Target’s Clueless CEO Brian Cornell

From my op-ed published today by Real Clear Markets:

On Target Corporation’s May 17 earnings call, Chairman & CEO Brian Cornell complained that theft from its stores will hit the bottom line big-time, costing the retailer $500 million in profits this year…

 

The Target website boasts of the $100 million it is devoting to “advancing racial equity.” Of course, it is the embrace of “equity” at the expense of the concept of “equality” that provides the moral justification for shoplifting and organized theft. Target perpetuates a culture of grievance but then laments its inevitable result.

Also from the op-ed:

To Corporate America, it’s as if half or more of the country does not exist. Until now, there has been little risk… As long as CEOs check the boxes of certain social and political causes, they are immune to media criticism and safe from the activists who would otherwise be their critics.

 

The list of causes, however, gets longer and weirder. Anheuser-Busch decided that the Bud Light brand could use a little freshening up with the help of Dylan Mulvaney, celebrating his 365^th day of womanhood. The reaction has been an unprecedented, spontaneous boycott that has spread across social media. It has no real leaders, only participants, some famous and most who are not.

 

Now it’s Target’s turn. This time it’s not a brand that’s in jeopardy, but an entire enterprise. The company has 1,948 stores and was #32 by revenue on the 2022 Fortune 500 list.

 

When asked about the firestorm, CEO Cornell retreated to familiar territory. “The things we’ve done from a DE&I (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) standpoint, it’s adding value,” Cornell said. “It’s helping us drive sales, it’s building greater engagement with both our teams and our guests, and those are just the right things for our business today.”

 

Oh really? Cornell has failed to fathom that he is on the wrong side of the cultural revolution that is being foisted on the American people. As the moral anarchists’ demands become more extreme, the reaction will become more furious.

 

“Pride” merchandise aimed at toddlers and “tuck-friendly” bathing suits are not just controversial, they embody evil. Gender is neither a cultural construct nor a form of oppression. Cornell made $17.6 million last year. For that money, shareholders might expect a simple grasp of biology.

Click here to read entire op-ed on Real Clear  Markets.

And please, do not shop at Target.