NEW YORK — Target confirmed Friday that it will not offer Pride Month merchandise at any story this spring after the discount retailer suffered backlash and lower sales over its collection celebrating LGBTQ+ communities.
Target, which operates about 2,000 stores, said decisions about where to stock Pride-themed products, including adult clothing, home goods, food and beverages, would be based on “guest insights and consumer research.”
A Target spokesperson declined to reveal the number of stores where the merchandise will not be available, but the company said the online store would offer a full range. The moves were first reported by Bloomberg.
“Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and throughout the year,” Target said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. “Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members that reflects our culture of caring for the more than 400,000 people who work at Target.”
The head of the Human Rights Campaign, a US LGBTQ advocacy group, said Target’s decision was disappointing and risks alienating LGBTQ+ individuals and allies, risking not only profits but also their values.
In an emailed statement to The Associated Press, Human Rights Campaign, Kelley Robinson, president of the U.S. LGBTQ advocacy group, said Target’s decision was disappointing and risks alienating LGBTQ+ individuals and allies. at risk not only to profits, but also to their values.
“Pride merchandise means something,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in an email to The Associated Press. “LGBTQ+ people are in every zip code in this country, and we’re not going anywhere.”
Given that LGBTQ+ people make up 30% of Generation Z, Robinson said companies need to understand that what is needed is “full support” for the community.
Last year, Target removed some items from its stores and made other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride Month, after intense backlash from some customers who confronted employees and knocked over displays. Target also moved displays to the back of its stores in certain southern locations last year.
But Target faced a second backlash from customers upset by the discount retailer’s response to aggressive, anti-LGBTQ+ activism, which also swept through Republican state lawmakers. Civil rights groups blasted the company for pandering to customers who expressed outrage over the selection of gender-fluid swimsuits it carried last year. The anti-LGBTQ+ customers also posted threatening videos on social media from the stores.
Target’s latest moves are just one example of how companies are struggling to serve different groups of customers at a time of extreme cultural division, especially around transgender rights. Last year, beer brand Bud Light received negative reactions from customers angry about its attempt to expand its customer base by partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Target, based in Minnesota, and other retailers such as Walmart and H&M, expanded their Pride Month offering a decade or more ago. But transgender rights, including rights to gender-affirming health care and sports participation, have become politicized social issues, prompting lawmakers in some states to try to undo activists’ previous gains.
Target’s move to scale back its Pride merchandise presence this year is not unexpected.
Last August, CEO Brian Cornell told reporters that Target learned from the backlash and said the company would be more thoughtful about merchandise decisions for heritage months that celebrate the achievements of marginalized groups.
Target said it would have a slightly more focused assortment and reconsider the mix of its own and national brands with its third-party partners.
“As we navigate an ever-changing operational and social environment, we are applying what we have learned to ensure we remain close to our guests and their expectations of Target,” said Cornell.