news
08-26-2015, 06:42 PM
Walmart said on Tuesday that it would stop selling AR-15s and other sporting rifles.
BearingArms.com (http://bearingarms.com/walmart-stops-selling-msrs-semi-automatic-shotguns/), which first reported the change, says the chain will "no longer be stocking modern sports rifles such as the AR-15, nor semi-automatic shotguns with a magazine capacity of seven or more rounds." Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg told the site that the price of remaining inventory will be slashed.
The company will continue to sell shotguns and other “hunting weapons,” according to Quartz (http://qz.com/488639/walmart-is-going-to-stop-selling-ar-15s-and-other-assault-rifles/).
Though the retail giant said the move was simply a reflection of changing customer tastes, it comes at a time when Walmart has been moving to a kinder, gentler image. Earlier this year the company announced pay raises. The chain is under pressure as the minimum wage movement gains steam and the economy picks up.
Still, this is a sign of a more empathetic Walmart, said Bill George, the former Medtronic CEO who writes often about leadership. "This comes as a big surprise, given Walmart’s market. Good for them," he said in an email to The Huffington Post.
The news came just hours after a shooting in Virginia, where two TV news reporters were gunned down and killed and a third woman wounded. That shooter reportedly used a handgun.
However, a spokesperson for the mega-retailer said the timing was a coincidence and that the move was simply a result of customers’ changing tastes.
“We previously carried modern sporting rifles in less than a third of our stores,” Lundberg told Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2015/08/26/walmart-to-stop-selling-assault-rifles-other-firearms-used-in-mass-killings/). “Our merchandising decisions are driven largely by customer demand. In our everyday course of doing business, we are continually reviewing and adjusting our product assortment to meet our customers’ needs.” The company had been quietly phasing out AR-15s for a while, he said. They should be totally gone in the next couple of weeks.
This story is developing.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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BearingArms.com (http://bearingarms.com/walmart-stops-selling-msrs-semi-automatic-shotguns/), which first reported the change, says the chain will "no longer be stocking modern sports rifles such as the AR-15, nor semi-automatic shotguns with a magazine capacity of seven or more rounds." Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg told the site that the price of remaining inventory will be slashed.
The company will continue to sell shotguns and other “hunting weapons,” according to Quartz (http://qz.com/488639/walmart-is-going-to-stop-selling-ar-15s-and-other-assault-rifles/).
Though the retail giant said the move was simply a reflection of changing customer tastes, it comes at a time when Walmart has been moving to a kinder, gentler image. Earlier this year the company announced pay raises. The chain is under pressure as the minimum wage movement gains steam and the economy picks up.
Still, this is a sign of a more empathetic Walmart, said Bill George, the former Medtronic CEO who writes often about leadership. "This comes as a big surprise, given Walmart’s market. Good for them," he said in an email to The Huffington Post.
The news came just hours after a shooting in Virginia, where two TV news reporters were gunned down and killed and a third woman wounded. That shooter reportedly used a handgun.
However, a spokesperson for the mega-retailer said the timing was a coincidence and that the move was simply a result of customers’ changing tastes.
“We previously carried modern sporting rifles in less than a third of our stores,” Lundberg told Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2015/08/26/walmart-to-stop-selling-assault-rifles-other-firearms-used-in-mass-killings/). “Our merchandising decisions are driven largely by customer demand. In our everyday course of doing business, we are continually reviewing and adjusting our product assortment to meet our customers’ needs.” The company had been quietly phasing out AR-15s for a while, he said. They should be totally gone in the next couple of weeks.
This story is developing.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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