Last Christmas, while love was in the air and preparations were in motion for many people, Target sparked controversy!
Outrage spread across America over Target’s then-new collection of woke Christmas items. Due to the backlash, the top retailer had a less-than-merry and likely busier-than-ever Christmas celebration.
Target started trouble for itself when it rolled out its Christmas range of decorative items. Notable among the items were toys of Santas representing various races. The collection included Pride Santa, Santa in wheelchairs, and figurines draped in rainbow colors.
In addition, the range had same-sex couples and Muslim families celebrating Christmas. While many praised the retail giant’s decision to be more inclusive, others kicked against it. Hence, there was a loud uproar over the retailer’s actions.
Most of the angry crowd included conservatives who have branded the items as “woke” and “anti-christmas.” Equally as loud as the criticisms were the repeated calls to boycott Target. Hashtags such as #BoycottTarget and #NotMyChristmas spread across the internet alongside angry posts from customers.
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“This is just another example of Target trying to shove its liberal agenda down our throats,” read a comment from an X user. “I will not be shopping there. Haven’t for quite some time and certainly don’t plan to any time soon! You would think they would have learned by Bud Lights mistake,” said another user.
But there were also tweets in support of the company’s new direction. One such tweet read, “They should do something about those mean and aggressive Target clerks who are holding guns to the heads of those conservatives, forcing them to buy those things.”
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Another supportive post from Facebook read, “I think it’s great that Target is making an effort to be more inclusive.” Similarly, another X post read, “Conservatives need to get a life of their own and stop being jealous of other people enjoying living their “woke” life. Which, by the way, is hurting nobody.”
Interestingly, that wasn’t the first time the retailer would make it into the black book of millions of its customers. Earlier last year, its Pride Month collections drew widespread backlash and boycotts from conservatives, causing its revenues to tank significantly.
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During that period, Target admitted that its comparable sales fell by 5.4% in the second quarter ending July 29, 2023. Its ECommerce sales also dropped by 10.5% during that time. However, the company survived and managed to maintain a respectable profit margin by reducing inventory costs and cutting down on discounts.
Its ability to weather the storm earlier that year is probably the source of the confidence behind the 2023 Christmas collection. Despite the backlash, Target doubled down on its inclusiveness policy, daring the right-wingers to do their worst.
A statement from the retailer to the press stated that Target is “proud to offer a wide variety of Christmas ornaments that reflect the diversity of our customers…We believe that everyone should feel welcome and celebrated during the holidays.”
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