WhatFinger


The price of arrogance.

Excellent: Target stock has lost $1.5 billion in value since letting men in the ladies' room



Ordinarily I would not root for any business to fail, even one of my own competitors. But when a major corporation tells the vast majority of its customers "f*** you" in order to appease radical social activists, it would really be a shame if those insulted customers just kept shopping there and made the corporation pay no price for its arrogance. The early returns suggest Target customers are doing no such thing. Breitbart reports that Target stock has fallen $2.65 per share since the infamous announcement that Target will let confused men into its ladies' restrooms and dressing rooms, which amounts to an overall reduction of $1.5 billion in the value of the company's stock. I doubt that's a direct result of any revenue drop caused by people boycotting Target, even though 1 million people have signed online petitions saying they intend to do so. Boycotts are never effective for long because after awhile people's anger subsides and they return to their normal day-to-day habits.
Where I think there's a chance that could be different is if people feel Target has been personally and deliberately insulting toward their values. And clearly, Target has. If even 10 percent of Target shoppers were so insulted by the company's decision that they decided they'd rather shop at Meijer, Kroger or Wal-Mart, that could have a major impact on a chain that was already having some problems. And oh yes, it was. For one thing, Target can't seem to figure out how to keep the goods people want on the shelves:
On Wednesday, the fourth-largest U.S. retailer blamed its "incredibly complex supply chain" for unacceptable stock levels at its stores this year, forecasting weak growth in current quarter sales at established stores. The focus on the supply chain network is the latest move by CEO Brian Cornell, who took charge a year ago and announced a restructuring plan in March. Under that program, Cornell eliminated several thousand corporate jobs, revamped grocery operations and announced a $1 billion investment in supply chain technology.

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Mulligan, who was promoted from the position of chief financial officer on Monday, said that in-store product stock levels have been getting worse over the last couple of quarters. Kathee Tesija, the company's former chief merchandising and supply chain officer, was moved to an advisory role in June. "Given the breadth and complexity of the business, it will always be a challenge to be in stock on every item in every store... but our guests need us to be consistent in delivering everyday essentials," Mulligan said. Target's supply-chain problems have grown more acute as it has expanded its offering of consumable goods such as meat, fresh produce and dairy products, which in turn have brought customers back to their stores more frequently than in the past.
I'd love to make some snarky comment like, "Maybe if Target would concentrate more on stocking the shelves and less on social engineering, they could keep goods available for people who want to buy them." But I know that's not the reason. Target constructed an inefficient supply chain that reflects an outdated business model. That has nothing to do with their horrible decision on bathroom policies. But I'd like to know this: If I can't depend on the store to have what I want, and the store appears to be quite hostile to my values, why would I even consider shopping there? I wouldn't. And I'm not. If enough people feel the same way, that stock value won't recover any time soon - if ever.

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Dan Calabrese -- Bio and Archives

Dan Calabrese’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain

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