It has been a rough year for retail giant Target, as they have been in the center of controversy and faced huge losses since May 2023. On Tuesday, a shareholder filed a lawsuit claiming the company’s alleged “betrayal” of their customers and shareholders has cost them billions.
The trouble began with “tuck-friendly” items marketed by Target, as well as LGBTQ+ items aimed at children and clothing by a self-proclaimed Satanist. With the “Bud Light” effect, Target was hit hard financially, with their market cap value dropping from over $74 billion to $60.3 billion, and receiving multiple downgrades, as well. AFL, along with co-counsel Boyden Gray PLLC and Lawson Huck Gonzalez PLLC, filed the lawsuit against Target’s board of directors on behalf of a shareholder. As per the group, Target’s 2022 and 2023 Proxy Statements misrepresented the company’s ESG and DEI protocols and mandates.
“Target’s management has misled investors, assuring them that the corporation oversees social and political issues and risks to protect shareholders, when behind closed doors, it works for its extremist hard-left ‘stakeholders’ at the expense of its customers and shareholders,” AFL added.
This controversy has caused the shares of Target to plummet from $160 to $130 in the span of a month. In order to recover the trust of their customers, Target is now offering “Drive up” Starbucks at their stores as an incentive for shoppers, despite the fact that publicly increasing their relationship with the woke elite company may backfire and add to their current woes.
Target executive Mark Schindele has commented on the matters by saying, “We’ve continued listening to our guests”—an ironic statement that may indicate that the company is not assessing their customers’ needs correctly.
Target’s controversial practice of embracing the radical left’s agenda with the Pride clothing collection has backfired and is proving to be detrimental to their well-being. Regardless, it is yet to be seen if offering coffee drinks to drive-by customers will be the remedy the company needs.
For now, Target is staring down the barrel of a lawsuit and millions in losses. Until then, their future is uncertain.
