Belle the Cat

Be a bitch to Target.

I have actually heard of people who have a problem with Target, but I have had good luck with them. Not only do they have a good selection of trendy cheep stuff, but they give a percent of each charge to their Target Card to the school of your choice. Well, since the school of my choice is closing after this year, and I don't have my card any more, I thought I'd share a story which may make you think twice about shopping there. I would not want to be a stock holder - and really, would the place exist without shopers and shareholders? I don't think so.

From a Media Relations & Crisis Comm E-Newsletter 9/1/03:

Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Target Corporation had refused
to allow shareholders to ask questions at their annual meeting. That
puzzled me, since I thought one of the primary purposes of annual
meetings was shareholder communication -- and any PR intern knows that
effective communication is two-way.

Realizing that media coverage is not always accurate, I tracked down
Target spokesperson Douglas Kline, identifying myself as editor of this
publication, describing its purpose and audience. I asked him to tell me
what really happened. He confirmed the Reuters report with a
fascinating and educational response:

"Our financial relations people have said repeatedly that there are many
other and better opportunities to interact with shareholders," Kline
said.

When I started to ask for more information, he interrupted me with this
gem:

"Target doesn't communicate with trade publications or niche
publications such as yours, so I really have nothing to tell you."

My reply? "That's OK Doug, you just told me plenty."