Boycott Hits Kohl’s Just as CEO Gets Good News

Conservative voices calling for a boycott of Kohl’s come just as the company’s CEO received good news in terms of stock price.

Kohl’s recently faced a wave of criticism and calls to boycott the store over LGBTQ+ items being sold for the 2023 Pride Season. Items including a “Baby Sonoma Bodysuit” showcasing a Pride flag and a children’s shirt with rainbow colors to celebrate the 2023 Pride Season have become centerpieces for criticism that the store is facing.

The recent criticism and calls to boycott Kohl’s have prompted the store’s stock share price to drop over the past few days. As of Tuesday, May 30, the stock price of Kohl’s was down to $18.95, which represents a decline of 11.78 percent over the past month.

However, just a few days ago on May 24, the stock price of Kohl’s jumped to $24 after the company’s CEO Tom Kingsbury spoke to analysts and said, “We made progress against each of our key priorities for 2023 despite continuing to operate in a challenging macroeconomic backdrop…it will take time for the full impact of our efforts to be realized,” Reuters reported.

Reuters reported that Kingsbury noted a reduction in Kohl’s large discount promotions which hurt the company’s margins.

Despite the rise in stock price on May 24, over the past year, Kohl’s has seen a decline in share price of over 50 percent.

On Twitter, a number of conservative voices called for followers to boycott Kohl’s, making it another company that has faced criticism of LGBTQ+ items for 2023 Pride Season. Other boycotts have included Bud Light, Target and The North Face.

“Looks like Kohl’s didn’t learn a thing from Bud Lite and Target,” Twitter user End Wokeness wrote in a tweet, sharing a photo of the LGBTQ+ items being sold at Kohl’s.

“Kohl’s is still selling their LGBTQ baby collection on their website. Stop giving these people your money,” End Wokeness wrote in another tweet.

Benny Johnson, a conservative commentator also posted a similar tweet asking “Why is Kohl’s selling “Pride Merch” for 3 month old babies?”

Twitter user Kyle Becker wrote, “Kohl’s. Target. Bud Light. All trash companies whose main customers are lower/middle class. All of them making the stupid marketing decision to Go Woke. All of them insulting Christians and normal working class parents. This will be a painful lesson for three brands that the majority of Americans don’t really like anyway.”

Newsweek reached out to Kohl’s via email for comment.