After seeing its stores invaded by aggressive protesters who threatened employees over LGBTQ-themed products last year, Target is making some changes to how it handles Pride Month in 2024.
The retailer says it plans to limit the number of stores selling LGBTQ-themed merchandise this year, limiting its offerings to “a range of products including adult clothing, household items, food and beverages.” Bloomberg reports that only half of the 2,000 U.S. locations will sell Pride-themed items. This is a dramatic reversal for the company, which has sold the items in all of its stores for the better part of the past 10 years.
The company says which stores will carry the products will be determined based on historical sales performance. Target said it will carry the products on its website as well.
“We continue to support LGBTQIA+ organizations throughout the year, including the Human Rights Campaign, Family Equality, and more,” the company said. He said in a statement.
Target found itself at the center of the culture wars last year. Protesters confronted employees at the store and took down displays of Pride merchandise. Meanwhile, social media posts will contain videos from inside stores in which some protesters display aggressive behavior.
Much of the attention has focused on swimwear for transgender adults, which opponents have wrongly claimed are made for children.
However, LGBTQ advocates were upset that Target gave in to intimidation.
“To protect the team in the face of these threatening conditions, we quickly made changes, including removing elements that were at the heart of the most significant confrontational behavior,” CEO Brian Cornell said during a call with investors last year.
A boycott by far-right protesters led to a decline in sales (the first in six years), and last August the company pledged to make “tweaks” to its Prime Month range.