This is all anectdotal, doesn’t prove the claim that is made. Target has stated the reasons for a bad quarter, and the investment community believes it. You will have to wait several more quarters before anyone starts to disbelieve management. That’s just how these things work.
Tell that to the employees that are getting cut...fortunately other retail in area is hiring. Yes it will take a few quarters for shareholders to realize it
Q2 will tell the story. I agree Q1 was not directly related to this issue since it became an issue in April. I suspect they keep cutting Q2 projections and try to play it off as a tough year for retail. Then, they’ll wait a bit and ‘update’ their bathroom policy before the holiday season.
The news a week or two ago from the satellite company that measures parking lot utilization was that Target business began falling off with the bathroom policy and Wal-Mart’s was picking up. That’s a believable metric, although qualitative more than quantitative, and does not require waiting several quarters before seeing the fallout of Target’s policy.
Target claims are down because of climate change. Not joking.