The Boycott Target movement is pushing to completely bankrupt the retail giant
Redditors are trying to push the ongoing boycott against Target further, hoping now to drive the company into bankruptcy.
Former customers have been boycotting the retail store chain after Target announced in January that it would phase out its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The corporation’s move aligns with the push from conservative activists and President Donald Trump, who have called for an end to DEI policies.
Target’s DEI removal announcement meant that it would be eliminating hiring goals for minority employees while also ending its focus on racial justice and other diversity initiatives.
In response, liberal activists fought back.
Quickly after Target’s announcement, people took to social media to share their discontent, which grew to in-person action.
The People’s Union USA hosted an Economic Blackout Day on Feb. 28. Target greeted 11% fewer people on that day, compared to the average number of visits on previous Fridays.
A Numerator survey of 1,300 consumers found that 16% of Americans planned to participate in the one-day boycott
At the beginning of March, Target reported a net sales decline of 3% for its fourth quarter. But the push hasn’t slowed down. A pastor in Georgia called for a 40-day “fast” to boycott Target during Lent, which lasted from March 5 to April 14.
“We’re asking people to divest from Target because they have turned their back on our community,” Rev. Jamal Bryant said in an interview with CNN.
USA Today reported that the boycotts have had “reputational consequences” for Target, with its stock hitting a 52-week low on April 8. In the weeks since, the stock price has risen only slightly.
Yahoo Finance also found that Target has underperformed the rest of the retail discount store industry.
As the news seems bleak for the retail store, Redditors want to slam their foot on the gas. A Drake meme calling for the movement to level up and push for complete bankruptcy set off a fervor on the r/anticonsumption subreddit.
“I've been hearing that Target is roughly 1 year away from bankruptcy due the recent drop in foot traffic (excellent work to those involved),” the user goofyboi wrote. “The corporate class believes we can’t organize in an effective manner that will really affect them. Let’s prove them wrong.”
Though the rumor wasn’t backed up with any evidence, the news elated the sub.
“Good sentiment,” user Cactastrophe posted. “Hopefully the next earning reports they release will reflect this.”
“TBH I’m ready for all of these awful big box stores to go out of business,” SpaceSick posted. “Bring back towns having a square or a downtown area full of small local businesses.”
“Show these big corporations who they're meant to serve. They don't exist without us. Vote with your dollar!” added QueSeraShoganai.
But not everyone was as enthusiastic, with some commentators noting that bankruptcy could have extremely detrimental effects, bringing mass layoffs.
“If Target goes bankrupt, that's 400,000 people out of a job,” replied a poster.
Forbes recently reported that while experts “generally agree grassroots consumer boycotts do not have a significant effect on a company’s results ... Target might be at particular risk," given the boycott calls are coming from a diverse set of groups.
The site Value Investing claims that Target had a 44% drop in returns over the past year and suggests bankruptcy odds for the company of 12.4%.
Other similar big box stores Value Investing listed have much lower odds, like Home Depot at 1.9% and Costco at 6.6%.
Target’s first quarter report is expected on Wednesday, May 21. And the anticonsumption sub is expecting fireworks.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post The Boycott Target movement is pushing to completely bankrupt the retail giant appeared first on The Daily Dot.