A boycott against Target over its bathroom policy seems to be costing
the retailer more than anyone expected.
the retailer more than anyone expected.
This is stirring news, especially coming from the Business Insider
The boycott started in April after Target announced that it would
welcome transgender customers to use any bathroom or fitting room that matched
their gender identity.
welcome transgender customers to use any bathroom or fitting room that matched
their gender identity.
This nonsense about "gender identity" is drawing away from some basic truths about biology and social behavior.
Men or women, male or female, these key determinants have eveything to do with biology, and not with our limited personal preferences.
Granted, manhood or womanhood can portray a variety of values and characters.
Yet core characteristics cannot and should not be ignored.
The announcement triggered an immediate backlash. Critics said the
policy opened the door for sexual predators to victimize women and children
inside the retailer’s bathrooms, and more than 1.4 million people signed a
pledge to stop shopping at Target unless it reversed the policy.
policy opened the door for sexual predators to victimize women and children
inside the retailer’s bathrooms, and more than 1.4 million people signed a
pledge to stop shopping at Target unless it reversed the policy.
The critics were not needlessly anxious. They were right, and the number of predatory crimes breaking out in Target stores dominated headlines.
And still do.
But Target didn’t back down.
It's a private firm. The company can choose to embrace whatever policies they choose.
But they cannot choose the coneuences, based on the choices which other people–particularly their customers–get to make.
Now shopper traffic is declining for the first time in years, and the
company is installing single-occupancy bathrooms in all of its stores to give
critics of the policy more privacy. The new bathrooms, which already exist in a
majority of Target stores, are costing Target $20 million to install, Fortune
reports.
company is installing single-occupancy bathrooms in all of its stores to give
critics of the policy more privacy. The new bathrooms, which already exist in a
majority of Target stores, are costing Target $20 million to install, Fortune
reports.
The company revealed its traffic declines last week when it reported
second-quarter earnings.
second-quarter earnings.
Target’s same-store transactions, which is how traffic is measured,
fell 2.2% in the second quarter. Overall, sales fell 7.2% to $16.2 billion.
fell 2.2% in the second quarter. Overall, sales fell 7.2% to $16.2 billion.
The company cannot hide its massive profit losses, since the company leaders owe transparency to the stockholders.
“In the second quarter, our No. 1 challenge was traffic, which affected
sales in all of our merchandise categories,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said last
week on a call with analysts.
sales in all of our merchandise categories,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said last
week on a call with analysts.
![]("https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6_nlZIeu00Y/V8FBAgRHjQI/AAAAAAAAFBk/WY5hOfeea3QwzO3uhGivC3KNk8nUS-5oACLcB/s1600/Gay%2BTarget%2BLogo.jpg")
Cathy Smith, the company’s chief financial officer, added: “Traffic
performance showed a meaningful change from prior trend. I want to pause and
make it clear that we are not satisfied with our second-quarter traffic and
sales performance.”
performance showed a meaningful change from prior trend. I want to pause and
make it clear that we are not satisfied with our second-quarter traffic and
sales performance.”
And the customers in the United States are not comfortable with capitulation to an aberrant agenda which glorifies mental illness.
In the past, even the most widespread calls for company boycotts have
tended to blow over within a matter of weeks to months.
tended to blow over within a matter of weeks to months.
Chick-fil-A, for example, faced a nationwide boycott in 2012 after Dan
Cathy, the son of Chick-fil-A’s founder, S. Truett Cathy, set off a fury among
gay-rights supporters when he told Baptist Press that the company was “guilty
as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family.”
Cathy, the son of Chick-fil-A’s founder, S. Truett Cathy, set off a fury among
gay-rights supporters when he told Baptist Press that the company was “guilty
as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family.”
The CEO was merely voicing an opinion, one which many people happen to share.
Cathy was not trying to force this opinion onto others, nor was he enacting a marginal policy which puts men, women, and children at immediate risk.
Following Cathy’s remarks, reports emerged detailing Chick-fil-A’s many
charitable donations to organizations opposed to same-sex marriage.
charitable donations to organizations opposed to same-sex marriage.
Despite the backlash, Chick-fil-A’s sales soared 14% in 2012.
Notice that Chik-Fil-A stood its ground in the face of the anti-marriage, homosexual bigots.
Who can forget this brazen act of vandalism in my hometown of Torrance, CA–a crime which was never prosecuted!
![]("https://talkingliberty.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/chick-fil-a-vandalism-tastes-like-hate.jpg")
Investors seem unsure of the long-term impact of the boycott on
Target’s sales, however.
Target’s sales, however.
The retailer’s stock is down 1% since the start of the year.
Target makes itself a target for this long-standing boycott as long as the company insists on making political correctness and social posturing more important than providing good service in a safe environment.
Every caring person who is taking on this boycott should be proud to know that their efforts are indeed working!