The controversy around the LGBTQ+ support offered up by some major businesses, namely Bud Light (BUDFF) and Target (TGT), has sparked national attention in recent weeks, setting off boycotts, sales dips and inciting a national conversation on whether businesses ought to take stances on cultural and political issues.
Earlier in June, "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban, speaking at a conference, said that diversity is good business. In a June 11 interview with the Post Gazette, Cuban reiterated his stance on the issue, saying: “There is a reason almost all the top ten market cap companies in the U.S. can be considered ‘woke.’ It’s good business.”
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But Cuban's "Shark Tank" peer, Kevin O'Leary, disagrees.
"The thing about business is you can measure it. When you lose $9 billion of market cap, that goes right to the pocketbooks of shareholders," O'Leary said. "In business, it's all about the money. What happened here is a very important lesson was learned by those boards of directors and the CEOs. The shareholders are not happy."
The role of a business, according to Mr. Wonderful, is "not to educate society on the social issue of the day."
O'Leary added that it's not a surprise he doesn't agree with Cuban on this issue, saying "We don't agree on much. We're good friends, though. There's lots of room to have this discussion."
More Companies in Trouble:
- Bud Light Is Set to Lose a Big Chunk of Its Business Permanently
- Battle for Pride: What to Know About the Target Backlash
- While the Right Celebrates Over Bud Light, Target, They’re Cheering the Wrong Victory
But where Cuban thinks that showing care and support for customers could increase business, O'Leary thinks the opposite will happen.
"When you're Disney, or a beer company, or Target, you have customers of every kind. Republicans, Democrats, gender-specific or gender-neutral," he said. "You want to sell everybody everything all of the time. When you get involved in partisan issues, you basically lose 50% of your constituency."
