'The company is old enough, big enough, and profitable enough': Some branding experts say Walmart could rein in gun sales without hurting its business

Associated Press

Walmart employees gather in a nearby parking lot after a shooting at the store in Southaven, Miss.

• Last week's shootings put the spotlight back on the gun control debate and also on Walmart.
• Gun control advocates and others called on the country's largest retailer to stop selling guns after its stores were the location of two deadly shootings in the past week.
• While some branding experts said that the retailer was being true to itself by not changing its gun sales policy, others said the company should do more.
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After shootings in the past week left at least 24 people dead, the spotlight is back on the gun control debate and also on Walmart.

With shootings at two Walmart locations - one that killed at least 22 in El Paso, Texas, and another one in Southaven, Mississippi - gun control advocates and other people have called on Walmart to stop selling guns.

A corporate employee urged workers to strike on Tuesday to pressure the company to stop selling guns.

But while Walmart tweeted that it was shocked and "praying for the victims, the community and our associates, as well as the first responders," the company said it had no plans to stop selling guns.

Walmart is catering to its base

While Walmart may have alienated some employees and customers with its stance, some branding experts said the retailer would withstand the criticism because it was being true to its brand and that many of its customers believe in gun rights.

"Walmart's core consumer base comes from the overwhelming support of the Second Amendment and gun rights. If they ban firearm sales, they risk alienating that core base," said Eric Schiffer, chairman and CEO of Reputation Management Consultants. "Brands today may be under pressure to take stances of principle, either humanitarian or political. But for Walmart, the Second Amendment is a principled battle line and it is willing to suffer the political blowback from Americans outraged by gun violence."

Deb Gabor, CEO of Sol Marketing, said that the impact of Walmart not stopping the sale of guns on its brand will be negligible if the company demonstrates concern for the shooting victims, their families and the community, and keeps delivering on its low-price positioning.

"Customers who choose Walmart are focused on lower prices and don't necessarily have the luxury of taking their business elsewhere," she said. "Walmart's brand promise of 'Lowest prices. Always.' is what attracts and keeps customers coming back week after week, year after year."

Walmart has shifted its gun sales policies in response to high-profile shootings in recent years. It stopped selling assault rifles in 2015 and raised its minimum gun purchasing age to 21 in 2018, after the Parkland, Florida, shooting. 

'The company is old enough, big enough, and profitable enough' 

But other experts said Walmart could stop selling guns and its business would be fine. They pointed to smaller retailers such as Dick's Sporting Goods, which last year ended the sale of semi-automatic, assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines after the Parkland shooting.

Walmart and Dick's got more people talking about them when the companies announced policy changes around assault weapons in 2018, polling company YouGov said. There appears to be no negative impact on Walmart's sentiment based on the recent shootings, said a company spokesman.

"The company is old enough, big enough, and profitable enough to do the right thing without fear of a short-term boycott or backlash on social media," said Chris Allieri, founder and principal of Mulbery & Astor. "It also has tremendous power in Washington, both with the president, and with the Republican party - and could easily lobby for universal background checks and take a bold step to stop selling firearms altogether."

Andy Gilman, founder and CEO of CommCore Group, said Walmart's brand is strong enough that it could change its policy and influence other retailers to follow suit.

"When Walmart tells vendors to change any aspect of their product line, they all comply quickly," he said. "Likewise, it can come up with a policy that will change the way that individuals can buy guns."