Target, trying to support diversity and grow its customer base, has tried to be inclusive. 

That has put the company in the crosshairs of the right-wing anti-woke movement on multiple occasions.

The company faced a sharp backlash over its 2016 decision to let customers use the bathrooms of the genders they identify as, not the ones they were born as. Target (TGT) – Get Free Report responded to the anti-transgender outrage that decision caused by adding single-person bathrooms to all its stores.

Related: Target employees are being fired for a strange reason

Those solo bathrooms could be used by anyone — people seeking added privacy, parents with young children, or transgender people not comfortable using the multiperson bathrooms. 

At the time Target denied that right-wing boycotts hurt its sales, but sales did fall by 7% in the quarter before the company outlined its decision to add solo bathrooms.

Target also found itself in the right-wing crosshairs in 2023 when some customers objected to its Pride Month merchandise. Chief Executive Brian Cornell addressed this issue during the company’s second-quarter-earnings call.

“As you know, we have featured a pride assortment for more than a decade. However, after the launch of the assortment this year, members of our team began experiencing threats and aggressive actions that affected their sense of safety and well-being while at work,” he said.

To protect its employees, Target pulled the pride line from its stores.

Cornell said the company reacted so strongly to protect its employees. Now, in a world where words and terms have been weaponized by people on both the far right and the far left, Target’s latest efforts might open the chain up to a new round of anti-woke backlash.

Target wants to support all its customers

Target has introduced more than 1,000 new wellness-related products with some costing $1.99. The line includes everything from clothing to supplements to vitamins to technology.           

“Wellness has been redefined to encompass a more holistic way of living — and it’s also different for every person,” Target Executive Vice President Rick Gomez said.

While there’s nothing inherently political about the idea of wellness or supporting customers’ mental health, the same could be said about supporting LGBTQ+ causes by selling merchandise or having an inclusive bathroom policy.

But as the public learned with the Bud Light boycott, sometimes good intentions can be twisted. In that case, the Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) – Get Free Report brand made a small marketing partnership with the transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

That deal led to an outsized right-wing backlash that cost the beer brand about a quarter of its sales for a sustained period.

Doubling down on wellness and mental health is not inherently political, but neither is trying to sell your beer to LGBTQ+ customers. Target’s relationship with the anti-woke right-wing boycott crowd is already strained, and the chain may have unintentionally given that audience a new reason to be angry.

Target sits in an impossible position

Caring about mental health and supporting diversity has become a politically divisive issue. Unlike Anheuser-Busch InBev management, which managed to anger both the right and the left in the Mulvaney situation, Target’s CEO Cornell seems to understand that he has a tightrope to walk. Here’s his approach:

Pride is one of many heritage moments that are important to our guests and our team, and we’ll continue to support these moments in the future. They are just one part of our commitment to support a diverse team, which helps us serve a diverse set of guests.

And as we talk to these guests, they consistently tell us that Target is their happy place, somewhere they can go to escape and recharge. So, as we navigate an ever-changing operating and social environment, we’re committed to staying close to our guests and their expectations of Target.

Basically, the CEO says he can’t abandon products that might lead to backlash. But he also wants Target to be an oasis for customers where politics can be put aside.

That’s simply not possible when words like “wellness” have become associated with left-leaning “everyone gets a trophy” movements that some right-wing groups believe are woke. 

A company does not actually need to take a political stance as Walt Disney (DIS) – Get Free Report did when its former CEO, Bob Chapek, publicly opposed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation.

In reality, that move, which Chapek made only after intense pressure from his employees, simply gave the anti-woke crowd a focus point. DeSantis and other anti-woke activists had already called for boycotts of the company because of its use of diverse characters in its movies and television shows.

Target isn’t making a political statement here; it’s simply trying to tap into a growing product trend. But the move comes with risks because of the charged and highly divided political climate in an election year that’s likely to feature former President Donald Trump, a man who has not been shy about weaponizing his fan base.    

This change follows Target’s latest controversy where workers have been fired for buying the company’s collaboration cups with Stanley. The limited-edition Stanley Quencher cups were specifically made off-limits to workers.