“Shark Tank” host Mark Cuban was slammed by GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy after he said that going “woke” is profitable for businesses, according to The Daily Wire. During an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cuban said that the top ten companies can be considered “woke” because it is “good business.”
Cuban made a similar remark in May, saying that companies need to reflect the values and beliefs of their consumer base. He called it good business when the workforce looks like the customers, adding that people don’t actually think about Bud Light or Target, which were both recently facing backlash for pushing transgenderism and pride.
While on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream, Ramaswamy, who wrote “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam,” mentioned sales slumps of Bud Light and Target to show that Cuban is wrong. He added that companies making political statements are bad for the civic culture because “what we need is apolitical spaces that bring people together.”
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1670425430770302978?s=20
Both Ramaswamy and Cuban have different philosophies of capitalism. While Cuban believes companies should pander, Ramaswamy believes that is bad business, observing the effects such pandering had on Bud Light and Target.
Since Anheuser-Busch made Dylan Mulvaney the face of their Bud Light brand, sales have seen continual contraction. Most recently, the brand has reportedly declined more than 30 percent this week compared to this time in 2022. It marks the largest drop since April 1.
After Target was found promoting LGBTQ+ attire for babies, sales reportedly took a nosedive, taking losses for nine consecutive days. Last month, the company’s share price declined 18.5 percent. Citi analyst Paul Lejuez also noted Target’s 13.9 percent drop in store traffic during the last week in May. LGBTQ+ advocates are now hurling their criticism of the store after it dialed back the pride merchandise.
