Fierce Patriots

Conservative Political News

  • Subscribe

<![CDATA[Target]]>

Target Faces Worst Losses in Years, Even More Bad News With Assessment by JPMorgan

by Leave a Comment

We’ve been following what’s been happening to Target and Bud Light since they’ve pursued their “go woke, go broke” strategies.

Bud Light has taken a tremendous hit, losing almost 30 percent in sales volume as well as 25.7 percent in sales revenue through May 20, and it’s still spiraling out of control. When we last left Target, they’d taken a huge stock plunge. At the close of business on Tuesday, they were down $12.4 billion in market cap. Not only hasn’t it gotten any better, but it’s also continued to get worse. It’s sunk to 131.23 at the time I’m writing on Friday morning, which means they’ve now lost over $13 billion. It’s now been on its longest losing streak in 23 years.

The stock ended Wednesday’s session down 2.2%, marking its ninth straight decline and the stock’s longest losing streak since an 11-day stretch that ended Feb. 24, 2000, according to Dow Jones data. Wednesday also marked the stock’s lowest close since Aug. 11, 2020.

Target TGT shares fell 1.7% in premarket trading Thursday. The stock has fallen 12.2% in 2023, compared with the S&P 500’s SPX gain of 8.9%.

“We continue to believe that the consumer is broadly weakening while the share of wallet shift away from goods (51% of [Target’s] sales) is ongoing,” wrote JPMorgan analyst Christopher Horvers. Disinflation in grocery is also continuing to accelerate, according to Horvers.

On top of tall that, they were just downgraded to neutral from overweight by JPMorgan. They made that move citing “too many concerns rising” regarding Target.

Analysts pointed to the likelihood of a decline in sales due to consumers pulling back spending.

“We continue to believe that the consumer is broadly weakening while the share of wallet shift away from goods (51% of [Target’s] sales) is ongoing,” wrote JPMorgan analyst Christopher Horvers.

“While still positive on a [three-year] basis, [Target] has been giving back share on a [one-year] view and we believe this share loss could accelerate into back to school and linger into holiday given consumer pressures and recent company controversies,” wrote Horvers. “This could turn [Target’s] traffic negative after an impressive run of 12 consecutive positive quarters.”

In other words, they hadn’t been taken a real fall before, the stock fell after the boycott against them began for LGTBQ-oriented items directed at children as well as their Pride design collection being associated with a designer who also made non-Target clothing items with Satan on it, such as “Satan respects pronouns.”

So far apart from claiming that they were moving controversial items, Target hasn’t seemed to do anything to try to ameliorate the controversy. Indeed, their CEO has doubled down saying they think their woke approach was “adding value” to their bottom line, as well as “the right thing for society, and it’s the great thing for our brand.” Cornell said. He claimed it was “building greater engagement” with their customers.

It would seem that the stock plunge and the JP Morgan downgrading would put paid to that argument. But if Target wants to keep digging, they may just find out how low they can go and the true power of the boycott against them.

Target’s Market Value Just Took Yet Another Deep Dive

by Leave a Comment

We’ve been watching how both Bud Light and Target seem to have committed brand suicide with their “go woke, go broke” moves.

As I reported on Tuesday, Bud Light has taken a tremendous hit, losing almost 30 percent in sales volume as well as 25.7 percent in sales revenue through May 20, and it’s still spiraling out of control. The numbers from the weekend are by all reports going to be bad and will not save them as they might have hoped. On top of that, this has sparked a lot of buying of competitor brands, and they’re in danger of not only losing all that money but losing their spot as the number one beer brand.

Target didn’t learn anything from what was happening to Bud Light with their Pride clothing and books aimed at children controversy. Their Pride collection was also linked to a controversial designer who pushed messages like “Satan respects pronouns” on other non-Target clothing. They were also given more than $2 million to a group that encourages K-12 school districts to adopt policies that will keep parents in the dark about their child’s in-school gender change, provides sexually explicit books to schools for free, and encourages integrating gender ideology at all grade levels and in all subjects in the school.

Target CEO Brian Cornell has doubled down, saying it was “adding value” to their bottom line. “I think those are just good business decisions, and it’s the right thing for society, and it’s the great thing for our brand,” Cornell said. He claimed it was “building greater engagement” with their customers. But they’ve so offended the public they’re even getting called out in a rap song that’s now topping the charts.

So how is that working out for Target? The last time we checked about six days ago, they’d dropped more than $9 billion in market cap. Not only hasn’t it gotten any better, but it’s also gotten even worse. At the close of business on Tuesday, they were down $12.4 billion.

Shares fell another 3.66% Tuesday, marking the eighth straight decline and lopping off another $2.4 billion in market cap, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group.

Since the backlash, Target’s market value has fallen over $12 billion to $61.77 billion as of Tuesday’s closing price. Mid-month the market value was over $74 billion.

It put the stock on its longest losing streak since November 2018, leaving shares at a fresh 52-week low of $133.88 per share.

It’s still hanging right around 134 when I checked it after the opening this morning, so it’s not recovering so far.

But it’s been on a complete dive since the middle of the month. Imagine losing that much in less than two weeks. And this is not as easy a boycott to take on as Bud Light, as our Susie Moore explained. A lot of folks do all their shopping at Target from groceries to clothing, and often there may not be an equivalent place in their areas. So what does that say to have this much of a slide this fast? The folks who want to embrace the woke narrative need to be paying attention because this has awoken the sleeping giant, now that the American people realize that they can be heard and make a significant impact.

So how’s that looking now, Brian Cornell? I’m thinking it’s not looking so good for that bottom line, despite what he’s claiming. Of course, I think he means his ESG bottom line, not his sales or stock bottom line. Target seems intent on sticking by their bad takes even as they seem to be sinking like a stone. Is there a bottom? We may find out between Bud Light and Target: how low can they go?

Hysterical, Scathing ‘Boycott Target’ Rap Song Tops the Charts

by Leave a Comment

“Attention all shoppers, there’s a clean up on every aisle. Target is targeting your kids,” rapper Forgiato Blow sings in a song blasting the retailing giant’s obligatory Pride Month offerings, which include “women’s” bathing suits with space for tucking a male organ, sexual orientation clothing for kids, sexually themed books for children, and even a (since-removed) line by a company whose designer is an outspoken Satanist.

Proving that many Americans are getting sick of this stuff, the song shot to #1 on the iTunes “most popular chart” across all genres, surpassing the likes of Taylor Swift and Luke Combs. “Boycott Target” no longer sits at the top spot as of this writing—I wouldn’t be surprised if the woke Apple corporation had something to do with that—but the video has been viewed over 4.4 million times on Twitter and hundreds of thousands more on other platforms.

The video is blistering and hysterically funny at the same time. Take a look:

The song, which also features Jimmy Levy, Nick Nittoli, and Stoney Dudebro, shows the foursome walking the aisles of a Target store and pointing out the seemingly endless displays of LGBTQ merch—much of which is clearly aimed at children.

Levy took to Twitter to celebrate its success:

“We’re obviously shifting the culture,” Blow said. “We are waking people up letting them know that, hey, you don’t have to just follow the crowd. You can stand on your own and be a leader, not a follower.”

Here’s a sampling of the lines in the ditty, courtesy of TrapLyrics, who reproduces them albeit with a lot of typos:

They Put A Target On My Back,
But They’re Targeting Your Kids.
They Don’t Even Need The Cash
Cause You Know What It Is
That’s Why I Keep The Strats
And I’m Always(?)
This Is Gently Gotta Stop
Then You Know We Gonna Win…

I Heard The New Story Target Targeting Kids
They Going After Our Youth And Yeah They Do It Like This
If You Ain’t Mad Yet
Then You Better Be Pissed
Let’s Protest Until They Close And They Ain’t Gonna Be Missed
Why They Got Priced Shirts In The Kids Clothing Section
Why They Trying To Mess With The Kids And Give Misconception
They Manipulate And Minds Re Making Evil Impressions
Got No Got Little Boys Talking Now By Time 18’s Got Depression

Meanwhile, Target has been getting killed in the stock market, with share prices down four percent Tuesday alone, bringing its total plunge for the month to 15 percent. That’s knocked over $12 billion off its market cap to send it to its lowest point in four years.

Despite the song’s success, the rappers feel they’re being censored.

“It’s shadow-banned all over the world right now,” Blow said.

Shadow-banning is when a user’s content is blocked from part or all of a social media site.

It’s known to be a stealthy way platforms limit posts’ visibility.

“You can’t even search the song on iTunes without going to the music video and clicking the external link. So they’re trying their hardest to keep it off the radar,” Blow added.

Levy concurred, saying in an interview that reaction to the video shows that “we are the majority although we’re being silenced and they make it look like, you know… the people that aren’t on the right side of humanity and history are the majority—they’re not, we are.”

I don’t consider myself to be a rap aficionado, but I found this tune catchy. Much more important, however, is just how on target (pun intended) their message is. I believe in live and let live, but these corporations are just going too far with this stuff—The North Face, Bud Light, Kohl’s markeking efforts ad nauseum—and people are getting fed up with it.

The left constantly blames the right for starting culture wars, but that’s garbage. It is actually they who keep pushing the envelope and asking us not only to accept their views, but to celebrate them. Once they start involving children in gender identity and sexual preference discussions, though, that’s where we have to draw the line in the sand and fight back.

A number of encouraging signs show that many Americans are doing just that. Kudos to these four for telling the truth.

See Also:
Bud Light’s Troubles Now Spiraling out of Control With Latest Sales News
NY Times Thinks This Kids’ Movie Needs a Little More ‘Kink’
Regular Americans Fight Back: Target Stock Price Plummets, Anheuser-Busch ‘Still in Shock’

Christian MLB Player Releases Hostage-Style Video After Fauxfending LGBTQ Outrage Machine

by Leave a Comment

Though the massive conservative pushback against the obscene excesses from Bud Light and Target on the issue of so-called “transgender rights” has proven to be a case study into how the average consumer can effectively fight back against wokeness in corporate America, we still have a long way to go.

Case in point, Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Anthony Bass, who recently shared a video on his Instagram page of a person who explained from a Biblical perspective why Christians should boycott Target and Bud Light. Before we get to Bass’ hostage-style apology statement, let’s take a look at the clip he shared.

“Here’s the reason biblically why I believe Christians have got to be boycotting Target, Bud Light, and any other corporation that’s pushing the things they’re pushing,” dudewithgoodnews Instagram user Ryan Miller said before reading certain Biblical verses. “This is evil, this is demonic, we won’t stand for it, we’re not going to go to the stores anymore and we’re not going to give them our money. We’re gonna let our voice be heard so that people can see the light.”

Watch:

Though Miller’s critics on Instagram accused him of taking scripture out of context, Bass is who took the most heat, having to basically apologize for being a man of faith prior to the Blue Jays’ scheduled home game against the Milwaukee Brewers, which is currently underway as I write this.

“I recognize yesterday that I made a post that was hurtful to the Pride community, which includes friends of mine and close family members of mine, and I am truly sorry for that,” Bass stated as he addressed the media. “I just spoke with my teammates and shared with them my actions yesterday. I apologized with them and, as of right now, I am using the Blue Jays’ resources to better educate myself to make better decisions moving forward. The ballpark is for everybody. We include all fans at the ballpark and we want to welcome everybody. That’s all I have to say. Thank you.”

Watch:

The Blue Jays have a lot of events planned in June in “celebration” of Pride month, so Bass’ sharing of the video could not come at a worse time for the struggling baseball team, who rank last in the American League East and who have lost seven of their last ten games.

The Federalist CEO Sean Davis pretty much summed up the feelings of many Christian conservatives in response to Bass’ statement.

“Major League Baseball is demanding apologies from Christians who did nothing wrong while supporting demons who target children for genital mutilation,” Davis wrote on Twitter.

Bass, as RedState readers may recall, has had a challenging past couple of months on social media, deleting his Twitter account in April after complaining about an incident on a United Airlines flight where he alleged his pregnant wife, Sydney Rae, was told by airline staff to get on the floor and clean up their young child’s “popcorn mess” herself.

Even if one feels Bass overreacted in that particular incident, it’s hard to view this one as anything other than grossly unfair. I mean he’s being accused of being a bigot for expressing agreement with a Christian viewpoint, while the LGBTQ outrage machine, which is notorious for displaying bigotry themselves, are demanding he pay a high price for his Christian beliefs.

As I’ve said before, we’re living in a world gone mad, where the truly intolerant people are the ones demanding total agreement with their cause or face cancellation. It’s just crazy, and the only way to stop it is to continue turning the tables against them in the court of public opinion.

Flashback: Outrage Mob Swarms Tony Romo Over Joke About Tom Brady’s Wife Gisele and I Have Thoughts

The Associated Press Is Having a Horrible Holiday Weekend

by Leave a Comment

While it’s been a tough week for the press in general, the Associated Press has been on a distinctive losing streak.

This is Memorial Day weekend and for many Americans, it is a time of communal activities. Gatherings with friends and family to kick off the summer, working around the home, and many other options abound while taking time to reflect on the sacrifices made by the military for our nation’s benefit and betterment. Monday is for many a day off, and one particular news outlet that would benefit from this day off would be the Associated Press.

Now, I will allow that this may, in fact, be the case; it would make sense that the bulk of the AP professional staff checked out early for an extended weekend and left the keys and passwords on the desk for the stringers and interns, based on the recent output from the news syndicate. Over the past few days, the AP has put out a number of pieces any one of which would make one question what is going on. To see this clutch of foibles in quick succession means it would be understandable if the editors simply locked all the doors and forced the entire staff to take a break for a day or two.

To start, as RedState‘s Teri Christoph covered here, we were granted a lecture from the AP on how our weekend cookouts could be improved by going meatless for our barbeque. Look, I get that there are those who might prefer a vegetarian option for — well, any meal. But how is this regarded as an AP news item? Vegetarians already have a plethora of sources they rely on for food options and recipes. The AP polluting the holiday cookout with this crime against palates is completely unneeded.

But this was the most innocuous of the reports we have recently received. Next, we have from Saturday this entry from the outlet about the passing of NFL great, Jim Brown.

Sad, and newsworthy, to be sure. Those were elements in place when Brown died – 9 days ago. The article is dated from the day after, but it is perplexing why the syndicate is tweeting out this item well over a week after the passing. At the very least we need to give them credit for at least avoiding the use of BREAKING with this untimely news report.

Now we move to the Target controversy, and the AP’s stumbles as it rushed to “report” on the violent intolerance its stores are facing as a result of its problematic trans clothing lines for children. The archived article has these details from the opening paragraph:

Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers.

That introduction now reads:

Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday.” 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.”

The syndicate also altered its headline for this report, yet nowhere do we see an attribution to the edit or a correction issue on the article.

One other example was possibly more egregious — or is it inept?! (Kidding; it can be both!) The AP joined in with the stampede of other outlets to shriek about a Miami school that allegedly had banned some books. As I detailed days ago, all of these “news” sources made the charge without actually looking into the matter, but it could be said the AP was among the worst.

Once again we get an altered headline from the source. Originally, we were told how “A poem by Amanda Gorman that was written for President Joe Biden’s inauguration was banned by a Florida school after one parent’s complaint.” Then, after scorn and mockery, the AP gave the new headline and adjusted text: “Amanda Gorman’s poem for Biden’s inauguration barred for younger children by Florida school.”

While notably different, this is still highly inaccurate, and here is why: The school moved the books from an elementary section of the library and shelved them in the middle school section. They are still in the library, and any student can still access the books. No works have been banned.

Making this all the worse for the AP is that to make these claims they had to ignore the original article from the Miami Herald that detailed this. Oh — also needing to be ignored was the text in their own article defying its headline.

The poem and books are still available in the media center for middle school-aged children, Ana Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade school district, said in a statement.

This has been an amazing string of malaprops on the matter in just a few days. To see this all originating from the same source is rather remarkable.

Seriously gang, go ahead and take the weekend off. You have not earned it, but you all certainly need it!