The explosive fallout for retail giant Target continued Wednesday when the corporation reported missing its financial goal in the second quarter. That was the first time in six years that the big-box chain failed to meet its quarterly target.
Of course, the company made the enormous mistake of plastering garish “pride” month displays in its locations. And it got worse.
These prominent fixtures featured gay-themed apparel for babies along with “tuck-friendly” swimwear. They also proudly displayed a product line from an admitted Satanist and transgender activist.
Target shares plummeted as news spread like wildfire of its partnering with radical gender ideology. From an April high of $170 per share, stocks bottomed out at $126 per share in June and are still floundering at that level.
The hit on the company reached a staggering $14 billion in the last two weeks of May. And then came the quarterly earnings report.
The chain revealed a whopping 5.4% decline in sales over last year, proving that the boycott by conservatives pummeled the bottom line. It marked the first such decline in six years.
Target CEO Brian Cornell is openly admitting the Pride Collection boycott worked as the company misses revenue estimates for the first time in 6 years: https://t.co/GzmwY26Gg9
— OutKick (@Outkick) August 16, 2023
Now Target faces further backlash through a lawsuit from Stephen Miller’s America First Legal. Miller is a former advisor to then-President Donald Trump who now heads a prominent legal organization.
The legal filing by America First Legal accused the retail giant of misleading investors over risks associated with its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
The lawsuit centers on the portfolio destruction the company’s stock decline caused for Florida shareholder Brian Craig.
In April 2022, he invested $50,000 in over 216,000 Target shares. That outlay’s value sank to under $35,000 a year later before plunging to $28,896 by June 14.
Target officials are already on board with scaling back the “pride” displays in 2024. According to National Review, Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington told a media conference call that the company will downsize the June event.
She said, “You will see us celebrate ‘pride,’ you will see us celebrate these heritage moments, but with modifications.”
If the “modifications” include avoiding targeting small children with merchandise celebrating radical gender ideology, that will be an improvement. And it’s not likely the company will team up with a self-avowed Satanist in the near future.
