Target Gets Nailed Going Both Ways

“You can’t fool Mother Nature.” And those who do most often get their heads handed to them. And for corporate America, the Wall Street Journal most often serves as Mother Nature. (I say most often because the Journal continues to hyperventilate about President Trump’s temporary use of tariffs as if they were permanent – a difference between the former as a demonstrable success and the latter as a catastrophe – thus demonstrating that it is not infallible.) And nowhere else does the Journal call out the foolishness of those business that embraced the woke agenda – including the Anheuser-Busch InBev’s disaster of using Dylan Mulvaney dressed as a woman to promote Bud Light.

So it was not surprising that when Target reported a decline in gross revenues citing a variety of reasons led by “tariffs” that the Journal corrected the record.

“Target’s (TGT) troubles are mounting.

“The retail company said a laundry list of problems dragged down its quarterly sales, including a boycott by shoppers who disagreed with its decision this year to end some diversity programs.

“Target’s sales have been tepid for years. In the three months ended May 3, they got even worse, with comparable sales falling 3.8%—a steeper drop than analysts expected. The company Wednesday lowered its financial forecast for the fiscal year, citing uncertainty around tariffs, the economy and consumer demand.

“’We’re not satisfied with these results’ Target Chief Executive Brian Cornell said on a call with reporters.

“Target’s quarterly sales fell in part because of softer spending on discretionary items—things that people want, but don’t need—and a broad decline in consumer confidence, Cornell said. Some retailers, like Walmart and T.J.Maxx parent company TJX, are benefiting from these trends because consumers are looking for deals. TJX said Wednesday that its comparable sales rose 3% in the latest quarter.

“Target once was among the most outspoken corporate supporters of Black and LGBTQ rights. But in January the retailer ended its workforce and supplier diversity programs, after paring back its LGBTQ themed merchandise* in 2023.”

Retail marketing is a tough game, particularly when played in a global market. It is made tougher when the blows are self administered. In this case Target got it both ways. Customers reacted negatively when Target began to actively advertise (including front-of-store displays for those purporting to be transgender. In doing so it ignored its general customers’ views and bowed to the pressures of the special interest groups promoting a life-style choice as a biological reality. And when the financial effects were first felt and then reaffirmed in subsequent quarters, Target withdrew the special interest promotions without acknowledging its errors which, in turn, caused a boycott by LGBTQ supporters because, in part, these organizations lost Target has a funding source.

So the lesson to be learned – and not for the first time – is that of the Dixie Chicks who felt compelled during an international tour to use its fame to criticize former President George W. Bush during their concerts. The Dixie Chicks were widely rebuked by their fans to “shut up and sing.” The same is trued for every business. Stick to the business of marketing your goods and services and leave the social engineering to those who pretend to understand it.

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* Among those products offered by Target were fey swim suits with pockets in the crotch such that those men who pretended to be women could hide their genitals – tuck friendly construction..