Target Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Brian Cornell, is scheduled to meet with civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton this week in New York. This meeting comes at a very important time for Target. The company is now experiencing plummeting sales and increasing calls for a boycott from numerous community organizations. The company’s big announcement is that it has chosen to repeal its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This decision has worsened the problem and raised ire from civil rights groups and consumers almost unanimously.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the most dedicated civil rights leaders of our time, aims to hold Target accountable when it comes to keeping its promises. These commitments came in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In a statement to CNBC, Sharpton indicated that he would be urging Target to reaffirm its promises aimed at promoting equality and supporting marginalized communities. This year’s meeting has the potential to be the most consequential in the retailer’s history. Additionally, they’re dealing with a reduction in pedestrian traffic and the challenging state of retail overall.
Target’s sales performance has been on the ropes for months as shoppers have marked an increasing pivot toward frugality in their purchasing behavior. The change is very much welcomed, but the company still has heavy lifting ahead. Partnered with the impacts of theft and damaged goods, inventory mismanagement has cost retailers millions in losses. Just last month, Target reported a 6.5% decrease in store traffic from a year ago. At the same time, competing Costco saw a 7.5% boost in shoppers over the same timeframe. Target was coming off a negative trend as traffic declines had accelerated to negative ten-week trends. This decline was significantly worse than the same time last year.
In recent weeks, Target has faced backlash for its decision to discontinue its three-year DEI objectives. Further, the corporation made the decision not to publish those reports with outside diversity advocacy groups. Critics maintain that these recent pieces are actually an enormous backpedal on the company’s earlier, more vigorous commitments to corporate values, including corporate diversity. Target also recently stopped efforts aimed at improving the availability of goods made by Black- and other minority-owned businesses. This SCOTUS decision has many advocates for social justice eerily concerned.
Sharpton has not formally called for a Target boycott—though that could change. He is directly working against the few people who are fighting for a consumer retreat from the retailer. He emphasized that if Target does not reaffirm its commitment to the Black community following their meeting, he may reconsider his stance and potentially endorse a boycott. The strife on this issue shows just how far corporate interests have infiltrated communities’ desires and needs from their infrastructure in the current geo-economic reality.
Target’s recent rollback on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives has already caused a major backlash. Now, social media users are making their anger heard at the company’s choice. Challenges Target is in serious trouble with deep economic underlying causes. Worse yet, negative public sentiment regarding its commitment to diversity and inclusion has compounded these challenges.
Target is now under fire from some civil rights organizations. The company is doing so while juggling a rough retail environment marked by changing consumer behavior and an inflationary economy. The company’s leadership is focused on solving two primary challenges. They’re trying to badly tread the operational minefield with an eye toward stemming growing outrage over their CSR PR efforts.
Just this month, Target announced plans to restructure its chief DEI officer role into the C-suite. This move caught advocates by surprise, who view this as a dangerous signal to the company that its important diversity work is under threat. Many fear that this move would erode the hard-won progress so far toward building a more inclusive, representative corporate America.
As the meeting between Cornell and Sharpton draws ever closer, all eyes will be on how Target chooses to redress these critical issues. The outcome could set a precedent for how corporations engage with civil rights leaders and manage their commitments to diversity in an increasingly polarized market.