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.
Lucky them. A clerk in a bank I used in Georgia was fired because she was the only United Way holdout. Bingo! 100% after she was escorted out the door. Right to work can sometimes be used in bad ways.
If you check out Buyblue.com you will see that Target is a "red" corporation which donates 72% to Republican causes. Home Depot donates 94% so don't count them out either. While corporate might be a grinch right now, the employees deserve our support. The picture is more complex than the article implies.
Huh? I go into work almost everyday and the quietest place in the store is the Pharmacy where the guests complain that they had to drive the Lot for 10 minutes to park.
Add that to the fact that we sold out of Christmas trees faster this year than we did last year.
BULL SQUAT...
There is ALWAYS an "ethnic" solicitor in front of our Target....collecting money to help get "our kids off drugs"...
Target has been HIT --- and deserves it.
Semper Fi
I have managed to stay out of Target since it issued its boycott against the Salvation Army and I have not died yet.
I don't even miss Target.
Maybe i can live without target for life. I will put myself in target rehab and move my wallet to SA friendly stores. Target doesn't carry anything you can't get somewhere else.
I think I shopped there out of habit, but not anymore.
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."
What?!! Once again, typical Left-wing projection.
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."
This guy is really a donkey.
Uh huh, stay the course, Tar-jay, and even less people will shop there next year. Now that this is (finally) hitting the LSM, their sly-stick-it-to-us days are over.
"All it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing." - Edmund Burke.
It's about time Christians stopped doing nothing!
Also.. the Salvation Army simply rings the bell and stands by the Red Kettle. They don't do as the Girl Scouts and other groups do....come up to you as you leave and ask for money. If people don't want to give, they don't have to nor do they have to say "no". That's why Target's decision was stupid. They come off as Scrooge.
Headquarters Address
Target Stores
1000 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Main Switchboard
(612) 304-6073 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday)
Guest Relations: (800) 440-0680 (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday)
E-mail for Guest Relations: Guest.Relations@target.com
http://www.targetcorp.com/targetcorp_group/contactus/contact_general.jhtml
E-mail financial inquiries: InvestorRelations@target.com
Yeah, I would be interested in seeing who gets their donations. It would be nice to see whether they all are diverted to politically correct causes, and how much was given to the Salvation Army this year (probably more than they will give to the Salvation Army next year).
There is a bell ringer outside MY Kroger, so I don't believe that "news report" is correct.
my Kroger here in Michigan has a bell ringer
That reminds me of the blurb on all the Paul Newman food products, wherein it says that after taxes all proceeds go to charity.
I suspect that the kind of "charitable" organizations Paul Newman donates to are none that I'd care to support.
IIRC, that money was earmarked for building youth centers, and not available to the general fund. Granted, that frees up other funds, but there nevr seems to be a shortage of people in need.
Christmas crabbies? Does RID take care of that?
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