By Nicholas P. Brown and Neil J Kanatt
Aug 24 (Reuters) - Target 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.
"As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry," Target said in a statement. "The
costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer available for sale."
It is the latest optics headache for the U.S. retailer as it tries to right its ship after a stretch of poor sales. The company also faced criticism over its handling of products in its 2023 Pride Collection, and for changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the wake of President Donald Trump's return to the White House.
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."
Some Black shoppers, who felt alienated after Target's 2025 DEI rollbacks, expressed fresh disappointment on Monday. Sheletta Brundidge, a Minneapolis-area business leader, views the costume as an indirect result of the DEI decision. "You rolled back diversity," she said, "so who's in the room, now, to say 'hey, this is wrong?'"
Target, which has had back-to-back strong quarters, is beginning to see results from efforts to cut prices and freshen its merchandise, with new CEO Michael Fiddelke so far earning plaudits from Wall Street.
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.
(Reporting by Nicholas P. Brown in New York and Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Arriana McLymore in New York; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
