Off Target?

Who is boycotting Target now?

Remember the backlash Target got last year for prominently displaying pride merchandise during the designated pride month? The clothing and toys were at the entrance and many customers were appalled. Conservatives called for a boycott. So the company pushed the stuff to the back of some stores and took it out of others announcing that it will sell only pride-themed apparel and home goods in select stores, based on historical sales performance. Nonetheless, the Minneapolis based Target’s website is still replete with pride stuff both for adults and children’s clothing and children’s toys. As a result I closed my Target account and quit shopping there. I guess I was part of the “right-wing” backlash. But Target has always been on left, with pride merchandise and a staunch supporter of DEI. Target said that it is still committed to supporting the LGBTQ community and “most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members, which reflects our culture of care for the over 400,000 people who work at Target.”

Well imagine my surprise when Target announced that it was ending its DEI programs and goals citing an “evolving external landscape.” The company said it was ending its program to help black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of black shoppers and to promote black-owned businesses. I was surprised.. I expected it to do like Costco and tell Trump and Robbie Starbucks to pound sand. But no, Target apparently decided that the LBGTQ folk were more important than black people – or so it appears.

The usual suspects were outraged. Al Sharpton called for a boycott. A Georgia pastor of a megachurch led a forty day “fast” of Target – whatever that means – and endorsed a full boycott to end at Easter. Amazingly the public responded with Target suffering declines in foot traffic for 10 consecutive weeks and its stock falling to a four year low.  I don’t know if the pressure on Target will last or will be transitory. I found it interesting that some writers said that Costco was benefiting from the boycott on Target. I would have thought maybe Walmart would benefit having a similar customer base – although it had curtailed its DEI program. But Costco? One would think that their customer base was different from that of Target’s.

If Target is being boycotted by those on the right and now by those on the left, I guess the only ones who continue to shop there are those in the middle. I guess all this puts conservatives in somewhat of a dilemma, Should you go back to shopping at Target since Al Sharpton wants to boycott them or should you stay away so long as they continue to have LGBTQ children’s clothes and LGBTQ themed children’s toys? Maybe I should go to Costco. But I stopped going there when they quit carrying my favorite pimento cheese (now reinstated) because the owner made some disparaging remarks about Black Lives Matter. I like Sam’s better anyway.