In the highly charged terrain of corporate activism, few instances stand out as vividly as the ongoing saga revolving around Wickes ESG scores. The leading home improvement chain has navigated a tumultuous path, balancing its World Economic Forum (WEF) approved ESG scores and the eruptive dissent from their gender-critical customer base. As this narrative unfolds, businesses and consumers alike find themselves confronting the challenging intersection of ideological beliefs, consumer relations, and corporate responsibility.

A social media firestorm has erupted following comments made by Fraser Longden, the Chief Operating Officer of Wickes, in which he labelled gender-critical customers as “bigots” and stated that they were “not welcome” in the home improvement chain’s stores.

Speaking at an online event hosted by Pink News, which has since been taken down, Longden expressed his unwavering commitment to the trans ideology and bluntly dismissed the potential backlash from those opposed to his viewpoint. He remarked, “I don’t think I’m ever going to change some of the bigots out there’s minds, I’m never going to win that argument with them, so we were doing it to show support to the community.”

While this forthright stand sparked criticism and threats of boycotts, Longden appeared undeterred, saying of such customers, “They’re not welcome in our stores anyway.” This strong clear ignorance of his customer base comes on the back of Wickes’ various virtue-signalling moves during pride month, such as adapting its social media logo to incorporate rainbow colours and participating in Brighton Pride.

The bold stance has stirred up mixed reactions, both supportive and dissenting, leading to “boycott Wickes” trending on social media. In response to the controversy, Wickes issued a statement to GB News reaffirming its commitment to ‘inclusivity’ (unless you disagree), expressing its pride in being an “inclusive home improvement employer” that supports “the LGBTQ+ community in its entirety.”

This incident underscores the ongoing debates and tensions surrounding businesses’ public support of social issues, particularly those related to gender ideology. It also exposes the truth that these businesses’ WEF-aligned ESG score means more to them than understanding their customer base and steering clear of anything outside their business description.