Wal-Mart takes shot at going gun-free

[billbuckhead]

Wal-Mart takes shot at going gun-free
Firearms pulled from one-third of stores to lure new customers

By Robert Manor
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 15, 2006

A new Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Texas recently with no guns for sale.

It was a clue to the significant change ahead: The nation's largest retailer is backing away from the trade in firearms.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is also the country's largest seller of rifles and shotguns, said Friday it will eliminate firearms from about one-third of its 3,200 stores across the country. The retail space freed by eliminating gun sales will be devoted to other goods and services more desired by the public.

It's a sign of the times.
----------------------snip-----------------------------
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0604150238apr15,1,4130760.story?coll=chi-business-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true>

Wonder if (N)uts (R)uining (A)merica will boycott them?

[paul_fromatlanta]

1. I was in my local Walmart - they are discontinuing guns there

Basically Walmart says they won't sell guns at stores where guns don't sell well.

[madeline_con]

4. So.... Texas?

:shrug:

[paul_fromatlanta]

9. From other articles it appears to be a store by store business decision

If guns sell well then they will seel guns. If they dont then they will use the space for something else.

[madeline_con]

15. Atlanta (GA) is selling them out to make space?

That's weird in the south.

I'll have to call up the road and see what the deal is here in central FL.

My 11 y.o. just bought a fully automatic air soft rifle. I'm already sick of listening to it. :woohoo:

[paul_fromatlanta]

16. There is a circular highway that divided blue from Red - this is blue

The suburbs are almost totally Republican majority but this Walmart is in Cynthia mcKinney's district.

[madeline_con]

17. Oh.

I'm a progressive who owns firearms. Am I all screwed up? ;)

[paul_fromatlanta]

18. I own guns too but I was always the only one at the gun counter

at this particular Walamart. At some Walmarts (in Alalska for instance) they sell handguns too and plan to continue.

[madeline_con]

23. I had to rephrase my comment one day a Wally World...

for the little dweeb who fixed the self check-out glitch. I had to say the BB gun was for me. :eyes:

Once, we went to the sporting goods counter and no one was there. A guy went behind the counter and got my kid a magazine for his pistol. I thought about emailing the honchos and giving them a hard time, but they'd probably just pull all the fun stuff off the shelves.

I asked my hubby once how long he thought it would take me to get the pool chemicals moved further away from the toys, in case somebody's little idiot decided to drink some. I said one email, he said I just love to start s#it. :rofl:

[Robbien]

2. When the GOP/Bush was "popular", Walmart sold guns

Now that the majority don't like him or GOP policies, Walmart pulls the guns off the shelf.

Hmmmmm.

[madeline_con]

3. Let me get this straight....

(edited slightly for emphasis)

"Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is also the country's largest seller of rifles and shotguns...


opened in Texas recently with no guns for sale.


The retail space freed by eliminating gun sales will be devoted to other goods and services more desired by the public."

Apparently, the public wanted firearms if Wally Wolrd is "country's largest seller of rifles and shotguns".

Whatever.

Now, will everybody rush to WalMart to shop?

[valerief]

10. The world needs more plush, leopard print, sequined toss pillows.

I'm sure they'll be filling their space with that crap (which I love, incidently).

Hey, they're not selling guns, because the populace is getting restless and angry. Unemployed, uninsured, angry mobs with guns can wreak havoc with the ruling class.

[madeline_con]

13. "... because the populace is getting restless and angry."

That's my take on it. Step one to outlawing private ownership, take them out of the biggest retailer in the country.

[kevinmc]

5. Hanging out with Chi-Coms must have rubbed off n/t

[billbuckhead]

8. Now that NRA's spiritual leader is going to jail, guns might be declasse

"When a man is in trouble or in a good fight, you want to have your friends around, preferably armed. So I feel really good."

Tom DeLay, KeynoteSpeaker, Annual Convention of the National Rifle Association, Houston, April 16, 2005.

[xultar]

6. That should slow the instore robbery problem.

[BlooInBloo]

19. bwahahaha!

[ThomWV]

7. Increased Sales From Reduced Product Availability?

Difficult to immagine.

Locally Wal Mart's would go out of business if they just put a sign on the front door saying "No Firearms". So may people carry pistols in this state that it would drive off a hugh number of customers of they could not come in with their guns. I know it would keep me out of the store, any store.

[paul_fromatlanta]

11. Stops Selling Guns quarter of U.S. stores citing insufficient demand

http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/stocks/retail/10279324.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

Wal-Mart Stops Selling Guns at Some Stores

By TSC Staff
4/14/2006 7:26 PM EDT

Wal-Mart (WMT:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) is discontinuing gun sales at almost one-quarter of its U.S. stores, citing insufficient demand.

In a statement posted on its Web site Friday, the world's largest retailer said, "In order for each of our stores to be a 'store of the community' and offer merchandise that is relevant to that specific community and customer base, we recently made a business decision no longer to offer firearms in approximately 1,000 of our locations."

Including its Sam's Club warehouse outlets, Wal-Mart has 3,864 U.S. stores.


The world's largest retailer said it had started phasing out firearms sales at the affected stores earlier this year. In stores where there is sufficient demand for guns, Wal-Mart says it will continue to sell them.

Wal-Mart shares ended Thursday at $45.77. U.S. markets were closed Friday in observance of Good Friday.

[HereSince1628]

12. Self interest?

There must be a movie in the ideat that they don't want to watch as their stores are ransacked by the angry unemployed armed with guns Wal-mart sold them.

[benEzra]

14. Still have them here...

but Wal-Mart shot themselves in the foot back in the early 90's by dropping all their nonhunting guns and catering only to the shrinking hunting-gun market. They still sell ammunition for all styles of guns, though (gotta love those value-packs of 9mm and .223 target ammo...)

Winchester went out of business last month, but makers of nonhunting guns are thriving...that's also a sign of the times, and of gun buyer demographics.

[OhioNerd]

20. Actually...

This statement is inaccurate: "The nation's largest retailer is backing away from the trade in firearms."


What's actually going on is that in those markets where there isn't a large enough demand for those items to justify the floor space, they simply want to replace them with more profitable items.

[sam sarrha]

21. Darn..!! i always get my 'drive-by' tools there on the way to work..

[northofdenali]

22. They'd lose half their business up here.

They could possibly recoup some if they continue to sell ammunition, though.

[-..__...]

24. I'm down with that!

Their selection of AR-15's, AK-47's, handguns and .50 BMG ammunition always sucked anyways.
Ohhh... wait a minute... they never carried that kind of stuff anyhow (at least not in NE).