Target announced it will no longer offer its Pride collection in every one of its 2,000 stores nationwide.
The chain has had annual pride collections since 2012, but last year’s run kicked up mountains of controversy. The company moved its displays of LGBT-theme merchandise, slated for the pride month of June, from the front of several stores to the back of the store or removed them entirely last year due to outrage.
“At Target, we know our business thrives when we create experiences that foster a sense of belonging. That’s why we support and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round,” the store’s statement read. “We’re offering a collection of products including adult apparel and home and food and beverage items, curated based on consumer feedback. The collection will be available on Target.com and in select stores, based on historical sales performance.”
This is likely a reference to the child-sized pride merchandise offered last year, which was at the center of the backlash. As a result, five stores in Ohio’s Jackson Township, Boardman, Stow, Niles, one store in Monaca, Pennsylvania, and four stores in Utah’s Layton, Salt Lake, Taylorsville, and Provo reported threats to their stores. Layton briefly evacuated its store due to the severity of the threat against it.
“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and [well-being] while at work,” a statement from Target read at the time. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”
The retailer told the Washington Examiner that the collection “has been curated based on guest insights and consumer research.”
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Last year’s merchandise included designs from Abprallen, a brand out of the United Kingdom and headed by a self-proclaimed gay transgender man known as Erik, who had an affinity for satanism. The designer’s website was temporarily shut down. It remains to be seen if Target will turn to small designers for its next collection.
Target’s shares lost 12.6% in the weeks since the start of the collection, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group.
