What exactly is the right way to handle a corporate crisis? Well Target seems to know exactly what to do when it comes to handling a crisis! Girls and boys belts were recalled due to high levels of lead in the belt buckles. From December 2008 until December 2009 the belts were sold in Target stores and online for $7-$9.The belts were made in China but the buckles contained high levels of lead paint that were deemed unsafe by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The two belts were recalled on June 17th, 2010. The boys Cherokee belt and the girls Circo belt which came in a packs of two. The girls belts were pink and white with heart shaped buckles and the boys belts were black and brown and reversible. Target announced the recall of these belts and told consumers to stop using the belts and that if returned they would receive a full refund for the product.
There were no announced injuries from the product; yet the final decision was to recall the product for the safety of consumers. Consumers and stakeholders were given an 800 number to contact Target for any questions involving this matter along with the suggestion to go online at Target to find out any further information regarding the recall of the children's belts.
A news release was sent out by Target and CPSC to inform consumers and stakeholders about the product recall. Overall Target handled this crisis well. They got the message out and refunded customers. The belts were manufactured in China and therefore it was not the direct fault of Target, yet Target still took responsibility of selling the belts and in turn took them off the shelves.
Target took the leadership role, fixed the problem, and showed that they were more concerned about the public than the money aspect of the crisis. Target stuck to the facts of the crisis and made themselves accessible for questions by giving an 800 number out in the news release.
On another note, Target handled another crisis involving their support of a conservative politician. Target has been supportive of the gay community over the years yet they had a misstep when they donated $150,000 to an election campaign for anti-gay marriages. Tom Emmer was the politician in the matter and he is non-supportive of gay marriages and is all for the traditional marriages. The money was given to PAC called MN Forward yet it was used for anti-gay marriage ads.
A Target Rep said: "Target supports causes and candidates based strictly on issues that affect our retail and business interests. In fact, Target's Federal PAC contributions year-to-date are very balanced between Republicans and Democrats, and we work collaboratively with legislators and officials at all points on the political spectrum."
This crisis tweeted and re-tweeted on Twitter and liked on Facebook by thousands of users. Target faced boycotts and backlash from the gay community and the public relations people of Target had to handle the situation and fast! Target's CEO Gregg Steinhafel released a statement on the issue. Target is committed to their communities including domestic partner benefits, sponsorship of twin cities pride, and sponsorship of out and equal workplace summit. Steinhafel released a statement which stated that the money was for economic purposes, no social issues. He also stated that he was "genuinely sorry" and how important diversity is to Target and to Target's communities. For future political donations a review process will be used in order to avoid problems such as this one. The four R's were used by Target. Regret, reform, restitution, and responsibility all of which Target used. A statement was put fourth that showed they were sorry, they took responsibility for their donation, they expressed the steps they will take for future political donations, and they expressed their apologies to the people they had offended. Since then Target has participated in Diversity Month and has a whole page on their website designated to diversity.
The CEO put out a statement immediately and the crisis was handled effectively. Next time they will look into their political donations!
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