It’s pretty clear the left didn’t see this one coming because politicians are involved.
The media can’t decide the narrative. A recent report tried to ignore the fact that the retail giant is taking a beating by blaming the economy and a competitor.
On June 9, 2023, Citi analyst Paul Lejuez downgraded his rating on Target to Neutral from Buy due to the competitive landscape, given Walmart’s continued market share gain, and Target’s high exposure to discretionary sales. This follows data showing Target’s store traffic plunged 13.9% in the final week in May. The report claimed that the drop was likely as inflation-weary shoppers continued to spend cautiously despite the Memorial Day weekend holiday.
However, the drop was more due to customer backlash to Target’s LGBTQ-themed merchandise, which has triggered a boycott that has resulted in the company’s stock falling 17% since mid-May.
JPMorgan also cut its rating on Target’s stock on June 1 on a potential sales hit from the restart of student loan repayments in September. This would cause buy-side client expectations to be at a $6-8 million per month consumer outflow range, representing a potential 1-2 point headwind to retail spending.
You’ll note the report states that Walmart has seen a gain. This isn’t because of inflation it’s because Americans decided to show the retail giant whose boss and they are going to Walmart instead.
It’s clear that the impact of the backlash has caught the company off guard. It must be hurting the Minnesota headquartered company hard because now politicians are getting involved.
Now, Minnesota’s governor Tim Walz claims that it’s “insane” that people would be upset about the company partnering with a “satanist” and an organization that wants to tear down Mt. Rushmore.
Minnesota Democrat Governor Tim Walz says it’s “insane” people would be upset with Target for partnering with a “satanist” designer to promote trans products for children and donating millions of dollars to an organization pushing to shut down Mt. Rushmore pic.twitter.com/VR1jih1U1Q
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 11, 2023
Bud Light may have killed their brand for good, and it looks like Target is headed in the same direction.
