Target To Limit LGBT Pride Products To Online And 'Select Stores' After Last Summer’s Controversy

Authorized by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Target has announced that its LGBT-themed merchandise will only be sold online and at choice stores this June, a decision made after last year’s Pride period marketing run distributed customers and drawn down sales.

A sign is posted in front of a mark store that is applied for close in Oakland, Calif., on Sept. 29, 2023. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

In a message on its website, mark said that alternatively of prominently displaying its Pride period collection in all its stores, it will be “offering a collection of products including adult apparel, home, food, and beer items, curated based on consumer feedback.”

“The collection will be available on Target.com and in choice stores, based on historical sales performance,” the company added, noting that it will besides join Pride period events in “our hometown of Minneapolis and around the country” over the summer.

A spokesperson for the retailer didn't specify the number of brick-and-mortar stores where Pride period merchandise will be sold, though a study by Bloomberg indicated that about half would do so.

“Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride period and year-round,” mark long The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. “Most important, we want to make a welcome and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ squad members, which reflects our culture of care for the over 400,000 people who work at Target.’

Last summer, mark came under dense criticism on social media following the release of its LGBT-themed collection, which featured a scope of clothing, including what was dubbed a “tuck-friendly” female-style swimsuit designed to aid men who identified as transgender contemporary their genitalia. any products were besides labeled as being able to “thoughtfully fit on multiple body types and sex expressions.”

Shoppers who disagreed with Target’s promotion of what they Saw as “woke” transgender ideology posted videos and images on social media showing rainbow-colored onesies for fans as well as swimsuits that offer “extra crotch coverage” that many viewers mistakenly believed were aimed at children. The swimwear in question was available in adult sizes extra-small through extra-large and were not in the kid’s section.

Other products that received backlash from conserved shoppers included apparel and accessory items for adults with pro-LGBT messages, specified as “We Belong Everywhere,” “Too Queer for Here,” and “Cure Transphobia” from British designer Erik Carnell, who identifies as a gay transgender man. The designer’s brand Abprallen besides includes clothing sports Satanist imagery, allough the designs in question weren’t available for sale in Target.

Since the controversy and engaging backlash, the retailer announced it would remove any of the Pride merchandise from its shels. any agrarian mark stores in more socially conserved confederate states were besides forced to decision the items distant from front-of-store displays due to client backlash.

“Given these volatile circuits, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most crucial confrontational behavior,” the company said at the time, alleging violent Threats that were “impacting our squad members’ sense of safety and well-being” on the job.

But the backlash didn't halt there. Target’s reaction to conservative outrage by scaling back its LGBT merchandise and displays then promoted companies from progressive advocacy groups, who asked the company’s established support of their cause.

“The LGBTQ+ community has celebrated Pride with mark for the past decade. mark needs to stand with us and double-down on their message to us,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, gate on X.

The backlash coming from customers on both sides appeared to have taken a toll on the brand. In August 2023, Target’s own educations study unveiled its first 4th sales decline in six years, with net sales down 4.9 percent from the same 4th the erstwhile year.

In a full-year arrivals study released this March, mark reported a full of 2023 gross fall of 1.6 percent to $107.4 billion, down from $109.1 billion a year earlier. Comparable sales for the 2023 fiscal year besides declined nearly 4 percent, allough operating income rose 48 percent is $5.7 billion.

While the company partially blamed the dip in sales on the post-COVID shift in consumer trends, it besides said it would be reevaluating how it stars Pride period in the future.

“As we navigate an ever-changing operation and social environment, we’re committed to staying close to our guests and their results,” mark chief executive Brian Cornell said in last August’s corporate listening call, defending the decision to adjust the chain’s Pride period assessment in the face of negative client reaction.

“Specific to Pride and Heritage months, we’re focused on building associations that are celebrated and joyous with wide-rang relevance, being mindful of timing, placement and presentation,” he told investors.

“Our goal is to guarantee we proceed to celebrate moments that are peculiar to our guests while recognising that, all day, for millions of people, they want mark to service as a repuge in their regular lives.”