Target Stock Plunges 12%; American Family Association Begins Phase II of #BoycottTarget

TUPELO, Miss.—Target continues its freefall, as its stock plunged 12 percent today after the retailer announced disappointing 2016 fourth-quarter earnings.

According to Forbes.com, earnings missed expectations, which “bodes poorly for the retail giant and strengthens the argument the company needs to change its strategy to effectively compete and ultimately grow market share again.”

A growth strategy might be what Target needs, but the American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) has a different take on the steep decline. The nearly 1.5 million shoppers who have signed AFA’s #BoycottTarget pledge since April are making a real difference.

“The American Family Association has called for a boycott of Target since last April after the chain publicized the fact that it would allow men to use the women’s restrooms and fitting rooms in their stores,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “This is unacceptable for families, and the dangerous and misguided policy continues to put women and children in harm’s way. Men don’t belong in the same bathroom as our wives and daughters.”

The significant drop, Market Watch reported, “would put it on track to open at the lowest level seen since Aug. 7, 2014. The stock would suffer the biggest one-day price drop since it went public in January 1972, and the third-biggest-ever percentage decline, and the biggest since Aug. 31, 1998.”

Now, AFA is initiating Phase II of #BoycottTarget, with the immediate goal of reaching 1.5 million signatures so Wildmon can hand-deliver an additional 500,000 signatures on top of the 1 million that were already delivered to Target headquarters in May of 2016. The pledge number as this afternoon sits just over 1.45 million.

“We must boldly and aggressively keep the pressure on Target and let them know that the boycott will not end until its dangerous fitting room and bathroom policy is reversed,” Wildmon added. “We all must help protect women and children and join nearly 1.5 million families in boycotting Target.”

Forbes also reported that Target stock has been falling for three years, hitting a high of $85.81 in 2015 and currently trading right around 58 today. Fox Business also reported that Target’s net sales have now declined for six quarters in a row.

Once the threshold of 1.5 million signatures is reached, AFA hopes to plan another meeting with Target executives in Minneapolis, with a two-fold goal: to communicate to AFA’s more than one million friends and supporters that the 40-year-old family organization is resolute in giving them a voice; and to convince Target to change its restroom and fitting room policy that endangers women and children.

AFA is suggesting several ways to urge Target to protect the safety of women and children:

• Sign the #BoycottTarget pledge. Encourage family and friends to sign the pledge, too, in an effort to increase signatures to 15 million—fewer than 50,000 signatures are needed!
• Voice concerns on Target’s Facebook page.
• Call Target to politely let its executives know you’ve signed the #BoycottTarget pledge—Guest Relations, (800) 440-0680, option 1, then 1 again.
• Share the boycott information on social media and be sure to use #BoycottTarget. This will be one of the most effective ways to build the signatures to 1.5 million and beyond.

“As AFA has stated many times, our worries do not stem from fear of the transgender community,” Wildmon concluded, “but rather, from both the real and potential threat that predators and voyeurs, or anyone with evil intentions, would take advantage of the Target bathroom policy to harm women and children—and there are plenty of incidents to show that they have.”

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

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To interview a representative from American Family Association, contact Jen Retallick, 610-584-1096, ext. 100, [email protected] or Deborah Hamilton, 610-584-1096, ext. 102, 215.815.7716.

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