Thread regarding Target Corp. layoffs

@vs. Great analysis! The Hyde and Eek brand has always been a bit darker and moodier and is meant for older kids and adults - and so I immediately understood the facial expression with the big teeth and the bright orange mouth on a scary clown - and as you said, if it was portrayed on a white child model, it would’ve landed differently. But with our reputation as of lately with black consumers being in the toilet, the first thing that audience thought about when they saw this was minstrel show. What may have been an innocent attempt at having black representation fell flat because no one on the team had any concerns that it would be misrepresented.

Is the problem the actual costume or the presentation of the costume? Would the costume have landed the same on a white kid holding balloons? I think context matters on this one. The product itself would have sailed through approval on a different model or fit form. But the one who put it all together for the final photo? Ya, that’s who I’d be looking at frankly.

@eq That’s because you lack the ability to use your brain to think critically.

@j2 Hey Pot; it’s me Kettle!!! LMAO. Just like when you guys freaked out over bathing suits that had a tuck feature meant for adults? And then misrepresented them intentionally as for children? Or when TGT sold anything with a rainbow? Or when you guys incessantly bi--h and moan about a “War on Christmas” at TGT and harassing TMs in store for saying “Happy Holidays” - EVEN when Hearth & Hand (and other private label brands sold at TGT) made sure to have “Merry Christmas” in their assortments? Obviously someone loves his minstrel shows and wishes they make a comeback. Dolly’s life and recent passing didn’t teach you a damn thing.

Do we need to apologize and pull the white sheets we sell? We all know what those represent.

The ususual suspects can't help themselves. They see everything through race and the LMNOP BS. When you call them out on it they called you every name in the book. Brought to you by the the inclusive crowd. Grow the F up.

@eq you r stupid it was racist point blank

@eq You mean the payouts that insurrectionists are getting?

Cara’s email su-ked and was not genuine. Target how do you keep making the same mistake over and over. Enough is enough. I am a team member and even I want to boycott the company.

Those that are outraged are leftists looking for a payout. There is nothing wrong with that costume.

I really believe this kind of oversight is a direct product of the layoffs last fall. Teams are working so lean, with huge volumes of work, rapid deadlines and heavy outsourcing to India and external partners to control costs. It’s common in the current environment for Team Members to recognize risk, but gloss over it due to lack of bandwidth for escalation, conflict resolution and cross-functional consult. That said, this does feel like low hanging fruit that should have been caught. But definitely understand why the current environment would produce this. Many areas of the Enterprise are grossly understaffed in 2026.

@ar this was an owned brand not a supplier

This is a fail on an epic level because not one person, from design, merch, marketing, legal, etc. was sensitive enough to identify that this costume was horrific. Or, if someone did see a problem, a toxic environment made it so they didn't feel comfortable bringing it up to their leadership. The design VP who was in charge of the seasonal team at the time this product was developed lives in another city and has always been more focused on nit-picking home decor than paying attention to the seasonal categories. There used to be a team to review merchandise to ensure it was not culturally offensive and I believe the team was disbanded.

These things get designed and set up in the system up 10-12 months in advance. Guess what was happening 10-12 months ago? Major layoffs across the company. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was designed by AI and due to overworked lean teams it fell through the cracks. Not an excuse, but goes to show how the high pressure environment with scant teams and resources can lead to something like this.

Also whatever merchant was in charge of this was probably already let go in one of the many rounds of layoffs over the last year

@am the apparel pyramid doesn’t buy Halloween costumes. The seasonal team buys it.

Heads should roll at the SVP and VP level, but they protect each other too much

It takes months upon months to get things approved. This had to go through many layers and a whole vetting process. Hopefully whoever approved this gets let go however it will be the rest of us lower level team members that get let go once our numbers severely decline. We will pay the price for this one.

@ad Not sabotage but lack of diversity. When you look across their apparel team; it’s 99% white ladies so what do you all expect?

@OP Seems like sabotage to me. What id--t would do that?

@OP are they looking for ways to sc--w up? It was their own brand! Someone designed that.