Target Blames It On the Rain?

TUPELO, Miss.—Target Corp. reported its first-quarter earnings today, which missed expectations, causing a 6 percent drop in pre-market trading, according to CNBC.

The retailer blamed the sluggish sales to poor spring weather, but the American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) knows better.

“It is just not possible that 1.5 million shoppers who are no longer spending their money at Target will not make an impact on sales and revenue,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “Target executives still won’t acknowledge that AFA’s powerful #BoycottTarget movement has anything to do with waning business. But we know there is strength in numbers and this significant community is making a difference. The refusal of shoppers to patronize Target sends a message to shareholders and Target executives that morals mean more than convenience, and safety outweighs personal preference of shopping at what once may have been their favorite store.”

CNBC also reported that Target’s numbers are “likely to rattle investors who have been closely watching Target’s efforts to reinvent its business.” The stock was at 71.44 about an hour after the market opened today.

Last month, AFA marked two years of the highly successful and effective #BoycottTarget initiative, which has garnered the signatures of more than 1.5 million Americans who say they won’t shop at the retailer until it makes restrooms and changing areas safe for everyone, including women and children.

“This Memorial Day weekend,” Wildmon added, “we want to remind shoppers not to stop at Target for their holiday needs—and to avoid shopping online as well. Clicking through purchases may seem ‘safer’ than entering stores with dangerous bathroom policies, but shopping online still drives revenue to Target. It’s clear that families who have chosen to shop elsewhere—both in-store and online—are making a huge difference.”

AFA is urging those who want to join the 1.5 million who have already signed the #BoycottTarget pledge—and push the numbers to 2 million—to take action in several ways:

• SIGN—If you haven’t already, sign the #BoycottTarget pledge here. If you have signed, keep the commitment not to shop at Target stores or online.
• SHARE—Ask family, friends and church members to sign the pledge. One effective strategy is to voice concerns politely but firmly on Target’s Facebook page and other social media sites using #BoycottTarget.
• VISIT—Go to www.afa.net/Target to keep up with news and to read some of the frightening incidents that have occurred at Target.

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

American Family Association is available to do immediate breaking news interviews via its LTN line at AFA studio headquarters. Contact [email protected] for more information or call 610.584.1096, ext. 102.

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 Deborah Hamilton, [email protected], 610.584.1096, ext. 102, or Emily Brunner, ext. 100