a brand which offers Satanist-themed motifs and focuses on LGBTQ+ principles.
After a week of boycotts which resulted in a sharp decline in stock value, Target decided to make “adjustments” to some of its LGBTQ+ merchandise in its stores. The retailer released a statement that said that they are removing certain items “which have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior” due to “threats impacting our team members.”
“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” the statement read. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”
Another change that Target has made, which many have deemed is not satisfactory, is moving pride merchandise from being prominently displayed in its stores, to the back in some outlets “to avoid confrontations.”
The announcements from Target come following the boycott by many of its customers which was being led by high-profile figures such as Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert, broadcasters Megyn Kelly and Tomi Lauren, and Daily Wire’s Conservative political commentator Matt Walsh, among many others.
The retail giant also said that they are making changes to their displays because their stores have also been receiving bomb threats, which many blamed on customers who were angry with the pride merchandise.
However, a recent report showed that the bomb threats have been from customers who were upset with the company and wanted the pride merchandise to be brought back.
Target is now reviewing its entire line of pride merchandise in an effort to avoid the same losses that Bud Light has been suffering, $18.8 billion in losses since March 30th, due to their marketing campaign which featured Dylan Mulvaney.
The company has still not revealed which items will be removed from its stores and website as the products are still under review.
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