Target apologizes for children’s clown Halloween costume after backlash
(Reuters) – Target (TGT.N), opens new tab apologized on Monday and said it had pulled a Halloween costume from sale depicting a circus clown that critics said evoked Blackface and minstrel shows.
The product, sold as the “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume,” prompted a backlash on social media, with some consumers saying it resembled a racist caricature.
Target declined to comment on who designed the product – which was sold under the retailer’s seasonal Hyde and EEK Boutique brand – or the process by which it was green-lit for sale. In its statement, Target said it was “looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change.”
Target acknowledged in its statement the costume was “especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners.”
Though a Target-owned brand, Hyde and EEK products have been resold on websites of retailers like Walmart (WMT.O), opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab, and the marketplace Etsy (ETSY.N), opens new tab. Reuters did not see the item in question on those sites. A Walmart spokeswoman said she had no knowledge of that item being sold. Amazon and Etsy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
But the company – which cannot compete with Walmart and Costco on price – has little room for error when it comes to managerial or optical missteps, said Brett Husslein, an analyst at Morningstar.
“As Target begins to gain traction in repairing its brand reputation, this is exactly the kind of stuff they want to avoid,” he said, adding that any headwind – optical, managerial, or macroeconomic – “could lead to further market share losses.”
Target’s shares were up 2.7% in afternoon trading.
