Target CEO Brian Cornell defends decision to pull Pride merchandise off shelves due to ‘very aggressive behavior’ against staff during backlash

Customers threatened to burn down his stores and attack his staff in the days before Target boss Brian Cornell withdrew his controversial Pride range, he admitted today.

The veteran CEO faced a violent backlash earlier this year over outfits including “wrinkle-friendly” swimsuits and pro-trans T-shirts for kids, as well as a plummeting stock price that wiped $10 billion off the company’s value in just over a week swept away.

But he told CBNC he ordered staff to remove the displays just days before the start of Pride Month in June because the response was becoming dangerous.

“I’ve seen natural disasters, the impact of Covid, the violence that occurred after the murder of George Floyd,” he said.

“But I will tell you that what I saw in May is the first time since I’ve had this job where store team members said, ‘It’s not safe to come to work.'”

The retailer has been supporting Pride Month for a decade and a curated range was prominently displayed in its stores in the days leading up to June this year

Some swimsuits that appeared in the Pride Month displays included labels advertising their “crease-friendly construction” and “extra crotch” coverage

“We had to prioritize the safety of our teams.

“And I knew personally that this wasn’t going to be well received. But we had to prioritize the safety of the team.”

The company found itself on the front lines of the country’s culture wars in the spring, as anger grew over companies using their financial power to push social agendas.

The retailer was accused of grooming children with transgender swimwear, books called “bye bye binary” and a handful of items made by a British designer whose slogans include “Satan respects pronouns.”

A store in Layton, Utah, was evacuated after multiple bomb threats and more threats were received by outlets in Northeast Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Days later, its Oklahoma City stores were evacuated after managers received an email warning that three bombs had been planted in some of its products.

As the backlash intensified, companies that had embraced LGBT causes pushed back, including Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch, which cut ties with transsexual influencer Dylan Mulvaney after sales fell by a quarter.

Profits in the US remain almost 30 percent lower than a year ago, the company admitted when it announced its third quarter results on Tuesday.

Five targets in Northeast Ohio and Pennsylvania were threatened in June, according to Cleveland 19, which received a threatening email with stores in Stow, North Canton, Boardman, Niles, Ohio and Monaca, Pennsylvania.

One of the most controversial items was these adult swim trunks, in the women’s section, with ‘please-friendly’ tags in stores. It is still sold online

Target said it decided to pull the items from its shelves because they were “at the center of the most confrontational behavior” — and led to store employees being harassed

The Pride collection also included items for babies and children. Many of the pieces are decorated with slogans and feature the rainbow colors of the Pride flag

Other items include kids’ swim skirts made for “all gender expressions” and other swim tops

Cornell said displays were assembled and moved in an effort to defuse the line

Target has supported Pride – celebrated throughout the month of June – every year since 2013, with this year’s collection just the latest to prove polarizing.

In 2014, Target publicly supported marriage equality, and the following year 2015 announced that it was ending their policy of dividing certain products, such as toys, by gender.

Target also introduced a gender-neutral line for children, and announced in April 2016 — amid a national debate over bathroom access — that transgender people were free to use whatever bathroom they chose.

Three months later, it responded to the protests by spending $20 million to add private bathrooms to each of its stores.

“I just think these are good business decisions, and it’s the right thing for society, and it’s great for our brand,” Cornell said in May.

“The things we’ve done from a DE&I (diversity, equity and inclusion) standpoint add value.

“It helps us drive sales, it creates greater engagement with both our teams and our guests, and those are exactly the right things for our business today.”

Shares that peaked at $1.76 in January had fallen to $1.11 earlier today, wiping $30 billion off the company’s value over the past nine months.

“We’ve made some changes to where the product is located, we’ve curated the assortment and we’ve addressed some of the products that were getting the most attention,” Cornell said today.

‘We’ve been celebrating heritage moments like Pride for over a decade, but we’ve never seen a response like this.

“We said, let’s focus on de-escalating the problem, taking care of our team, celebrating the moment and learning for the future.”