Target sales are down after a poor first quarter earnings report from the Minneapolis-based retailer. While tariffs and consumer uncertainty were part of what the nation's second largest retailer put the blame on, they also acknowledged fallout from the company's changing stance on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.
In January, the company said it would phase out a handful of DEI initiatives, including a program designed to help Black employees advance their careers and promote Black-owned businesses. Conservative activists and President Donald Trump have sought to dismantle DEI policies in the federal government, schools, and at private businesses.
Now, some of those Minneapolis-based boycott leaders are celebrating Target's slump and their economic impacts, hailing it as progress by boycott organizers.
Minneapolis civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, who launched one of the first boycotts outside the Target Headquarters in downtown Minneapolis, believes the numbers confirm their impact.
"I believe that our message resonated throughout the country amongst other like-minded folks who wanted to hold Target accountable for abandoning its stated values," Armstrong told WCCO Radio on Wednesday afternoon.
The most recent numbers from Target show show that people bought less from Target over the past three months compared to the same time last year. And while online shopping saw a little bit of growth, sales in their physical stores are down.
"Target has miscalculated the amount of public ire and disdain that is in play against them at this moment," Armstrong explains. "I think that they thought that the backlash would be temporary and that people would forget. But they need to understand that our memory is long."
She added that the controversy surrounding these changes will continue to impact the company if they don't reverse course.
Target's retreat created another backlash, with more customers angered by the retailer's reduction of LGBTQ+-themed merchandise for Pride Month in June of 2023. Then, after their retreat on DEI initiatives, Twin Cities Pride turned down Target sponsorship dollars for this year's festivities adding to the pressure on them locally.