Target Corp. will spend about $20 million to add single-stall bathrooms to stores after receiving threats of boycotts after this year's decision to allow transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice.
"Some guests like and dislike our bathroom policy,” Chief Financial Officer Cathy Smith said in an earnings call with investors on Wednesday. “Based on the best evidence I have today, the results really haven’t been material.”
The American Family Association, whose mission is "to inform, equip, and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture," created a petition to boycott the retail chain because Target's policy "is exactly how sexual predators get access to their victims."
The AFA said single-occupancy unisex bathrooms are a "common-sense approach and a reasonable solution" to the issue. Target’s store policy "endangers women and children by allowing men to frequent women’s facilities," according to the association.
Target cut its yearly profit forecast after sales fell last quarter $4.80 to $5.20 a share, excluding some items, compared with an earlier forecast of as much as $5.40. Target’s same-store sales fell 1.1 percent in the period, the company said.
It was the decline in same-store sales since the first quarter of 2014, when the retailer was recovering from a hacker data breach.
Its grocery and electronics categories have suffered with sales of Apple Inc. products down more than 20 percent last quarter, the company said. Target also is turning over its in-store pharmacies to CVS, hurting customer traffic.