Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) CEO Doug McMillon does not want the company he runs to sell anything offensive. He wants his employees and customers to feel comfortable. While it is a lofty goal, it is impossible to meet. Wal-Mart sells plenty of things that are offensive, and it would be a Herculean task to sort through them and make decisions. And the exercise, if taken to its full extent, would undermine profits.
Wal-Mart has every right to sell items to which some people object. As almost every newspaper, radio, television and cable, and Internet news site has pointed out, the retailer sells guns. Some people object. A number of other retailers sell guns. Wal-Mart cannot afford to be at a disadvantage. McMillon knows that. Best he stay out of the issue of what makes people comfortable.
Wal-Mart offers the rental of Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” through its VUDU service. It is rated R and full with violence. Pro-American or anti-American propaganda? Should Wal-Mart stop renting or selling the film? If it does, companies with streaming media services like Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will have another way to flank the world’s largest retailer.
Wal-Mart also sells “Zodaca Hot Sexy Women’s Sexy Lingerie Lace Dress Underwear Sleepwear Elegant One Piece,” which features nearly naked women, appealing to men who are interested in them. Too explicit? Probably for most people. Offensive? Could be.
Wal-Mart sells light bulbs that are not the energy-saving kind. Too much energy consumption. Why not take these off the shelf and off the website?
Wal-Mart’s problem, as is the case with most large retailers with huge inventories of products across scores of products, is that it has to sell some goods and services that some part of the population will find offensive. Too bad for the population. The retailers need to stay in business. McMillon should keep his own counsel.
ALSO READ: Does Wal-Mart Still Sell Confederate Flags?
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