AMAC Exclusive – By Neil Banerji
2023 has not been a good year for Target, as the retail giant’s full-on embrace of wokeness has caused the company’s stock price to tumble and forced a series of embarrassing backtracks.
The most recent 180 came earlier this month when Target announced that it will indeed sell conservative radio host Mark Levin’s newest book, The Democratic Party Hates America, in stores when it is released on September 19. Initially, Target had told the book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, it would not carry the book because “certain customers might be offended by the title.”
Conservatives quickly rallied to Levin’s defense after he announced Target’s decision to refuse to sell the book on July 5. Former U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn stated, “I’ve read every book he’s written and listen to his show routinely. This is simply another form of censorship.” U.S. Senator Ted Cruz sarcastically commented, “Target has built up so much goodwill with conservatives that I’m sure they won’t mind.”
Less than 24 hours later, on July 6, Target reversed course and said that they would indeed carry the book. In a statement to Fox News digital, a company spokesperson said, “As we have with Mark Levin’s past books, many of which are currently available for sale at Target, we’ll offer his newest title for sale when it is available on September 19. The use of the word ‘hate’ in the title caused our team to reach out to the publisher, but as stated, we are continuing to offer this book for pre-sale now, and it will be available for sale on its release date. We regret any confusion this situation caused.”
Target executives were likely wary of igniting more backlash against perceived wokeness by the company following the debacle over the store’s pride month merchandise earlier this year.
Beginning in mid-May, social media users began posting videos of “pride-themed” clothing displays in Target marketed toward everyone from toddlers to adults. The clothing included rainbow onesies for babies, shirts with slogans like “trans rights are human rights” and “trans people exist” for young children, and even “tuck-friendly” swimsuits for males who identify as women and “chest binders” for females who identify as men. Although Target claimed that “tucking” and “binding” products were only for adults, the company’s website showed they came in sizes XS to 4XL, and they were sold alongside other children’s clothing.
Many conservatives called for a boycott of the company, with a rallying cry of turning Target into “Bud Light 2.0.” Amid mounting pressure, many Target locations began removing the pride merchandise or shifting it away from the front of stores – a move which only prompted outrage from trans activists, while largely failing to win back conservative shoppers.
The net result was a plummet in the company’s stock price from which it has yet to recover. On May 17, just before the pride clothing controversy broke into the mainstream, Target traded at $160.69 per share. By June 1, it had fallen to $131.16 per share, and bottomed out at $125.08 on June 12. As of July 26, the price had rebounded slightly to $134.47, but the financial outlook for the company remains clouded as store sales have continued to lag.
Liberal news outlets like CNN have been quick to defend Target, insisting the stock price collapse was due to “broader changes in the U.S. economy,” and that the correlation with the pride month controversy was just a coincidence. But although Target’s stock price had indeed been inching downward for most of this year, the dramatic 20 percent drop over the span of one month casts serious doubt on the theory that the conservative-led boycott had nothing to do with it. Moreover, competitors like Walmart have seen their stock price climb since early June, while Target’s has largely failed to recover.
It’s worth noting that, just a few days before the pride month fiasco began, Target CEO Brian Cornell said “woke capitalism” is “great” for the company’s reputation, stating, “I think those are just good business decisions, and it’s the right thing for society, and it’s the great thing for our brand.” He continued, “It’s helping us drive sales, it’s building greater engagement with both our teams and our guests, and those are just the right things for our business today.”
Although conservatives have brought Target to heel in these two cases, whether or not Cornell and other executives have learned their lesson about wokeness remains to be seen.
Neil Banerji is a proud Las Vegas resident and former student at the University of Oxford. In his spare time, he enjoys reading Winston Churchill and Edmund Burke.
Conservatives should continue to boycott Budweiser brands, Target and any company that panders to “wokeness!”
Leftism is a cancerous evil….the WOKE movement is just a shade of it. The Left destroys everything it touches.
I have not set foot in a target store since they decided, way back when, that their stores are gun free zones. Everything went woke from there and they will not ever get another penny from me.
I guess that Retail Giants like Target just have to “live and learn” when it comes to being prejudiced against Conservatives! If they want to discriminate against Conservatives well, guess what? We can unify together and discriminate back by not shopping there! Tit for tat, I’d say!
I still won’t go to Target as long as men, not much of a man, may pee with my wife in the women’s bathroom.
Cornell says woke capitalism is “great”. Once he implemented it, the stock of the company he was leading fell 25%. If I had stock in target (I don’t) I would question his judgement in bowing down and kissing the butt of the perverted minority. Maybe he’s one of them.
Go woke, go broke! That has a nice ring to it!
Several years ago, Target went along with the gender neutral restrooms, not caring that it could be unsafe for young girls. They brushed off the criticism. Now they push the clothes and rest of the LGBT stuff and are paying the price. Target along with all the other woke companies need to learn: what you sow, you reap.
Boycott Target–teach them a lesson America. Hitting them in the pocketbook is the one language they understand! We taught Bud Light Budweiser a lesson, Target is next.
…even the Wisconsin Historical Society is shoving this crap down everybody’s throats. Ya can’t even trace your families’ history without being forced to wade through this bovine excrement. It’s just damn disgusting.
LOL “broader changes in the U.S. economy.” The Left has made a sport out of “making Word Salad.”
I have little doubt that most companies have adopted wokeness, but proudly announcing it should bring immediate consequences. Once it has been found that upper management has rotted, it must be rooted out before normality is reestablished.
I stopped buying at Target when the opened the ladies rooms to perverts.
I would only go into Target now to use the Men’s Room in a dire emergency. What we have is a vocal minority of butt munch sissy babies who are probably still at home freeloading off mommy and daddy and looking for any excuse to be mad at anything and everything because they can’t find a job with their degree in philosophy or some other liberal arts WOKE program. They are a disgrace to their parents and an embarrassment to their families. Funny-they never move to another country, do they?
The left has gone insane
target and “wokeism” are hardly anything new. I’ve been boycotting this revolting chain since 2016, when they introduced their perverted “inclusive”, “transgender” bathroom policy. Once boycotting of an entity begins, it shouldn’t cease until the company is tango uniform because history has shown that any mea culpa that they offer is completely insincere.
We MUST boycott businesses that push this woke agenda, or suppress our views, otherwise, nothing will change.
Disney was an example ignored. Bud Lite was an example ignored. One has to wonder if these executive types ever descend from their executive suites without the sycofants who attend to them and meet real customers in the businesses they run. Someone should tell them that there are news outlets other than the NY Times, MSNBC or CNN. Just recently Country Music Television refused to show a music video that they decided was racist because it included videos of the 2020 BLM riots while the song Try that in a Small Town played. A majority of Americans don’t like riots at the Capitol or on Main Street, yet woke media claimed the first was a threat to our democracy (actually it’s a democratic republic, wokesters) and the second was a mostly peaceful demonstration (if you ignore the injuries to people and property). As companies see their bottom lines impacted, we can only hope that the foolishness of their management will become obvious to even the well-paid folks sitting on their Boards of Directors. I say that as a stockholder of one of the companies mentioned.
What Target did speaks for itself. As most have heard the phrase before…….:follow the money.” My wife still shops at Target and we debate heavily about this. Like others, I wouldn’t buy a pack of chewing gum from them.
add Disney, NBA, etc
I had not been in Target in a while then when I finally did go there and I saw all of the “pride” wear, especially for babies and toddlers, I said No to myself and walked back out – I am not supporting that sorrowful group for anything. All this organization is doing, since they have won so many rights already, they are just pushing it down our throats to make us sick. I did have a cousin who back in the ’60s – ’70s was in a same sex coupling. This started when they were in the Army and met there. In the mid ’70s the other woman was someplace where she encountered a man, she dropped my cousin like a hot potato and married the man and went on and had about 5 children which she wanted to have badly. I was so proud of her for how she went on with a normal life. So these people(?) can change their lives around. Not only that occurred but my Aunt was so against her daughter’s relationship she actually died of a broken heart. These people need therapy, they need the Book and open it and actually read it to see what the Lord says about this. There is my speech for the day and I will add I’m 84 yrs. old and follow as much of the news as I can.
They are out of touch with real Americans and real American should be out of touch with their stores….permanently!
I will not shop at any company that is woke. I don’t need what they offer. Businesses should sell their products and stay out of politics. Seems they still haven’t learned!
I have been boycotting Target since they banned the greeting “Merry Christmas” in 2005. Every year they give me a new reason NOT to go back to Target.
It seems that Target is concerned only with offending progressives and woke weaklings with no spines. They do not seem to have the same concern for traditional conservatives. I have never been a fan of Target and can count on one hand the number of times I have shopped at one of its stores. So the “boycott” did not really affect me but I have observed with some glee the fate they have suffered.
Is Target still allowing men to use women’s dressing rooms? They are just changing their color to retain their wokeness. Continue to boycott.
you want to promote mental illness and the rainbow then you must pay the price.
They are still WOKE… it’s all the same people in charge. It’s time to vote with our dollars.
I’ve been boycotting Target for several years. I don’t want a dose of indoctrination with my merchandise.
Target was “woke” long before the term woke came into use. Target was “woke” at the time I worked at one more than 20 years ago. Our difference of opinion on matters led to me not being invited to return to work after being on a vacation, which was fine with me as I planned to leave anyway.
Hit em’ in their profits and they soon take notice. You gotta love it.
Represent your product, not your political position. I’ll never frequent Target again, nor have a Bud Light.
TOO LITTLE,TOO LATE
Hope TarGAY goes bankrupt. Crazy woke fools don’t have the common sense an ant is born with.
Since none of us are shopping Target, it will be interesting to see how many copies they sell.
Hell will freeze over before I spend one cent at a Target. I stopped shopping there when they changed their restroom policy to allow men dressed as women in the women’s restroom.
Represent your product, not your political position. I’ll never frequent Target again, nor have a Bud Light. This socialist movement needs to stop. Wake up America, it’s not about you, it’s about power and control despite you.
Any and all “woke” companies will forever be on my black list. This left wing socialist movement has to stop.
After the shemales determination to go into the women’s restroom- awhile back- Target has been a forgotten retailer for my family and friends. No, they will not miss my purchases BUT they will miss the massive loss of the conservative, Christian purchases. Would I go back? NOT A CHANCE!!
Woke has no idea how business works in fact how anything works Something was poured into their empty heads and now they regurgitate it
Levin writes straight up truth backed by hard facts and unassailable evidence. Banning any book of his tells us the mental capacity of the 1st amendment violating left wingo whackos at Target. Why did they relent? Bonus checks meager this year?
No businesses have not yet learned that the dems invalidating all conservatives does not work. We are a powerful group and we will boycott any company that puts the Pride people on a pedestal and all those that do not agree with them on the fringes of society.
I commented a few weeks ago that I had gone to Target to check out how the business was faring with their selling children trans clothing. I didn’t buy anything. Never have been a fan of Target. Junkie merchandise at a high price. Anyway some liberal leftie commented dat I was loitering in the store and could be arrested since I did not buy anything. Excuse me. Yes he added this would you like it someone came and walked through your house and then left. It’s a business it is open to everyone if you buy something or if you don’t. I have been to many stores in my life and not bought anything because I did not find what I was looking for. With his logic you can’t go to any store unless you buy something. This is how the far left and the dems have brainwashed so many people. We thinking people they do not want and with their sheep that blindly follow them they think they can control us. Our boycotts are working. We hurt Budweiser and Target is hurting. When I was there in early July there was nobody in the store. When I drive by the parking lot it is empty. They are going the way of Kmart and Sears and Bed Bath and Beyond.
Kohl’s will be next. Macy is already closing stores. Now we need to go after Amazon for their monopoly on the internet.
The only way they listen is hurt them with their shrinking bottom line.
Funny, I wasn’t the least bit “confused” by the initial response of Target stating they wouldn’t sell the book. It seemed pretty clear that censorship is fine if they can get away with it. I won’t be darkening their doorstep again, so they can deal with one less Conservative—and my money.
ALL libs = CANCER AND ARE THE ENEMY OF OUR NATION
I hope Target and all companies embracing Wokism go bankrupt.
Conservative States should encourage all Woke companies to pack up and get out!!!!!
In America, stores have a right to offer many products, and I have a right to purchase or not. If a store stocks things that are not sold, they usually lower the price and bottom line suffers. Stop complaining. Don’t purchase anything you don’t want. Putting books in a place where clients will not buy them, will not make a positive conservative case. You have to enter the store to buy books and …items you want them to sell.
I wish businesses would just stay out of all politics! I don’t shop based on whether a company is “woke” or “conservative”. I just go where I can get the best price and quality I can for whatever I need. Not everything in life needs to be politized and I’m getting real tired of all activists trying to make it so! Government is already TOO intrusive in everyone’s life and needs to back off!!!!
If “woke” created a surge in sales by those who have these preferences (putting their money where their voices are screaming about acceptance), then no company would feel any sales changes. So since those who have alternative viewpoints are not doing any buying, they don’t get the “expected put upfront exposure”. All retailers need to cater to the demands of the buying customers, not the browsing non-buying customers.
Here’s a great article in the same vein.
theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/07/28/anheuser-busch-announces-hundreds-of-layoffs-in-effort-to-recover-from-16-billion-loss-25-sales-drop-and-systemic-corporate-cultural-infection/
Spokesperson: rhymes with “wokesperson”.