Target Corp. pulled clothing bearing “88” and “Eight Eight” from its shelves this week after complaints that the words and numbers are code for “Heil Hitler” among neo-Nazis.

The Minneapolis-based discounter issued a statement apologizing “for any discomfort” that may have been caused by the baseball caps with the numerals “88” and shorts bearing images of skulls and the words “Eight Eight.”

“Target is a family-oriented store and company and it is not our intent to carry any merchandise that promotes hate,” the statement said. “Target does not and will not tolerate discrimination in any form.”

Groups upset about the clothing say they want to know how such designs ended up on Target apparel bearing one of the retailer’s private labels, Utility.

Target officials did not return calls. One analyst who follows the company said the design approval process is often slapdash and said it is highly unlikely Target officials had any clue to the Nazi symbolism.

“A lot of times it’s a graphics designer sitting at a screen coming up with an idea,” said Robert Buchanan, an analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons. “There’s not a lot of time for the approval process. You’re trying to come up with multiple designs hoping that some of them hit with kids.”

The controversy came to light after Sacramento, Calif., resident Joseph Rodriguez saw the shorts with skeletons and “Eight Eight.” Because H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, 88 and Eight Eight have been used as code by white supremacists for “Heil Hitler.”

Rodriguez said he first complained to Target’s customer service center in early June but “they basically blew me off.”

In late July, Rodriguez contacted the Southern Poverty Law Center, which said it also attempted to contact Target and then posted information about the clothing on its Web site, www.tolerance.org.

“By the next morning, we had a response from them that they were going to pull all this merchandise from all 1,100 stores,” spokesman Mark Potok said.

Having such symbols appear on clothes sold by a mass merchandise chain such as Target demonstrates how a “very small and extremely violent subculture make their way into the mainstream,” Potok said.

“Eighty eight is possibly the best known neo-Nazi shorthand in the world today,” he said. “When something like the 88 symbol makes its way into mainstream youth culture, it’s very likely the ideas attached to that symbol will follow shortly.”

Target operates a store in Lawrence at 3201 Iowa.