Target Bars Salvation Army
When Florida was reeling from one hurricane after another this year, the Salvation Army was a welcome sight for thousands of storm victims. But with the holidays here, the charity’s bell ringers and red kettles have been barred from Target Corp. stores.
Target decided this year that it could not permit Salvation Army bell ringers at any of its stores because doing so would be unfair to other charities wanting to solicit shoppers.
Now some shoppers are fuming that the nation’s second-largest retailer would turn away a charity whose bell ringers have long been a symbol of the holiday season.
“Target is this year’s Ebenezer Scrooge,” said Randy Sharp of the American Family Assn., a Christian group that sent an e-mail this week to 2.3 million people urging them to shop elsewhere in protest of Target’s policy. “They are the Grinch that stole Christmas for a lot of needy children.”
Carolyn Brookter, a spokeswoman for Target, said the chain always had a “no solicitation” policy at its stores but made an exception for the Salvation Army. But Brookter said more and more groups had been asking for permission to collect money at Target, forcing the company to reexamine its relationship with the Salvation Army.
“The best way we thought to deal with this situation is to have a consistent policy,” she said. “It absolutely was a difficult decision; it was not done lightly.”
The Minneapolis-based chain had been the Salvation Army’s second-most-profitable collection point, accounting for nearly $9 million of the $93.8 million that bell ringers raised nationwide in the 2003 holiday season. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose stores are the Salvation Army’s most lucrative collection points, continues to allow the collections along with Kmart Holding Corp. stores.
The Salvation Army said Thursday that it understood Target’s position and knew in January about the new policy.
The retailer’s decision is part of a trend of shopping centers deciding against allowing the bell ringers because of requests for similar access by other groups, Salvation Army spokeswoman Theresa Whitfield said.
Other major retailers such as Toys R Us Inc., Kohl’s Corp. department stores and Barnes & Noble Inc. also don’t allow bell ringers because of blanket no solicitation policies.
