Target’s market cap plunges $9 billion in Pride apparel tumult

Target Corp. saw its market capitalization plummet by billions following the outcry over its Pride clothing line as the retailer finds itself mired in its own Bud Light moment.

The company’s market capitalization has lost up to $9 billion since May 17 amid a backlash over its Pride 2023 clothing line for children and adults, which included items created by a Satanist-inspired British designer Abprallen.

At the close of trading on Wednesday, the market capitalization was $66.05 billion, down 11% for a loss of $8.24 billion from $74.29 billion on May 17.

The price fell further in early trading on Thursday, although it recovered some lost ground later in the day.

“Bud Light made a man its brand ambassador and its sales dropped almost 30%,” said Michael Seifert, CEO of PublicSq., a marketing app that drives consumers away from woke companies.

“Target pushed transgender into kids and lost $9 billion in market cap in one week,” he tweeted. “That’s what happens when Americans stand up and tell woke corporations enough is enough.”

Products that are criticized include women’s one-piece swimsuits with “tuck-friendly” flaps to accommodate male genitalia as well as shirts with drag queens and slogans like “Queer All Year” and “homophobia transphobia can be cured with education” and “not a step.

The line also includes children’s clothing and baby onesies with rainbow-themed slogans like “Just Be You and Feel the Love.”

The Heritage Foundation released a video on Thursday showing what appeared to be children’s swimsuits with the “tuck” feature.

We walked with @SarahPPerry through a Target store to see the extent of their “pride” merchandise.

What we found is that @Target is very involved in promoting gender confusion and preparing children.

The verdict: Avoid shopping at Target. pic.twitter.com/qGnkyFM3gK

— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) May 25, 2023

Conservative comedian Alex Stein posted a video showing him trying on the “tuck” swimsuit at a Target store.

“We’re at Target trying out their user-friendly Pride collection. That’s right, guys: extra crotch coverage, easy fold-over construction. Thank you, target!” Mr. Stein said.

Target responded to the uproar by saying it would remove items “at the center of the most divisive behavior.” Consumers said some locations also moved all of the Pride Collection displays to the back of stores.

“Our goal now is to move forward with our continued commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and stand with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year,” Target said. in a statement Wednesday.

The company pointed out that it has offered products celebrating Pride month for more than a decade, and Target was one of the first major retailers to publicly state that trans women could use its bathrooms and changing rooms to women.

But tensions over gender identity are running high this year, as biological men who identify as women demand to be included in facilities, sports and women’s categories.

The Anheuser-Busch Bud Light brand was hit with a backlash from the public in April after celebrating transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s “365 Days of the Maiden” with personalized cans.

The three Abprallen items sold by Target were: a messenger bag saying “We Belong Everywhere” across the colors of the rainbow and the planets; a “Too Queer for Here” tote bag; and a “Cure Transphobia, Not Trans People” sweatshirt, according to National Review.

They are no longer available online.

Abprallen designer Erik Carnell said on Instagram last week that “being able to sell my stuff in Target stores is incredibly exciting.”

“Knowing that people see it without (necessarily) explicitly looking for LGBT-related stuff is wonderful, and I’m especially excited that the locked-down youngsters will see it, and hope that in some way they feel a little more comfortable in themselves, the way we all deserve to feel,” he said.