Since the topic of Wal-Mart often appears on this board in close proximity to a question about whether or not they've stopped selling guns for political reasons, I thought I'd relate something I saw on TV tonight.
On CNBC's Maria Bartiromo's show (the "money honey" -- I think I'm the only person who doesn't find her attractive), they covered Wal-Mart for most of the show. Had interviews with different executives, wandered around a superstore's floor, etc. During the early part of the show, they were talking about the merchandise carried in that particular superstore (I think it was one of the 'main' ones in Bentonville, Arkansas). The narrator's (Maria) line went something like this: "From guns to bananas....(blah blah)" with a picture of a large quantity of shotguns and rifles (at least a couple dozen). A minute or so later, the narrator (still Maria) mentioned that the store managers have a great deal of autonomy on what merchandise to carry, and pick stuff that their customers buy (which only makes sense).
I brought this up because I seem to see a lot of posts either asking the question ("Has Wal-Mart stopped carrying guns?") or making the statement ("Wal-Mart has stopped carrying guns!"). On the CNBC show, Wal-Mart wasn't afraid to have guns (out of all the possible merchandise) shown on national TV, so I think it's safe to say that they'll sell them when they can, and an individual store might stop carrying them if they don't sell. So, please, let's stop with the "Wal-Mart is a traitor to our cause" posts.
On CNBC's Maria Bartiromo's show (the "money honey" -- I think I'm the only person who doesn't find her attractive), they covered Wal-Mart for most of the show. Had interviews with different executives, wandered around a superstore's floor, etc. During the early part of the show, they were talking about the merchandise carried in that particular superstore (I think it was one of the 'main' ones in Bentonville, Arkansas). The narrator's (Maria) line went something like this: "From guns to bananas....(blah blah)" with a picture of a large quantity of shotguns and rifles (at least a couple dozen). A minute or so later, the narrator (still Maria) mentioned that the store managers have a great deal of autonomy on what merchandise to carry, and pick stuff that their customers buy (which only makes sense).
I brought this up because I seem to see a lot of posts either asking the question ("Has Wal-Mart stopped carrying guns?") or making the statement ("Wal-Mart has stopped carrying guns!"). On the CNBC show, Wal-Mart wasn't afraid to have guns (out of all the possible merchandise) shown on national TV, so I think it's safe to say that they'll sell them when they can, and an individual store might stop carrying them if they don't sell. So, please, let's stop with the "Wal-Mart is a traitor to our cause" posts.
