By Mark Weyermuller -
In a week with record highs in the stock market, Target stock has taken a big drop. Early in the week, their stock went down 8 points for a 12% drop in the company's value to 58.77 per share. In April, their stock was over $83.00 a share. This week many attribute stock gains to a generally well received address to congress by President Donald Trump. Yet, why has Target stock dropped?
In April of 2016, Target promoted a policy in their stores of gender neutral changing rooms and bathrooms. They say one can "self identify " to use which ever bathroom they feel comfortable with. This has not gone over well with many customers. It has resulted in a boycott primarily driven on social media. The Illinois Family Institute was one of the organizations calling for a boycott.
There are other arguments why Target is suffering. Walmart and Amazon have had big gains especially with online sales from the internet. Target also tends to be pricier then say Kohls, Old Navy, Ross, and TJ Maxx. The retail business always seems up and down as Sears and Kmart are suffering too. In my lifetime I've seen the demise of Montgomery Ward's, Wiebold's, Goldblatts, Woolworth, Service Merchandise, and of course, Marshall Fields. Macy's bought up Fields, yet the iconic store is now a memory. It just shows retail comes and goes, and is always evolving.
Many news organizations are reporting on this including the Chicago Tribune and the Wall Street Journal yet they fail to mention the boycott. Breitbart News is one of the few news groups suggesting a connection of the stock price drop to the boycott. Christian Post has also reported on the boycott.
I stopped by a couple of Target stores this week finding them pretty empty. The new store on Clark which opened last year does have separate men's and women's restrooms along with a unisex bathroom. It's a smaller store, so it has unisex dressing rooms. In their defense, Walmart in Lincolnwood has similar dressing rooms all in one area yet designated men's and women's.
Much is being said about the influence of the silent majority. I always liked Target and found their stores here in Chicago to be very nice. I will say their employees are excellent. It's unclear to me why a large company would wish to dabble in politics, especially broaching a subject as sensitive as bathroom usage. In my opinion, their main focus should being selling products to make a profit for their stockholders. I wish Target well, especially since they have a large presence in Chicago.
Mark Weyermuller is a small business person, real estate professional, and conservative activist in Chicago. He is a citizen journalist and regular contributor to Illinois Review. Mark can be heard weekly on the radio in a "man on the street segment" at 10:31pm as a regular guest on the Stephanie Trussell Show heard Sunday nights 9pm-midnight on WLS 890-AM.
