As Target Reports a 7.2% Decrease in Revenue and 1.1% Drop in Same-Store Sales, American Family Association Says #BoycottTarget Making Impact

TUPELO, Miss.—This morning, the Target corporation released its highly anticipated second-quarter earnings report, which included the months since American Family Association’s (AFA, www.afa.net) immensely successful #BoycottTarget initiative, which encourages shoppers to protest the retailer’s dangerous restroom and fitting room policy with their wallets.

A few key takeaways, according to a report from Market Watch:

• Target (TGT), stock dropped dramatically in premarket trading on Wednesday
• ​For the quarter that ended July 30, earnings fell to $680 million, or $1.16 a share, from $753 million, or $1.18 a share, in the same period a year ago
• Revenue fell 7.2% to $16.17 billion
• Same-store sales declined 1.1%

“In April, Target publicized its policy that allows men who ‘identify’ as women to use the same restroom and changing rooms as women and little girls,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “We saw this policy as dangerous for women and children, and thus, launched a nationwide boycott of Target. Since then, nearly 1.4 million people have signed the pledge to boycott Target until the retailer changes its policy. Following the boycott announcement, Target’s stock dropped from $84 per share to $67 per share—a nearly 20 percent drop in stock value.”

AFA has met with Target on two occasions, once at its corporate headquarters and once at its annual shareholder meeting.

“We still believe Target doesn’t value the safety of families because they’ve refused to reverse this dangerous policy,” Wildmon said. “Because Target refuses to address our concerns, the boycott will remain. AFA will continue to direct our supporters away from Target and, as a result, they will shop at other retailers. After seeing Target’s latest earnings report, the retailer can’t afford to have millions of families shopping with competitors. The privacy and protection of women and children is important, and that is why we will continue to stand against Target for its reckless policy.”

According to a report released yesterday by the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, retail sales overall are increasing. Total retail sales for the second quarter of 2016 were estimated at $1,201.9 billion, an increase of 1.5 percent (±0.4%) from the first quarter of 2016.

“As AFA has stated many times,” Wildmon added, “we do not believe the transgender community poses this danger to the wider public. Rather, this misguided and reckless policy provides a possible gateway for predators who are out there.”

Since #BoycottTarget began in April, AFA has shared multiple examples of why Target’s policy is dangerous through Action Alerts to its one million-plus friends and supporters. Visit AFA’s Target page for examples of these frightening incidents.

In May, AFA hand-delivered one million petition signatures to Target headquarters in Minneapolis, after which AFA leadership briefly met with Target senior management about the bathroom policy. Target executives reported that the company would not change the policy but would install private-stall family restrooms in stores not already equipped with them.

Then in June, AFA Public Policy Analyst Abraham Hamilton III attended Target’s annual shareholder meeting, when he briefly met with Target leaders and expressed AFA’s deep concerns about the chain’s dangerous bathroom and fitting room policy.

Said Hamilton after the meeting. “The response really was, ‘We don’t care what you have to say. We don’t care what the American Family Association represents. We don’t care what those people who signed your petition represent. We are committed to the complete overhaul of American society as it pertains to sex.’”

AFA continues to ask shoppers to take action in several ways:

• Sign the #BoycottTarget pledge. Encourage family and friends to sign the pledge, too.
• Print AFA’s “pass-along sheet” to share with family, friends, neighbors and others.
• Share the boycott information on social media and be sure to use #BoycottTarget.
• Voice concerns on Target’s Facebook page.
• Visit afa.net/target for more tools and information on the #BoycottTarget initiative.

For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or on Twitter @AmericanFamAssc.

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To interview a representative from American Family Association, contact Jen Retallick, 610-584-1096, ext. 100, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com or Deborah Hamilton, 610-584-1096, ext. 102, 215.815.7716.