Target limits Pride merchandise to select stores after last year’s backlash

Target has Pride merchandise in fewer stores this year after backlash it received caused it to pull some items from last year’s collection.

Leaders at the Minneapolis-based retailer acknowledged later in the summer that the controversy had hurt Target’s reputation.

Last year, Target sold an assortment of Pride products at all of its more than 1,900 stores. This year, it’s selling in a smaller, undisclosed amount of stores based on market feedback, the company said. All of its Pride merchandise will be available online, according to a statement released Thursday.

Target, which has sold a large variety of LGBTQ-friendly products in the past, has also reduced the number of items in the collection compared with past years.

Last summer, Target faced backlash in some stores, on social media and from conservative media outlets for some of its merchandise.

The outrage and subsequent calls to boycott appeared to stem from select products including swimwear made for transgender people that some incorrectly said was offered in children’s sizes. Target also pulled apparel and accessory items from U.K.-based brand Abprallen, which critics accused of expressing “satanist” views in its designs. The designer — who identifies as a gay trans man — said in an Instagram post that the claims were false and based on designs that weren’t part of the three items initially sold at Target.

Target said it decided to pull some of its Pride items because of “confrontational behavior” its workers faced at some of its stores. as well as threats made on its customer hotline.

Target also faced criticism from those within the LGBTQ community and allies such as Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who in a letter with 14 other attorneys general said he was concerned Target’s reaction to the backlash sent the wrong message to “those who engage in hateful and disruptive conduct.”

Following the Pride debate, Target’s comparable sales dipped for the first time in years, which leaders acknowledged was because of a range of factors from the Pride merchandise to consumers buying fewer discretionary items.

After the controversy, Target leaders said they would develop a more curated assortment for not only Pride celebrations but other cultural commemorations such as Black History Month as well.

“Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round. Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members,” the statement released on Thursday said. “Beyond our own teams, we will have a presence at local Pride events in Minneapolis and around the country, and we continue to support a number of LGBTQIA+ organizations.”

This year’s collection, the statement said, is “based on guest insights and consumer research.”

Target CEO Brian Cornell said last summer that Target was right to adjust the Pride assortment and would apply what it learned from last year’s controversy to ensure it is “staying close to our guests and their expectations of Target.”

Although the company said it would be more intentional in its other collections as well, Target had to yank a civil rights magnetic learning activity made by the manufacturer Bendon from its shelves because a TikTok user pointed out it mixed up the images and names of Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois and Carter G. Woodson.