Ex-Target Exec admits mistake with one item that caused backlash.

Former Target Executive Reveals the Merchandising Decision That Sparked Consumer Backlash

“You know, the plates that had different colors in it. Fine. You show the rainbow, you know, a gingerbread house, whatever you are, that’s all you know. Who cares? Everybody carries that stuff.”

A former Target Vice Chairman, Gerald Storch, recently spoke out about the merchandising decision that made Target a lightning rod for conservatives who felt their values had been betrayed. According to Fox News, Storch noted that during June, which the LGBT community denotes as “pride month,” merchandise with rainbows tends to be everywhere. However, it was the “tuck swimsuit,” a woman’s item designed to accommodate male genitals, that caused the most controversy.

Podcast host Megyn Kelly was among the critics who attacked the item for having “extra material around the crotch, which no woman needs,” according to the New York Post. The boycott that followed has cost Target stock about 20 percent of its value, costing the company about $14 billion in the overall worth of its stock, according to Newsweek.

Target’s Issues Run Deeper Than “Pride Month”

Storch told Fox News that the boycott tipped Target over the edge when it was already teetering. “But there are more fundamental concerns with that, with the environment, with the consumer and with the business here,” he said. “Target’s decline in stock actually began on May 18th. That’s the day Walmart reported 7 percent gain in [comparable] store sales on the prior day. Target had reported flat sales. Year flat at Target, up 7 at Wal-Mart. There’s no way that comparison looks good.”

Storch said Target’s issues run deeper than “pride month.” “While there’s no doubt the boycott is part of the problem, if you read the reports about Target during this period and the analysts keep in mind related to the investors, who are the ones who are buying things about the stock or in this case probably selling picks amount of stock. They’re more concerned with the fundamental business issues,” he said.

A Message for Companies in the Boycotts of Target and Bud Light

In a commentary piece published by Newsweek, Paul du Quenoy, president of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute, a conservative think tank based in Florida, wrote that there is a message for companies in the boycotts of Target and Bud Light. “Messaging support for radical ideologies antagonizes far more Americans than it attracts. Those who are offended readily spend their dollars elsewhere while woke executives shake their heads, lose their jobs, and watch profits flow to competitors smart enough to stay out of politics,” he wrote.

“Meanwhile, the progressive Left plots new strategies to bully and blackmail businesses into broadcasting their loathsome ideology. Contrary to their expectations, the consumer has the power to reject it,” he wrote.

Conclusion

It’s clear that Target’s issues run deeper than just one merchandising decision. While the boycott may have been the tipping point, fundamental business issues were already present. Companies should take note of the backlash Target faced and consider the potential consequences of messaging support for radical ideologies.