Target CEO Brian Cornell is feeling the heat. Stockholders were very vocal at the stockholder’s meeting. His decision to allow perverts in the Ladies room has wiped out 18% of the company’s market value. The amazing thing to me and to Target stockholders is that like all liberals, Cornell told a blatant lie without blinking. He tried to tell the stockholders that the decision to open up the bathrooms to perverts had no effect on Target stock whatsoever.
Justin Danhof, the director of the National Center Free Enterprise Project, a major stockholder in Target said that the meeting was appalling:
“Target’s shareholder meeting was appalling from beginning to end.”
Liberal corporate leaders such as Cornell throw around the words ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’ so much they are starting to lose their meaning. In addition to my question, two other shareholders also expressed concern over the company’s offensive bathroom policy. Cornell just kept repeating the same vacuous lines about diversity and inclusion. He doesn’t seem to get that he has offended the sensibilities of millions of Americans.
Danhof questioned Cornell equating the right for perverts in the ladies room to civil rights for Blacks. Cornell had said:
“We’ve had a long history embracing diversity and inclusion. A couple weeks ago, one of our team members sent me a note reminding me that if we went back to the mid-60s, our company was one of the very first to use African-American models in their advertising, and back then, it wasn’t well received.”
In an interview with Breitbart, Danhof explained:
My question dated back to last month when Cornell defended the company’s position and policy by comparing what they’re doing with their bathrooms to their 1960s era use of black models by claiming it wasn’t well received then. Well, that is shocking and appalling. What he is doing is making a moral equivalency of those who think his bathroom policy is outrageous and offensive today, so to those who oppose his bathroom policy he is basically comparing them to racists from the 1960s. And basically labeling everybody as a bigot.
Cornell had refused to answer the question, which prompted Danhof to comment:
“So, by implication, of course he thinks everyone that disagrees with him is a bigot. Otherwise he would have said no.”
Target share prices have dropped from $83.98 on the day of the announcement to $68.81 in just seven weeks.
Even if there’s other financial issues going on in the company, to claim that there’s zero correlation between that announcement and an 18 percent stock drop in seven weeks, that borders on fiduciary negligence. It just goes to show that they’re perfectly willing to lie to their investors. It’s shocking that they would claim that there’s no correlation there.
Richard Chmiel, chief executive of RS Metricssaid noted:
“We observed a noticeable fall off in traffic at Target during the last week in April and a meaningful pickup at Walmart during that same time. We suspect the bathroom boycott which was gaining momentum at that time contributed to the shift.”
Danhof accused Cornell and the board of directors to being oblivious to stockholders:
“If you disagree with their position on diversity and inclusion that means nothing [to them]. It seems, at least from my perspective, if you disagree with them, they don’t want you around.”
Target has a Target on their backs and the management is willing to let the company go down with the ship, but I’m willing to bet the golden parachutes are left untouched.