Target returns to Pride products after right-wing backlash

new York
CNN
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Target is limiting the number of stores that will sell LGBTQ-themed products for Pride Month in June, following a boycott by right-wing activists last year that took a toll on the brand’s bottom line .

This year, Target said it would only sell Pride-themed “adult clothing” and home goods “in select stores, based on its historical sales performance” – a stark reversal for the chain that typically sold these items in many of its U.S. stores for the past decade.

About half of its 2,000 stores will sell the Pride collection, according to Bloomberg, which was first to report the news. The assortment will also be sold on Target’s website.

A Target spokesperson said in a statement to CNN that it is “committed to supporting” the LGBTQ community during Pride month, citing internal programs and attendance at local Pride events, including in its hometown of Minneapolis.

“Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members, one that reflects our culture of care for the more than 400,000 people who work at Target,” the company said in a statement.

The changes are a “reasonable approach,” Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData, told CNN. But he warned that “this risks Target being accused of not being proud of Pride.”

“Unfortunately for Target, it has been drawn into the culture wars and is in a position where it cannot win no matter what it does,” he said.

The Human Rights Campaign responded by issuing a statement saying that selling Pride products “means something,” and since the LGBTQ community makes up 30 percent of Gen Z, HRC said, “companies need to understand that members and allies of the community want businesses that express our wholehearted support for the community.

“Target’s decision is disappointing and alienates LGBTQ+ individuals and allies, risking not only their bottom lines, but also their values,” said HRC President Kelley Robinson.

Last year, Target pulled Pride products from some stores after the company and its employees became the center of a “volatile” anti-LGBTQ campaign, which included threats against its store employees.

The company previously told The Wall Street Journal that people confronted workers in stores, knocked over Pride merchandise displays and posted threatening messages on social media with videos from inside stores. Some people threw Pride items on the ground.

Prominent right-wing activists, Republican political leaders and conservative media have focused their attention on a women’s swimsuit described as “easy to fold” for its ability to conceal male genitalia. Misinformation spread on social media that the product was intended for children, which was not the case.

This, along with weak demand for discretionary products, caused Target’s quarterly sales to decline for the first time in six years in the quarter encompassing sales of the Pride assortment.

A Target executive said on the earnings call that there had been a “strong reaction” to Pride merchandise and that the reaction was a “signal for us to pause, adapt and learn “.

– CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn contributed to this report.