Woah! Target Finally Gets a Clue

 

Ditching DEI programs is all the rage these days. As our own Stephen Green wrote earlier this week, "President Donald Trump 'took aim' at the federal government's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs on Tuesday, with an Office of Personnel Management memorandum ordering 'employees to be placed on leave no later than Wednesday and for DEI offices to be closed down,' according to a Washington Post report."  

But it's not just the federal government. Our own Rick Moran wrote earlier this month about how McDonald's is making big changes to its DEI policies, and back in November, I wrote about how Walmart plans to do the same. Other corporate giants, including Amazon, Meta, Ford, Lowe's, John Deere, Tractor Supply, and Harley-Davidson, are making similar moves. Even the several major universities are following suit.

Well, now it looks as if the wokest of all the woke retailers has finally seen the writing on the wall, and has come to understand how harmful these programs are to business and society in general. 

According to CNBC, "In a memo sent to its employees, Target [said] it will end its three-year DEI goals, stop reports to external groups like the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and end a program focused on carrying more products from Black- or minority-owned businesses."

The memo, which was written by Kiera Fernandez, the retail chain's chief community impact and equity officer (is that even a real job?) reportedly stated: 

Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy. And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future – all in service of driving Target’s growth and winning together. 

In addition to that, activist Robby Starbuck reports that "Target will not market Pride merchandise to kids going forward, this was not in their statement today but confirmed to me by a Target rep via phone today." He added that the retailer has over 415,000 employees, and "this won’t just create a healthier environment for employees who will have a neutral workplace without feeling that divisive issues are being injected, but it will also extend to their many suppliers who will no longer feel pressure to endorse these policies."   

Many people who have been boycotting the store due to its woke policies are a little skeptical about this, and rightfully so. 

As I wrote in an article for our VIP members in December, "In 2016, the company announced on its website that it would allow transgender employees and customers to use the bathroom associated with the gender they identified with, sparking backlash. The retailer is also a big supporter of Pride Month, but last summer, it went a bit overboard, advertising and selling items like a trans woman's 'tuck wear' bathing suits with a pouch so men could tuck their genitals out of sight, as well as gay pride and trans pride clothing for children and adults."  

Not so coincidentally, Target also forecasted that it would have poor holiday sales in 2024, when retailers such as Walmart and TJX were actually expecting growth in. Last week, CNBC reported that "Target says its holiday sales were better than expected — but its profits weren’t," even though it cut prices on about 10,000 items. It'll be interesting to see if this new way forward has an impact, or if it's too little, too late.  

https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2025/01/25/woah-target-finally-gets-a-clue-n4936369

P.S. I only did the copy/paste thingy. I am not to blame for the spelling in the title!

                                                                                                  Miss Jesse  😜