Posted on 12/19/2004 7:06:27 AM PST by madprof98
The parking lots in front of Target stores are quieter this Christmas season.
Absent is the pealing of Salvation Army bells and the pitter-patter of some former customers who may have crossed the retailer off their shopping lists for banning the bell-ringers.
Target announced in January that it would extend a long-standing policy prohibiting solicitors from standing outside its stores to the Salvation Army's volunteers and their signature red kettles. But the decision got widespread attention only recently, as the Christian charity publicized the ban and criticism against the retailer mounted.
On Thursday, Target rival Wal-Mart added a jab. The world's No. 1 retailer touted its willingness to welcome the kettles by agreeing to match all customer contributions to the Salvation Army through Christmas Eve, up to $1 million.
A fine kettle of fish Target now finds itself in. The company name has been turned against it as mostly Christian-rooted groups such as the American Family Association have targeted the chain for criticism and encouraged followers to buy their gifts elsewhere.
Target, which wouldn't comment for this story, has said it opted for blanket enforcement of its non-solicitation policy at its 1,300 stores when other organizations sought the same privileges as the Salvation Army. The retailer emphasizes its charitable record. Target donates about 5 percent of its pretax profits --- more than $100 million a year --- to charities, including the Salvation Army.
There are signs that Target is feeling repercussions for banning the kettles.
America's Research Group, a shopping-behavior tracker and marketing firm in Charleston, S.C., phoned 800 households nationwide and determined that Target was the only major retailer with fewer customers last weekend compared with the same holiday-shopping weekend in 2003.
The survey indicated 55 percent of U.S. consumers visited stores over the weekend, with 12 percent patronizing Target. A year ago, 43 percent went shopping, and 30 percent of those shoppers included Target in their rounds.
"That's a significant decline," said ARG Chairman Britt Beemer, who noted 16 interviewees offered without prompting that they avoided Target. "There is getting to be a significant amount of backlash."
'I wouldn't picket'
Some local shoppers said they disagree with the ban, but it didn't keep them out of Target stores.
"It's pretty crappy of [Target]," said Mindy Thompson of Snellville, who was shopping at the retailer's store on North Druid Hills Road, "but I wouldn't picket over it."
Chris Davidson of Chamblee accepts the chain's explanation for shooing off the kettles. "If it's their policy, and they are going to enforce it for everybody else, it should be enforced [for Salvation Army]," she said. "There's plenty of other places for them to go."
The Salvation Army says poor children and their families, for whom the bells toll, are being hurt by Target's decision.
The charity won't match the $93 million it took in last year, said Maj. George Hood, a national spokesman for Salvation Army. He attributes most of the decline to Target, where the Salvation Army collected about $9 million last holiday season.
In metro Atlanta, coins, bills and checks dropped into crimson containers at Target entrances last year made up 28 percent of the $860,000 the Salvation Army amassed at 25 locations.
Through Thursday, metro area volunteers had hauled in $596,000 toward the Salvation Army's $1 million goal. That is similar to the amount that had been collected at this time last year, but the organization's metro area goal was lower --- $900,000.
Still, Maj. George Hoosier, general secretary for the Salvation Army's Georgia chapter, said Target's silencing of the bells "has put us in a bind."
Meanwhile, other seasonal charities are thriving. Toys For Tots, for example, is reporting record highs for corporate donations.
The Salvation Army's Cobb County wing got some relief Tuesday when guests at U.S. Sen.-elect Johnny Isakson's Christmas gala kicked in $9,601.
"I just can't understand how people standing out front [of the stores] to raise money for those in need --- why they would not allow that," Isakson said during an interview at the event in the Cobb Galleria.
Criticism harsh
Target has risen to lightning-rod status for some Americans angry at the state of year-end commercialism, said Atlanta marketing strategist Jim Neal.
"This has been unfair," said Neal, of Kurt Salmon Associates. "[Target is] taking the hit from the Christmas crabbies."
Target is not the only high-profile chain that forbids sidewalk solicitations. The Salvation Army is verboten at Home Depot, Toys "R" Us and Kroger, though Hoosier said some of those retailers provide aid or assistance directly.
Even Wal-Mart limits the organization's bell-ringing to 14 days.
Target did not anticipate such harsh reaction, said Laura Rowley, author of the book "On Target: How the World's Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull's-Eye."
"I think they made a big mistake," said Rowley, who teaches a course on contemporary moral values at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. "I understand where they are coming from, but they completely underestimated the significance of the Salvation Army. It's not just another charity. It reminds people of Christmas. To them, this takes away the spirit of Christmas."
Target has not said whether it would amend the prohibition next year.
"I would if I were them," said Beemer, the researcher. "What Target is doing may satisfy a very small group that might complain, but there is a much larger group that is mad about it."
Neal would urge Target to weather the barrage. "Their reasons are valid," said the consultant, who maintains Target's tepid holiday revenue is a reflection of a widespread shopping malaise. "They should stay the course."
--- Staff writer Craig Schneider contributed to this article.
True...but they still solicit and solicitation is what Target is supposedly using as their reason for not having the SA. My point is that having someone ringing a bell is NOT an overt, overbearing annoyance. It's charity. There are other groups in town...sports teams, etc..who do come up and ask for donations for their upcoming trip as people leave the store...but the SA is not like that and therefore should be allowed.
oh; I will have to check to see if Wal-Mart does match other prices. I did not eve think about that.
Three more to avoid. Too bad, I was going to Home Depot.
I called _again_ today to let them know they won't see my $$ this Christmas.
Did you see that smokin' red whoosh go by in the sky? It wasn't Santy Claus, it was my email, LOL.
Leni
The store chain Target has decided this Christmas to ban the Salvation Army from placing their bell ringers outside their stores to solicit funds for the wonderful work they do for our nation's most vulnerable. In my opinion, giving to the causes that the Salvation Army serves is a lot more about the Christmas season than the merchandise I buy from Target, so we are banning Target from our shopping until they change their policy banning the Salvation Army. If it takes them until next year, or the next, that is entirely Target's call. Join me in this effort by not shopping there, and encouraging your friends to do likewise. Then communicate this to Target at:
http://www.targetcorp.com/targetcorp_group/contactus/contact_general.jhtml
This is what I said:
"My family regularly shops at Target, yet the news that Target has banned the Salvation Army from soliciting donations this Christmas will change that. Like you, the Christmas season is their major source of revenues. They do an extraordinary amount of good for the nation's most vulnerable. The damage Target has inflicted upon that effort cannot be measured. I will not shop at Target until they change their policy toward the Salvation Army, and I will encourage my friends to do likewise. Please let me know when you change your policy."
Please pass this onto those in your address book & Merry Christmas!
thats if they have the exact same item lucky to do that at walmart specialy when it comes to things at best buy
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.