(Bloomberg) -- Target Corp. won’t sell LGBTQ-themed merchandise in some stores during Pride Month in June, after a backlash dented revenue last year.

The Minneapolis-based retailer said it plans to offer Pride products in select stores based on historical sales performance. They will also be available online.

Target is likely to stock the products in about half of its nearly 2,000 stores in the US, people familiar with the matter said, declining to be identified discussing private information. The company has typically sold the Pride assortment in all of its stores in recent years.

In a statement on its website, Target said the items will be curated based on consumer feedback and will include adult apparel, food and beverages, and home goods.

“Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round,” a spokeswoman for the company said, adding that the company will have internal programs and a presence at local Pride events around the country to celebrate the observance.

Target faced threats from some customers last year over its Pride merchandise, including bathing suits designed for transgender people, and removed some items from sale. Advocacy groups then urged the company to put products back on shelves. Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s Bud Light promotion featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked a long-lasting boycott. 

For Target, the upcoming Pride Month is crucial. Last year’s pushback, along with softer demand for discretionary products, contributed to a persistent decline in sales. Comparable sales remain underwater, though the company has said it expects them to return to growth in the second quarter.

Target previously said it has featured a Pride assortment for more than a decade and that Pride Month is an important heritage moment it will continue to support. Executives said last year that they want the assortment to resonate broadly and that the reaction served as a signal for them to learn.

Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell told employees last summer that it had been “gut-wrenching” to see what staffers had confronted. One of the biggest challenges was contemplating how adjustments Target was making for its staff’s safety would affect the LGBTQIA+ community, he said then.

Target shares fell 1% as of 10:26 a.m. in New York trading. The stock has risen 3% in the past 12 months, in-line with gains by other large consumer-staples companies but well behind the broader S&P 500 Index.

(Updated with Target statement in second and fourth paragraphs, adds shares in ninth.)

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