Target has faced enormous criticism for its recent efforts to cater to the transgender community in recent weeks after the national retailer introduced a “Pride collection” across its stores, featuring merchandise, clothing, and books promoting transgender-friendly messages and leftist gender ideology. What made this particularly troubling was that the products were not just for adults but also for young children and babies. Target also ensured that these products were prominently displayed at the front of its stores, forcing everyone who entered to be exposed to its rainbow-colored propaganda.
In response to the mounting backlash, Target held an emergency meeting and instructed certain store locations, mainly in rural Southern areas, to relocate and reduce the size of their Pride sections to avoid a situation similar to the Bud Light controversy.
“I think given the current situation with Bud Light, the company is terrified of a Bud Light situation,” a Target insider said.
Well, it looks like they couldn’t contain the damage. Just a week ago, Target’s stock closed at $160.96 per share, resulting in a market capitalization of $74.3 billion. However, early trading on Thursday showed a 1% decrease, with shares trading at $141.76. As a result, the market value has fallen to $65.3 billion — a 12% drop and a staggering loss of $9 billion in market capitalization.
Boycotts are generally seen as ineffective for various reasons. However, the boycott of Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, prompted by their controversial partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a TikTok influencer who pretends to be a girl, defied precedent. The boycott resulted in a significant decrease in demand for Bud Light, with sales down more than 28%. Anheuser-Busch has lost a reported $16 billion in market value since the boycott began. Now, the Target boycott appears to have had a similar impact on its business as the Bud Light boycott.
Obey
Article URL : https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2023/05/25/target-loses-9-billion-in-market-value-after-boycott-n1698079