Free Republic

Target’s stock price and its favorability among shoppers are crashing as the public rebukes the retail giant for ignoring their vigorous protest against mixed-sex changing rooms and bathrooms. The company’s stock was two cents shy of $84 on August 19, when it revealed it would not allow shoppers to use single-sex bathrooms or changing rooms. Instead, all rooms were opened up to anyone claiming to be of either sex. As of 4.00 p.m. Friday, the stock had dropped almost $4.50, down to $79.50. That’s a huge loss of 5 percent in stock value, costing shareholders roughly $2.5 billion in company...

Charismanews.com reported: Faith Driven Consumer (FDC), representing 41 million Americans who spend $2 trillion annually, has earned wide recognition for its groundbreaking FaithEqualityIndex.com (FEI), which scores more than 500 major brands for compatibility with the FDC community, and also for its Faith-Friendly Film Review entertainment rating system. Today, amidst growing consumer backlash over Target's (Faith Equality Index Score 39/100) announcement that it will allow men in women's bathrooms and changing rooms, FDC is calling on its community of 41 million who spend $2 trillion annually to engage in a national #BUYcottWalmart effort by choosing Target's arch-rival Walmart (FEI Score 51/100)...

Target allows men to use the same restrooms as ten-year-old girls and has made it clear that it would prefer law-abiding citizens to enter its stores unarmed. On April 20, Breitbart News reported that Target released a statement in which they equated opening girls’ restrooms to men as part of “equality.” The statement said, “Inclusivity is a core belief at Target. It’s something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day.”

Visit a Target and use whichever bathroom you’d like. That’s the message the retail giant appears to be sending with a new statement on its website that ostensibly takes aim at so-called “bathroom laws” seeking to restrict men’s and women’s bathrooms to the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate. “In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways,” the statement said. “Most relevant for the conversations currently under way, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.” Target’s policy is not...

Sears Holdings Corp. will close another 78 stores — 68 Kmart units, and 10 Sears stores — as it looks to restore profitability. That accounts for about 5 percent of its store base, which is nearly 1,700 stores. The ailing company, based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, had said in February that it would accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores following a “challenging” holiday season. The move announced Thursday is expected to generate a “meaningful level” of cash from the liquidation of store inventories and from the sale or sublease of some of the related real estate, it said Thursday. All...

The rights of transgender individuals have been in the news in a big way lately and one of the nation's largest retailers is now weighing in. In a post on its website Tuesday, Target reiterated an existing policy: that transgender employees and customers are welcome to use the bathroom or fitting room that corresponds with their gender identity. The post also expressed support for federal legislation protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. "Inclusivity is a core belief at Target," the post said. "It's something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make...

The American Family Association is calling for a boycott of Target after the retail giant said it would allow men to use the women's restrooms and dressing rooms in their stores. On its web site this week, Target announced, "[W]e welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity. ...Everyone deserves to feel like they belong." This means a man can simply say he "feels like a woman today" and enter the women's restroom...even if young girls or women are already in there. Target's policy is exactly how sexual...

" Target Corp. made it clear Tuesday that transgender people who visit its stores are welcome to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. The statement by the Minneapolis-based retailer comes amid debates in many state legislatures over restricting public restroom use to the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate. While many of those conversations have centered around restrooms in public schools and government buildings, Target appears to be one of the first big-box retailers to take a proactive stance in declaring its position on the matter when it comes to its own restrooms. While they may...

Target Corp. made it clear that transgender people in its stores are welcome to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. The statement Tuesday by the Minneapolis-based retailer comes amid debates in many state legislatures over restricting public restroom use to the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate. While many of those conversations have centered around restrooms in public schools and government buildings, Target appears to be one of the first big-box retailers to take a proactive stance in declaring its position on the matter when it comes to its own restrooms. While they may not be...

Nordstrom said Monday it was slashing 400 jobs at its corporate headquarters. The move comes two months after the department store chain reported a 3% drop in comparable sales for its fourth quarter, and forecast that profit per share would fall 30% in the first half of this year. The cuts confirm a terrifying new reality for high-end retailers: Wealthy shoppers are reining in spending and — along with the rest of American consumers — refusing to pay full price for anything. Nordstrom inventory increased 12% in the most recent quarter — a sign that the chain is having a...

Sport Chalet announced on Saturday that it is closing all of its stores and has stopped selling goods online. "While our online store is no longer available, all Sport Chalet stores will remain open for several weeks, offering customers the opportunity to use their remaining rewards and gift cards, and to take advantage of great sales," the chain says on its website. Michelle De Leon, a department head at the Sport Chalet in Lake Forest, said employees found out about the store closure through their general managers on Thursday.

A fifteen dollar per hour minimum wage is coming to California, so break out the champagne and let’s get this party started! Unless you work in the apparel manufacturing industry, that is, in which case you may want to start looking for some cheaper drinks since you’ll likely be out of a job soon. Once the home to a large segment of the American clothing manufacturing industry, California apparel manufacturers have already been hit by skyrocketing commercial real estate value and rising supply chain costs, but another spike in their labor rates will apparently be the final straw for some...

U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in March as households cut back on purchases of automobiles, further evidence that economic growth stumbled in the first quarter.The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that retail sales declined 0.3 percent last month after being unchanged in February. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales edging up 0.1 percent last month. Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services ticked up 0.1 percent last month after an upwardly revised 0.1 percent gain in February. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. Economists...

Gap actually apologized for an ad that people called racist because it features a white model leaning on a black model — and, apparently, that’s saying that all black girls “can do is bear the weight of White [sic] girls.” Here are just a few of the Tweets expressing the outrage over the ad: (Read tweeted comments at link) And here is Gap’s apology: “As a brand with a proud 46 year history of championing diversity and inclusivity, we appreciate the conversation that has taken place and are sorry to anyone we’ve offended,” Gap spokeswoman Debbie Felix said in...

The United States lost 29,000 manufacturing jobs in March while gaining jobs in retail trade, food services and drinking establishments, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the month, jobs in the retail industry in the United States outnumbered jobs in manufacturing by 3,651,100. In February, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the manufacturing sector was 12,320,000. In March, that dropped to 12,291,000. …

Come close. They won't bite though some have been gnawed upon, chewed, and bitten themselves (mostly by labs and golden retrievers, if social media is the source). Weirdly, the weathered boots piled into a bin, located in a far-off corner of the factory, don't smell so bad either. It's hard not to want to touch them, to trace their wrinkles. Each boot carries its own landscape of dings and dust, faded in its own peculiar shade, with its own particular history.

When two suspects tried robbing a Maryland CVS on Friday, Army veteran Joe Morici sprang into action. And it cost him his job. Morici, who served seven years in the Army, including a stint in Afghanistan, was fired from his management job at a Beltsville CVS because he intervened and tried to catch the men, FOX5 reported. But Morici said his reactions were purely based on instinct when two men tried robbing the CVS pharmacy during his shift. He quickly told cashiers to call 911 and helped an elderly man out of the store before locking the doors, preventing the...

Barack Obama recently stated that anyone that is claiming that America's economy is in decline is "peddling fiction". Well, if the economy is in such great shape, why are major retailers shutting down hundreds of stores all over the country? Last month, I wrote about the "retail apocalypse" that is sweeping the nation, but since then it has gotten even worse. Closing stores has become the "hot new trend" in the retail world, and "space available" signs are going up in mall windows all over the United States. Barack Obama can continue huffing and puffing about how well the middle...

The clothing company Lands’ End has apologized for recently featuring longtime pro-abortion activist Gloria Steinem on its website and catalog as a “legend” for her work on women’s equality. The profile centered around Steinem’s work for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and 80s, not abortion. However, more recent versions of the ERA have been interpreted as potentially invalidating various pro-life state laws. “One reason we need an Equal Rights Amendment is because nowhere in the Constitution does the word ‘women’ appear,” Steinem told Lands’ End. “We need a constitutional principle of female equality.” “We understand that some of...

The women's clothing company Land's End just launched a year-long campaign to honor pro-abortion feminist Gloria Steinem by donating to one of her organizations. Earlier this month, the company published an interview and photo-shoot with Steinem on its website to announce the campaign, centered around Steinem's work to pass an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Steinem is a well-known abortion activist who once said women "need" abortion. Land's End highlighted Steinem as one of its "Legends," individuals who have made a difference in both their respective industries and the world at large and have paved the way for others to follow....