The new culture war between conservatives and progressives in recent weeks has moved to the corporate arena.
Conservatives blame companies for bowing to the dictates of progressives by embracing the values of gender equality, the fight against racism and antisemitism, and the battle for inclusion and diversity. (These matters are often summed up in the acronym ESG – environmental, social and corporate-governance policy.)
For many companies opening up to minorities and ESG aims to bring in new customers and tap into new talent.
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The conservatives have thus launched a counter-offensive. The first issue on which the conservatives focus is the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community and. more specifically, transgender people. They are thus attacking companies' initiatives to associate themselves with this community as Pride Month, June, begins.
The Bud Light (BUD) beer brand was one of the first major companies targeted by a boycott campaign. But for the past few days the Target (TGT) department-store chain and its employees have been the main targets of the conservatives.
'The Goal Is to Make Pride Toxic for Brands'
The problem for the conservatives: Target's line of products honoring the LGBTQ+ community. It's not new: Every year, in June, Target decorates its stores with the colors of Pride Month and offers specific products: a cup with the inscription "gender fluid," a nongendered swimsuit, and even children's t-shirts bearing the words "Bien Proud" ("Very proud").
But in recent days the initiative has provoked an outpouring of hatred from the most conservative fringe of the country.
In some Target stores, shelves were overturned and salespeople attacked.
"The goal is to make pride toxic for brands," Matt Walsh, a right-wing political commentator, tweeted on May 24. "If they decide to shove this garbage in our face, they should know that they’ll pay a price. It won’t be worth whatever they think they’ll gain. First Bud Light and now Target. Our campaign is making progress. Let’s keep it going."
The campaign appears to have worked as Target decided to withdraw the affected products to protect its employees.
"For more than a decade, Target has offered an assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month. Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and well-being while at work," the company said on May 24.
"Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior."
"Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year."
'Destruction of Shareholder Value'
It is in this context that the conservative activist Charlie Kirk posted a message on Twitter in which he noted that JPMorgan analysts are pessimistic about the outlook for Target stock.
Elon Musk, the serial entrepreneur who has become a hero of the conservatives in recent months, did not hesitate to react. He even took the opportunity to say that Target's actions were going to have serious and legal consequences for the group and its leaders.
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"JP Morgan just downgraded Target's stock, after its longest losing streak in 23 years citing 'too many concerns rising’," Kirk wrote on June 1. "Happy Pride Month Target!!"
To which Musk responded 24 hours later with a warning to Target.
"Won’t be long before there are class-action lawsuits by shareholders against the company and board of directors for destruction of shareholder value," the billionaire said.
Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheStreet.
Target's stock was downgraded on June 1 by a JPMorgan analyst, Christopher Horvers.
"We continue to believe that the consumer is broadly weakening while the share of wallet shift away from goods (51% of [Target’s] sales) is ongoing,” Horvers wrote in a note.
"While still positive on a [three-year] basis, [Target] has been giving back share on a [one-year] view and we believe this share loss could accelerate into back to school and linger into holiday given consumer pressures and recent company controversies,” wrote Horvers.
"This could turn [Target’s] traffic negative after an impressive run of 12 consecutive positive quarters.”
The company was downgraded to neutral from overweight.
Except for the June 1 trading session, Target stock has finished lower in every session since the boycott campaign started. All told the stock has fallen 8.5%.
