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Shooting fallout prompts corporate response
An AR-15 style rifle sits on the counter by Craig Marshall as he assists a customer at Freddie Bear Sports sporting goods store on Dec. 17, 2012 in Tinley Park, Ill.
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The Newtown, Conn., shooting has raised the question of whether the tragedy's impact will actually change the gun safety debate this time. It already has in some parts of corporate America.
After tragedies like the Newtown shooting, gun sales almost always spike, says Adam Winkler, author of "Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America."
“One of the sad ironies is, historically, retailers do very well when we have high-profile shootings as gun owners worry that they won’t be able to buy those guns tomorrow,” he says.
The AR-15 assault rifle, used in the elementary school attack, is a big moneymaker. In fact, Winkler says, it’s “perhaps the most popular firearm on the market today.”
In spite of that, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced it is suspending the sale of some semi-automatic rifles. Walmart and other retailers have removed information about the AR15 from their websites. Jen Drexler, a retail consultant with Insight Strategy Group, says mainstream retailers have to consider consumer backlash.
“Dick’s Sporting Goods, that’s the place I got my kids’ soccer cleats and my kids are 6," she says. "And the thought they’re selling guns at the same place that sells cleats to my 6-year-old is just unacceptable.”
Investors are crying unacceptable, too. Private equity firm Cerberus said today it will sell one of its companies, Freedom Group, which makes the AR-15, after coming under pressure from its own investors.
But are these just short-term reactions? Max Wolff, senior analyst at Greencrest Capital, says no. “I think we’re going to see a lasting effect here,” he says. “There is a bit of a feeling in the markets that this may be the pivotal moment when America gets much more serious about gun control.”
One test will be how soon retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart resume their previous gun sales and promotions.
I'm a member of the media, and wrote to Walmart's PR department to ask how they are threading the needle between the people who are angry with them for selling guns and those who are angry for withdrawing Bushmasters from their web site. Here is the flat reply I received. "We remain dedicated to the safe and responsible sale of firearms in areas of the country where they are sold. Part of our commitment to gun safety is our involvement in the 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns' coalition.
We don’t sell guns online and we have made no change to the assortment of guns we sell in our stores.
Please let me know if you have any questions."
HELL YES I HAVE QUESTIONS. Wal-mart's gun sales have killed people. They are complicit in bloodshed. How can leaders of Walmart and other companies making money from this chain of bloodshed, stand to look at themselves in the mirror?
If I were a leader, I'd look at breaking the chain. Leaders of companies that stand for good are admired, and their companies benefit. Time for Wal-mart to get some moral fiber in their diet.
