Target earnings call ignores DEI backlash, boycott

It would be naive to expect self-criticism on a quarterly earnings call, where public companies’ execs get out their pom-poms for financial analysts and cast financial results—even losses—in the best possible light. But the March 4 quarterly presentation from Target, whose social media feeds have been under siege for the last five weeks by customers who say they’ve stopped shopping at Target after it dumped its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program, was a case study in how to keep smiling and whistling even while being shouted at by your customers.

In a sense, the backlash Target is facing was beyond the scope of the earnings call, which covered a quarter and year that ended February 3, just 10 days after its January 24 announcement that it was rolling back its DEI program.

Early in the call, however, CEO Brian Cornell did acknowledge a “sales decline in February” (without specifying how steep) and later in the call did not include backlash to its DEI reversal and the boycott in that decline, blaming instead “extreme cold,” “floods,” “fires across the country,” and the fact that consumer confidence “dipped” in February.

As for the top line on the balance sheet, for the quarter and year that ended February 3, quarterly net sales for Target were down 3.1% YoY while the fiscal year was down 0.8% from last year.

Social status: Although the top comments for Target’s posts to Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook have been dominated by customers boycotting the company since early February, mentions of social media by executives on the call were triumphant.

The presentation started, in fact, with a montage of social media videos where customers gushed about the brand, like one who found that the “Christmas section is fully stocked and good deals did not stop there!” and another who noted the “Valentine’s Day line this year is so cute!”

Cara Sylvester, Target’s EVP and chief guest experience officer, noted on the call that Target’s viral “Hot Santa” advertising campaign garnered more than 70 million mentions on social media.

“Of all big box retailers, Target is the most engaged-with brand on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook,” Sylvester stated on the call. “Social platforms are already among the fastest growing drivers of traffic to our digital platforms, and with far greater engagement compared to our peers, we know there are massive opportunities ahead of us.”