Freefall target: Retail giant’s market value falls $13 billion as shares fall 2.14%

By James On Jun 1, 2023

Retail giant Target’s market value plummeted by $13 billion on Wednesday, as shares fell another 2.14 percent for a ninth straight day.

It comes as the chain tries to recover from the backlash against its range of women’s swimwear, which gives adult wearers the ability to ‘tuck in’ male genitals.

The company’s market value was $74 billion as of May 17, with shares trading for $160.96. key confrontational behavior” in some of its stores, CEO Brian Cornell said in a statement last week.

Some Southern stores were forced to move merchandise—many of which were designed by Erik Carnell, a transgender man and self-described Satanist—to the back of the stores.

It was done to avoid a “Bud Light situation” — a disastrous marketing decision to promote Bud Light’s beer with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney — following a consumer boycott of his Pride Month merchandise.

Erik Carnell, transgender designer and artist whose products were pulled from its Pride collection by US retailer Target amid backlash from some of their customers

Pictured: Adult Pride Bikini Swimsuit – Black – $25 at Target

Carnell — a British designer whose slogan includes “Satan loves pronouns” — introduced a collection that included bags and similar paraphernalia, as well as a handful of other items, pulled by Target.

Carnell said his designs — which are printed on pins, stickers and T-shirts — have been labeled “Satanic” — but they weren’t the designs sold in Target as part of Pride month.

Companies like Target that launch products and campaigns for Pride Month try to take advantage of LGBTQ people but fail to stand by them when challenges arise, Carnell said.

“It’s a very dangerous precedent to state that if people get excited enough about the products you’re selling, you can completely distance yourself from the LGBT community when and if it’s convenient,” Carnell said.

“If you take a stand and say you care about the LGBT community, you have to stick with it no matter what.”

At the same time, LGBTQIA+ communities criticized the retailer, as did Governor Gavin Newsom, who accused Target of “systematically attacking” the gay community.

He wrote on Twitter on May 24, “Target CEO Brian Cornell selling out the LGBTQIA+ community to extremists is a true profile of courage.

‘These are not just a few shops in the South. There is a systematic attack on the gay community across the country. Wake up America.

“This doesn’t stop here. You are black? You are Asian? You are Jewish? You are a woman? You are next.’

In retaliation, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote, “No one is attacking the gay community Gavin.

Retail giant Target’s market value plummeted by $13 billion on Wednesday as shares fell another 2.14 percent for the ninth consecutive day

The swimsuits, which appear in sections set up for Pride month in June, include a label advertising the “crease-friendly construction” and “extra crotch” coverage. The design is made to hide a person’s genitals

Pride Month merchandise goes on display at a Target store in San Francisco, California, on May 31, 2023

“They don’t want their kids forcibly exposed to the radical side of pride with ‘tuck it’ and ‘binding’ kids’ clothes and messages while they’re just shopping at Target. We do not support your California child circumcision industry. Actually, I want to end it.’

Angry consumers called for a boycott of the retailer.

One of them wrote, “Target is way worse than Bud Light ever was. Time to boycott!!!’

Another said: “All Christians and religious should boycott Target. We need to send a message to these awake companies that choose evil as their marketing tactic. It’s just sick. Target Pride Month Partner Brags About Satanism: Satan Respects Pronouns.”

The retailer has been in the firing line for a host of other LGBTQIA+-related issues, including an alleged partnership with a K-12 education group aimed at persuading schools to adopt policies that increase parental knowledge of the hallway. of their child’s affairs in school will help limit gender reassignment.

The education group provides sexually explicit books to schools as part of its gender-based curriculum, according to Fox.

Carlos Saavedra, Vice President of Brand Management at Target

Address the letter from the CEO to employees defending the decision to remove items from the Pride collection

team –

I want to end the day where Kort started: with a letter of care. This has been a very tough day for Target, and it follows many tough days of deliberation and decision-making.

To our team in Stores: Thank you for standing firm in representing our values. No one is better at handling awkward situations in the service of an inclusive guest experience.

What you witnessed in the last few days went way beyond discomfort, and it was heartbreaking to see what you experienced in our aisles.

To our team at the service centers, thank you for your patience and professionalism during the many angry, abusive and threatening calls. I recognize how difficult and even frightening those interactions can be, and I thank you for the calmness with which you handled these comments.

To the teams that have worked so hard on our plans for Pride – and are now showing incredible agility as we adapt – thank you. Your efforts will ensure that we can still show up and celebrate Pride in a meaningful way.

For the LGBTQIA+ community, one of the hardest parts of all of this has been trying to imagine how the adjustments we’re making to mitigate these threats to our team’s physical and psychological safety would affect you and your well-being and psychological safety. We are with you now and will continue to be – not just during Pride Month, but every day.

Those were the two guiding principles when it came time to act: do everything we can to keep our team safe, and do everything we can to honor our commitment and connection to the LGBTQIA+ community.

From a myriad of difficult alternatives, we’ve genuinely sought the best way forward, finding ways to recognize Pride Month while making adjustments to prioritize safety. As always, we are stronger together, and I want you to know that I am committed to doing everything I can, and everything we can as a company, to build a culture of caring, empathy, fairness, and simple support politeness. , in the hope that we will not be faced with such painful decisions in the future.

Thank you for the care you have shown each other, our frontline teams and the LGBTQIA+ community.

The group, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), received approximately $2.1 million from Target in donations. The organization provides guidelines for hiding gender transition from parents.

Carlos Saavedra, 43, is Target’s vice president of brand management and also volunteers as a director at GLSEN.

Saavedra joined Target in July 2019 and became Vice President, Brand Management in January 2021, according to his LinkedIn page.

According to his profile, he joined GLSEN as a board member in May 2019 and was elected to the executive committee as treasurer in November 2021.

Saavedra’s profile explains that the mission of the organization is ‘to help create safe spaces in schools for LGBTQIA+ students’.

On May 30, a pro-Trump rapper’s new single, demanding consumer boycott, shot Target to number one on the iTunes Top Ten Chart, beating artists like Taylor Swift.

Meanwhile, the Florida man behind the song’s historic ascension, alt-right emcee Forgiato Blow, continues to accuse the music platform of deliberately getting in the way of the song’s progress because of its conservative message.

The two-minute track, titled Boycott Target, is a direct response to the superstore’s newly announced Pride Collection.

In addition, it includes lyrics accusing the tough department store of attempting to instil an LGBTQ “agenda” with their aggressive clothing campaign — which itself touts several polarizing items, including its “tuck-friendly” bathing suits and pro-trans T-shirts. shirts for kids.

In the midst of a rapid — and improbable — surge that has probably already made him more than $1 million, Blow appeared for an interview to denounce iTunes for what he claims is censorship, taking the time to say some choice words. give to the responsible buyers for the progressive push.

“It’s currently banned all over the world,” Blow told outspoken host Brian Kilmeade on Monday, using terminology that refers to a form of censorship in which a user’s content is blocked without warning for part or all of a user’s content. online forum.

Used in the past by well-known platforms such as Twitter and YouTube amid a recent surge in heated political debate – often with mixed results – is a well-known stealth strategy platforms that limit the visibility of posts.

Speaking to Kilmeade on that day’s Fox and Friends broadcast, Blow elaborated on what he says was a conspiracy masterminded by the Apple-owned application — despite his song already being at the top of the Hip at the time. Hops chart from iTunes and reached number two. spot on the platform’s all-genre hallowed list.

“You can’t even find the song on iTunes without going to the music video and clicking the external link,” Blow claimed.

“They’re doing their very best to keep it off the radar.”

Shortly after the televised interview, the song’s popularity continued to grow, propelling it to the overall No. 1 spot around noon on Tuesday.