Target Pays the Price on the Stock Market for Anti-Gay Donation?



That donation has cost Target more than a little good will among their consumer base. Protests are now popping up all throughout the country challenging Target's efforts to influence the election, and much of the street cred that Target built up with the LGBT community -- by sponsoring pride events, by enacting good corporate policies -- has disintegrated, given that Tom Emmer holds rather radical views when it comes to gay rights. He wants to keep gays and lesbians from being parents, he wants to bar gay marriage, and he has financially supported a religious ministry that advocates violence toward LGBT people.
But in addition to Target hurting its reputation among many groups, it looks like Target's anti-gay donation is hurting its bottom line now, too. Take a look at this article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, which notes that since the public controversy over Target's donation to Tom Emmer broke, the company has lost close to $1.3 billion in stock market capitalization.
Hmm...$1.3 billion vs. $150,000? Yeah, I'm guessing Target wishes it could turn back time now.
"Shares in the Minneapolis-based discount retailer have declined 3.5 percent since the morning of July 27, when Target Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel first defended the donation, prompting critics to call for a consumer boycott," Tom Webb writes for the Pioneer Press.
Perhaps things are finally sinking in at Target headquarters. Last week, Target execs issued a statement amidst all the public scrutiny, saying that they're brainstorming ways to make amends.
"At Target, we listen to our guests, our team members and our communities -- and we have heard them on this issue. We are committed to doing better and regret that we have let down our team members and guests. We are evaluating ways to make sure they know the high value we place on our relationships with them," Target folks said in a statement.
Yet, almost two weeks after this story broke, there's been no public apology for the donation to support an anti-gay candidate, or an apology for trying to influence elections with corporate cash (something even banking giant Goldman Sachs realizes is bad news).
Meanwhile, a Facebook page has emerged calling for a national coordinated day of action at Target stores around the country, on Saturday, August 14.
There's got to be a white board in some exec office at Target headquarters with the following equation mapped out: national day of protest + $1.3 billion lost in the stock market + tens of thousands of emails and phone calls = disaster.
Oh, and here's the real kicker. Tom Emmer, the candidate that Target gave so much money to support?He's down in the polls, losing to all three potential candidates that Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party might nominate. And given Emmer's obtuse reaction to the Target donation crisis, it's possible that Target's $150,000 gift actually caused the Emmer campaign much more heartache than it was worth.
Photo credit: Elizabeth/Table4Five
http://gayrights.change.org

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