Target Pride backlash adds to sales woes as culture wars rage in corporate America

Target CEO Brian Cornell said “negative reaction” to the retailer’s Pride merchandise hurt sales and contributed to the disappointing quarterly results that the company reported on Wednesday.

But Cornell stood by the decisions both to celebrate Pride month and to take some items off of shelves or move them to other places in the store after customer backlash. He said the company saw behavior by some shoppers in June that “caused our teams to feel unsafe at work.”

“We certainly saw some angry guests that were intimidating our team members and damaging merchandise and defacing some of the signage,” he said on a call with reporters. “Once we took those actions and addressed the situation, we certainly saw things normalize and we certainly think we took the right steps during that moment in time.”

The backlash against Target, which rippled across social media in videos and comments, speaks to the tightrope that companies must walk as conservative politicians and consumers increasingly condemn corporate diversity and inclusion efforts. Other companies have faced similar boycotts this year. Those include Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light, which took a financial hit from its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and subsequent decision not to defend the endorsement. Disney also got caught in the crosshairs of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, after the company criticized a state law that critics have called “Don’t Say Gay.” 

The Supreme Court’s June ruling against affirmative action has heightened scrutiny of companies’ goals and hiring initiatives, too.

Cornell said on a call with reporters that it will continue diversity, equity and inclusion hiring initiatives. He said the effort helps Target better reflect the communities it is in, which “adds tremendous value for our shareholders.”

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