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NYC store causes stir with ad for lower price for women, higher for men

Posted at 11:27 PM, Oct 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-12 23:38:52-04

NEW YORK — A Manhattan pharmacy is causing a stir after an in store advertisement listed a lower price specifically for women and a more expensive price for men.

“It wasn’t to hurt anybody, it wasn’t intention to do anything bad,” Thompson Chemists owner Jolie Alony told WABC.

The owner of the small pharmacy posted two signs that read; “all female customers shop tax free” and “all male customers are subject to a 7 percent ‘man tax.”

NYC store causes stir with ad for lower price for women, higher for men

Alony said the fake signs, that hung for 24 hours, were meant to send a message about the ‘pink tax’, how on average, women’s products cost more than similar items for men.

She said she just wanted to send the message and never had any intention of charging men more than women.

But the controversial signs created a huge backlash filled with negatives messages, phone calls, emails, and social media posts.

“I’m glad that I did it. As being a New Yorker that I thought I was open to everything, seeing what came across throughout the country kind of shocked me,” Alony said.

“You lost another customer. Stupid social justice warrior with your stupid insulting tax policies. You should be Yelped out of business,” said one customer on social media.

Alony said she respects everyone’s right to their opinion, but she believes their anger has deeper roots.

“I don’t know if it was to the point of what we were doing as opposed to what’s going on in the world today,” she added.

The small business owner said she has also received a lot of positive feedback, applauding her actions.

I think it’s funny. I mean first of all, she’s right,” said one customer.