The Target retail chain in the US lost US$9 billion in market value since angry social media users called for a boycott of the Minneapolis-based retailer over its rollout of the “PRIDE” collection featuring LGBTQ-friendly clothing for children, reports The New York Post..Just one week ago, prior to the call for a boycott, the company’s stock closed at US $160.96 per share, giving it a market capitalization of US$74.3 billion..Thursday early trading saw it down to US$141.76, capping a week long tumble that has shrunk the “cheap chic” discount retailer’s value to $65.3 billion, says The Post, adding it amounts to a 12% drop, shaving a whopping US$9 billion off the company’s market capitalization..As reported in Western Standard, Target earlier this week said it was pulling some LGBTQ-friendly kids clothing after customers complained on social media. .The Minneapolis-based chain said one of the main factors for the nationwide “adjustment” ahead of Pride month was because some customers had confrontations with workers, reports The Post..“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” a Target spokesperson said in a statement. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the centre of the most significant confrontational behaviour.”.The protests in some stores were reduced to violence, with customers knocking down Pride displays, as well as angrily confronting employees and posting threats on social media..“I think those are just good business decisions, and it’s the right thing for society, and it’s the great thing for our brand,” Cornell said, adding Target, with more than 450,000 employees in more than 1,900 locations, has a strategy aimed to cater to a diversifying customer base..Target did not specify which items it was removing from stores, but The Post reports among the ones that garnered the most attention were “tuck friendly” women’s swimsuits that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts..The Pride merchandise has been on sale since early May. Pride month is held in June..Tomi Lahren a conservative commentator who appears regularly on Fox News, said Tuesday Target was about to see its business suffer in the same way Bud Light did after it released a beer in tandem with a transgendered person..“I think Target really soon is about to find out what happens when conservatives shop — or rather don’t shop — because they are about to get Bud Light-ed,” Lahren told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday.
