Target will only sell Pride Month collection in some stores after backlash in 2023

(NEW YORK) — Target has announced that it will only sell their Pride Month collection in select stores after suffering a backlash and boycott last year during the 2023 Pride season.

The company says that instead of offering their Pride Month collection merchandise across all stores, they will be “offering a collection of products including adult apparel and home and food and beverage items, curated based on consumer feedback. The collection will be available on Target.com and in select stores, based on historical sales performance,” the company said in a statement on their website on Thursday.

“Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round. Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members, which reflects our culture of care for the over 400,000 people who work at Target. We have long offered benefits and resources for the community, and we will have internal programs to celebrate Pride 2024,” the company said.

Target says they are making other plans to celebrate Pride Month, including having a presence at local Pride events in Minneapolis – where the organization is headquartered – and around the country.

“Beyond our own teams, we will have a presence at local Pride events in Minneapolis and around the country, and we continue to support a number of LGBTQIA+ organizations,” a company spokesperson said in a statement obtained by ABC News on Friday. “Additionally, we will offer a collection of products for Pride, including adult apparel, home products, food and beverage, which has been curated based on guest insights and consumer research. These items, starting at $3, will be available in select stores and on Target.com.”

Target suffered a backlash and boycott last summer during Pride season which prompted the chain to pull some of the LGBTQIA+ merchandise, which, in turn, caused a separate backlash against that decision as they became the center of a culture battle.

“For more than a decade, Target has offered an assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month,” Target said in May of 2023 amid the fury. “Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior. Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.”

This year, however, in spite of their reduction of available Pride Month collection merchandise at all of their retail establishments, Target says that they will continue to support LGBTQIA+ organizations year-round, including Human Rights Campaign, Family Equality and more and will also be highlighting LGBTQ-owned brands during Pride Month and throughout the year in their stores and online.

“Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round. Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members, which reflects our culture of care for the over 400,000 people who work at Target,” a company spokesperson told ABC News on Friday. “We have long offered benefits and resources for the community, and we will have internal programs to celebrate Pride 2024.”

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