Target backlash prompted by 'one item' that 'made the difference': Gerald Storch
Former Target Vice Chairman Gerald Storch discusses the retail store's dropping market value as it faces consumer backlash over its pride swimwear.
Pride Month is underway, and one of the companies at the epicenter of this year's boycotts and protests is major retailer Target, which got under the skin of some customers for not only offering items like "tuck-friendly" bathing suits and mugs that proudly say "gender fluid," but also marketing LGBTQ+ themed products to kids.
After backlash forced some southern store locations to move pride displays away from their storefronts, a Sunday report from The Washington Post detailed Illinois Target employee Wen Park's take on the move.
"When I started here at Target, I went through countless inclusivity and anti-discrimination trainings, and they are even required to be taken again at a certain time," she said, according to the outlet.
Park, who identifies as queer, found the decision "devastating," The Post said. "Employees are strongly led to believe that these are Target’s values, that everyone is equal and belongs. But taking down displays sends the exact opposite message. I no longer feel valued as an employee," Park added.
Marlene (last name withheld) and Jill Dahne protest outside a Target store on June 01, 2023 in Miami, Florida in response to LGBTQ+ themed merchandise that garnered national attention. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The change took place on a broader scale, however, calling stores to reconsider the merchandise as well as employees' safety.
One manager at a South Florida location told The Post that "far right" critics have slapped employees with labels like "child groomers" and accused the company as a whole of "shoving [its] woke agenda down [their] throats."
The outlet said the manager, who chose to remain anonymous, said another incident occurred at the location's storefront when a disgruntled customer used scissors to cut her store credit card to pieces, declaring she would never shop there again.
Pride Month merchandise is displayed at a Target store on May 31, 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The retail giant, haunted by the controversy, took action to cool the temperature on the issue in some ways, including holding a ten-minute discussion on employee safety at an emergency meeting held before Pride Month even began.
"I think given the current situation with Bud Light, the company is terrified of a Bud Light situation," a company insider told Fox News Digital.
According to the insider, the remainder of the call focused on making the controversial pride items less visible in stores by moving items away from storefronts, taking down mannequins and removing signage, each of which garnered criticism from LGBTQ+ activists and employees like Wen Park.
Target Pride swimsuits boasted "tuck-friendly construction" and "extra crotch coverage," presumably to accommodate male genitalia, even if they are made in an otherwise female style. (Brian Flood/Fox News)
"Everyone was like, ‘Thank God,’ because we’re all on the front lines dealing with it," the insider added.
Last week, in response to an uptick in hostility toward company team members, CEO Brian Cornell wrote in part to employees, "What you’ve seen in recent days went well beyond discomfort, and it has been gut-wrenching to see what you’ve confronted in our aisles."
He also thanked employees at the retail giant's service centers for their "patience and professionalism through high volumes of angry, abusive and threatening calls."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.