Wal-Mart closes 123 stores from storm

[spooked911]

http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/30/news/fortune500/katrina_retailers/index.htm?cnn=yes

Wal-Mart closes 123 stores from storm
Retailer and its rivals pledge money and relief supplies after Hurricane Katrina slams Gulf Coast.
August 30, 2005: 12:24 PM EDT
By Parija Bhatnagar, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Wal-Mart said Tuesday that it closed more than 120 stores due to Hurricane Katrina while the world's largest retailer and some of its biggest rivals donated money and supplies to residents in affected areas along the Gulf Coast states.

Wal-Mart Stores (Research) said it would donate $1 million to the Salvation Army for relief assistance such as meals for victims and emergency and rescue personnel.

The retailer said it would also accept customer donations nationwide at all of its stores this week as well as credit-card contributions through walmart.com.

According to Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Webber, about 123 Wal-Mart stores are currently closed in the Gulf Coast states.

[yankeedem]

1. Wow, a whole million!

Which is about 1/800 of the sales they do on the average day. (WMT 04 sales: $285 billion) Sure, they could do nothing, but I think they haul out $1 million in profits out of LA in the average day. They could do better.

[indepat]

6. Jesus, a whole $1 million: wow, beneficence of unparalleled dimensions

[Mabus]

14. what's the maximum allowable charity contribution that

a corp can make and write it off on their taxes.

Oh well, at the very least this compassionate contribution of $1 million will make for a wonderful comment in the next "Walton Family is the Richest in America: Each are worth billions" story they do for Forbes. :sarcasm:

[politicaholic]

2. 1) Who cares. 2) Why is this news?

3) If Walmarts close and they had already destroyed all of the other stores in the area (as is their policy) then how will people get what they need to live?

I'm so glad they're donating a month's profit from one single store. What a PR move!

[MichiganVote]

3. Good. Keep em' closed.

[sniffa]

4. the 'reaL victims' of katrina

[leveymg]

5. They need fill material to dump into the breached levees.

FEMA can start by blasting and scooping up these 123 big boxes, and then move on to the rest of the Sam Clubs.

[cmd]

7. THAT would be a positive step. n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

8. Did they lock the 3rd shift inside when they closed?

[Gormy Cuss]

9. Ask yourself this: what is the real motivation?

Easy way to write off stock in the hurricane zone?
The statement says the donation of $1 million to the Salvation army for meals. All of the closed stores sell food items. Some number of them may be the full service grocery models. That's an awful lot of food that could go bad before they can sell it. Does the press release ever call it a CHECK for $1 mil?

Lowe's contribution is clearly in supplies not cash, so it's not a stretch to think Walmart intends to do the same. Just a guess.

[TroglodyteScholar]

10. One would HOPE they're donating that food that would otherwise spoil..

...but that would probably be a logistical nightmare getting it to where it's needed.

[durablend]

12. They'd probably consider it a liability

"If anyone gets sick from it, we could be sued"

[Gormy Cuss]

13. yes, but it's calling it charity that stinks up the room.

Walmart has a fabulous distribution system and if any company can do it, it's them. I don't object to their aid offer because all offers of food, water, shelter and building items are going to be great once they can be brought to the area. Walmart offered $1 mil and has 123 stores closed in the Gulf Coast area. Assume 30 or so were so thoroughly damaged that goods are unsalvageable. Divide the donation amount among the remaining 90 stores and that's an average of less than $12000 in merchandise per store. These are stores near the damage area, so distribution to the Salvation Army would be less difficult than shipping everything in.

I read about corporations doing just this sort of thing recently but I can't find a citation. I would guess it was something by David Cay Johston, the NY Times tax writer. It is just a guess on my part that this is what Walmart is doing.


edited to fix number of stores and resulting calculation

[maxsolomon]

11. silver lining

when they open them back up, DON'T GO BACK IN, AMURKA!

[Zhade]

15. Well, that's SOME good news, at least.

Well, except for those who will lose their near-slave-labor jobs. :^\

And a whole million! Wow! Can the largest, richest corporation in the world really afford that?

:sarcasm: