While mass shootings in the United States are becoming more frequent and lethal, companies selling firearms have come under pressure to stop gun violence. This month, Walmart stores have become the location of filming. With the latest violence, this pressure is again directed at Walmart – not only gun control advocates, but also some customers and even their employees.
Until now, Walmart has not done what many want it to be: stop selling firearms. But he began to play a more active role in the gun debate and, for the first time, he explained his important role in the firearms sector.
Chief Executive Doug McMillon said last week that the company supports "common sense" gun control policies. He also used a conference call with Wall Street analysts to make an unprecedented revelation: Walmart estimates it represents only 2% of total arms sales and 20% of US ammo sales. He stated that this meant that Walmart was probably not among the top three firearms vendors in the country.
One of the paradoxes of the US legal firearms market is that it is relatively easy to buy a firearm, but there is little reliable data on sales. Government agencies and private sector companies record the number of cars sold or the amount Americans spend on food and gas, but gun sales are not followed with the same detail. That's what made Walmart's revelation last week so remarkable.
Burt Flickinger III, a seasoned retail analyst at Strategic Resource Group, estimates that gun sales in the United States reach about $ 11 billion annually. That would mean that Walmart earns about $ 220 million a year in firearms. The company had sales of $ 331 billion in the United States in its most recent year. Under this measure, US arms sales account for less than one-tenth of Walmart's US sales and an even smaller percentage of its worldwide sales, which amount to $ 514 billion.
Flickinger said firearms are less important to Walmart's bottom line and estimates sales have dropped 6% to 8% a year in recent years.
This is in part because customers are choosing more and more specialized hunting retailers, such as Cabela's, for the purchase of firearms, said Flickinger III.
Meanwhile, Walmart is building a robust 21st century company that sells a wide range of products. It focuses on fast-growing categories such as toys and pet supplies, the purchase of fashion brands and the exploration of other possible business areas such as Healthcare. While other retailers, including Toys "R" Us and Payless, have closed, Walmart has conquered customers in search of the products they previously purchased in those stores. He must make room to meet the demand.
"Firearm sales are the largest declining category fastest in the United States and, just based on sales, are reaching a point of irrelevance to the retail business," said Flickinger .
Firearms and the bottom line
The message: gun sales are not crucial to Walmart's bottom line. To denounce them would probably attract the criticism of some, even alienate some customers. But he would be applauded by many other important constituencies, including his employees. In recent weeks, Walmart workers circulated a petition and some even called for a discussion on the subject.
"We value Walmart and our colleagues, but we no longer want to provide our work to a company that benefits from the sale of lethal weapons," the petition says. Since then, he has collected more than 126,000 signatures, although some come from people who say they are against the protest and do not want Walmart to stop selling guns. McMillon responded to the employee who led the petition on Wednesday, reiterating that the company would consider taking further action on this issue.
A group of pressure groups for gun control has created a website called Walmart Must Act that asks people to send a standard letter asking the company to stop selling firearms and to plead in favor of firearms reform.
In recent years, Walmart has been striving to improve its image in other areas for which it has been criticized. He increased wages, improved workers' benefits and advocated for an increase in the federal minimum wage.
"Walmart is very concerned about being a good corporate citizen," said Karen Short, retail analyst at Barclays. "They are very aware of their reputation with their customers, their employees and their suppliers, so all of their decisions will be looked at in that light."
Since the shooting in El Paso, Walmart said it had cleaned its website of about 1,000 third-party items that it believed had violated company rules. And the company could take additional measures, said McMillon last week, without mentioning any details.
"We will strive to use these experiences to identify additional actions we can take to strengthen our processes, improve our technology and create an even safer environment in our stores," said Mr. McMillon. "We are also thinking about broader issues related to gun violence and what we should do to help create safer communities."
Previously, Walmart stopped selling military-style semi-automatic rifles in 2015 and last year raised the age limit to buy a firearm from 18 to 21 years old. The company is also asking gun buyers to check their track record.
McMillon suggested last week that lawmakers or other companies should follow Walmart's initiative. He said he was "encouraged" by the support for a more thorough background check. He also called for a debate on the reauthorization of the federal government's prohibition of assault weapons "to determine its effectiveness in keeping weapons made for war from the reach of murderers".
Proponents of gun control say that McMillon's comments are a start, but that Walmart can do more. Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, urged the company to stop allowing the carriage of firearms in its stores, which it allows in states where it is legal. Other companies have stopped allowing open deferrals over the past decade, including Starbucks in 2013 and Target in 2014.
Watts pointed out that a man arrested for sowing panic in a Missouri Walmart while he was wearing body armor and a rifle a few days after the El Paso shootout was in a state where openly carrying such a weapon is technically legal. In these states, however, private firms can usually determine their own policies.
"Business leaders have a responsibility to protect their employees, their customers and their communities," Watts said. "There should never be any misunderstanding about the intent of someone who enters Walmart with a firearm."
Watts also encouraged Walmart to strengthen its advocacy for gun control legislation, such as stronger background checks laws.
It is no longer taboo for companies to take a stand on gun violence or other controversial issues. Ed Stack, CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart's competitor, has played a leading role in the gun control movement since he began cutting down on arms sales. from his own business after the Parkland School shootout last year.
