Current:Home > Contact-usBattered by boycott and backlash, Target to no longer sell Pride collection in all stores-LoTradeCoin
Battered by boycott and backlash, Target to no longer sell Pride collection in all stores
View Date:2024-12-24 08:29:34
Target will no longer sell its Pride Month collection in all stores after conservative blowback over LGBTQ+ themed merchandise, including bathing suits designed for transgender people, harmed sales.
The retailer told USA TODAY the collection will be available on its website and in “select stores” depending on “historical sales performance.”
Target – which has a decade-long track record of featuring LGBTQ+ merchandise during Pride Month – was one of the corporations assailed for “rainbow capitalism” last June during Pride Month.
Conservative activists organized boycotts and some threatened Target employees over LGBTQ+ displays in stores, prompting the chain to pull some of the Pride merchandise.
Advocacy groups condemned Target for bowing to pressure.
Target said that this year it will carry adult apparel, home products, and food and beverages in its Pride collection that it has curated “based on guest insights and consumer research.”
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that this year's Pride collection is smaller.
The Pride merchandise will be sold in half of Target’s nearly 2,000 stores, Bloomberg reported. Usually, Target sells the collection in all of its stores.
Target said in a statement to USA TODAY that it remains committed to "supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round."
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said Target’s decision "is disappointing and alienates LGBTQ+ individuals and allies at the risk of not only their bottom line but also their values."
“Pride merchandise means something. LGBTQ+ people are in every ZIP code in this country, and we aren’t going anywhere," Robinson said in a statement.
More than 120,000 people have signed a MoveOn petition since last year urging the chain to restore the Pride collection to all locations.
"It’s time for Target to stop caving to right-wing radicals and honor its commitments to the LGBTQ+ community," MoveOn campaign director Jensine Gomez said in a statement.
The Target boycott contributed to lower overall sales, Target executives said in earnings calls last year.
"The reaction is a signal for us to pause, adapt and learn so that our future approach to these moments balances celebration, inclusivity and broad-based appeal," Christina Hennington, Target's chief growth officer, told analysts in August.
veryGood! (5996)
Related
- Steelers shoot for the moon ball, but will offense hold up or wilt in brutal final stretch?
- Partial blackout in L.A. hospital prompts evacuation of some patients
- Unionized UPS workers approve contract leaders agreed to in late July
- Olivia Newton-John's daughter Chloe gets candid about her grief journey: 'I have been neglecting myself'
- NBA players express concern for ex-player Kyle Singler after social media post
- Georgia father named as person of interest in 2-year-old son's disappearance
- Prosecutors prepare evidence in trial of 3 men accused in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Whitmer
- Chicago White Sox fire executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn
- Prayers and cheeseburgers? Chiefs have unlikely fuel for inexplicable run
- Billy McFarland ridiculed after Fyre Festival II tickets go on sale: What we know
Ranking
- Horoscopes Today, November 9, 2024
- I'm a new dad. Here's why I'm taking more parental leave than my wife.
- John Warnock, who helped invent the PDF, dies at 82
- Heidi Klum Reveals She Eats 900 Calories a Day, Including This Daily Breakfast Habit
- Jimmy Kimmel, more late-night hosts 'shocked' by Trump Cabinet picks: 'Goblins and weirdos'
- Man stranded on uninhabited island for 3 days off Florida coast rescued after shooting flares
- San Francisco archdiocese is latest Catholic Church organization to file for bankruptcy
- North Korea’s Kim lambasts premier over flooding, in a possible bid to shift blame for economic woes
Recommendation
-
Catholic bishops urged to boldly share church teachings — even unpopular ones
-
'Rebel Moon' trailer: First look at Zack Snyder's new Netflix movie starring Sofia Boutella
-
Nike gives details on Kobe 8 Protro 'Halo' released in honor of NBA legend's 45th birthday
-
Ethiopia to investigate report of killings of hundreds of its nationals at the Saudi-Yemen border
-
Mike Tyson emerges as heavyweight champ among product pitchmen before Jake Paul fight
-
Dwayne Haskins wasn't just a tragic case. He was a husband, quarterback and teammate.
-
4 firefighters suffer heat exhaustion at fire at vacant southern Michigan factory
-
Serena Williams Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 2 With Alexis Ohanian