Target holds ‘emergency’ meeting, relocates LGBTQ merchandise from June Pride month displays: Report

Some stores of Target, an American retail corporation, pulled LGBTQ Pride goods away from the front of their stores due to customer "outrage". US-based reports have mentioned that the retailer corporation wanted to avoid a "Bud Light situation". 

A report by Fox News said that several Target locations throughout the country host enormous June Pride Month displays every year, 

They kept merchandise this year ranging from "tuck friendly" bathing suits for transgender persons to mugs that proclaim "gender fluid". 

However, some have criticised the retail giant for the displays, with children's products particularly angering many shoppers.  

A Target insider told the media outlet that many locations, mainly in rural areas of the South, have relocated their Pride sections. 

They want to escape the backlash that Bud Light has received in recent weeks after utilising a transgender influencer in an advertising effort. 

The insider further noted that there were "emergency" calls on Friday, and several managers and district senior directors were urged to immediately close the Pride areas. 

As quoted, a Target insider said, "We were given 36 hours, told to take all of our Pride stuff, the entire section, and move it into a section that’s a third the size. From the front of the store to the back of the store, you can’t have anything on mannequins and no large signage." 

"We call our customers ‘guests,’ there is an outrage on their part. This year, it is just exponentially more than any other year," the insider further said. 

"I think given the current situation with Bud Light, the company is terrified of a Bud Light situation," the insider added. 

The insider also mentioned that Friday's call started with highlighting "how to deal with team member safety". 

The insider said, "The call was super quick, it was 15 minutes. The first 10 minutes was about how to keep your team safe and not having to advocate for Target. The last five was, ‘Move this to the back, take down the mannequins and remove the signage.'" 

 

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