Kudos to walmart

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MidRoad

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Stopped at the ol Wally world on my way home from work today to grab a can of silicone spray. Meander back to sporting goods and what do you know...brand new counter (although the ammo was a jumbled mess). And behind that shiny new counter ....GUNS! A few Mossberg shotguns and a few various rifles ,maybe 8 total?

The significance of this is, Walmarts around here (this one in particular) haven't had guns in atleast ten years. This area is a rapidly growing area too. I was super shocked to see them bring guns back. Even though the selection was less than impressive it,and I doubt it would be a smooth buying experience,it was just a real refreshing thing to seen, especially in this day and age, in New York state of all places. So ,way to go Wally world :thumbup:.
 
Where in upstate? I'm familiar with the central NY (Syracuse/Rochester) region.
 
The Wal-Mart closest to me made a very slow migration to selling firearms. A few years back they put a sign behind the sporting goods counter that said "New Display coming soon." Then they built the display that was clearly designed for long rifles behind locking plexiglass. It sat empty for at least a year. Then firearms filled the case. And for about 6 months after none were sold because they were having issues with the computer software selling rifles at that particular register. To my knowledge it is fixed and they sell firearms through there now. I peruse the case frequently and see Marlin 60s, Crickets, HR Pardner shotguns, skeet and trap long barrel shotguns etc. No ARs.
 
In my area Wal-Mart is the ONLY department store that still sells guns AFAIK. The days of picking up an 870 at the local hardware store are pretty much gone. I try my best to support my local brick and mortar LGSs but if you ask me I'd say the more options the better.
 
My Walmart sells guns, ammo, and reloading equipment and supplies, including primers, bullets and powder. They sell shotgun shells and clays by the pallet full. As far as guns go, I guess they always have 40-50 in inventory.
 
In my area Wal-Mart is the ONLY department store that still sells guns AFAIK. The days of picking up an 870 at the local hardware store are pretty much gone. I try my best to support my local brick and mortar LGSs but if you ask me I'd say the more options the better.

Without a doubt!
 
I live in a gun rich environment. I guess we are lucky around here.Within 5 miles I have two Wal Marts that sell gun, One Scheels, a Fleet Farm, a Gander Outdoor.three pawn shops and a couple of LGS. Maybe 8 years ago both Wal Marts stopped selling guns. Withing two years they were both selling guns again. I suppose there is a profit to be made from guns too. Maybe removing the guns cause a slump in sale of other sporting goods,
 
All the ‘Marts I’ve been in Ca don’t sell guns at all. There may be some, but I haven’t seen one :(.

I wish Sportsmans Warehouse would come South. The nearest to me is in Fresno. At least Turners Outdoorsman is expanding North, which is a good thing for hunting/shooting/fishing folks in Stockton, Fresno and Sac.

Stay safe!
 
Its odd around me. I live in the country and tend to visit the one closest to home but sometimes I am forced to visit one that is in a not so stellar city and two that are in very rich and populated cities. The Walmart #1 in the country doesn't sell guns, barely any ammo and hunting supplies. Walmart #2 which is in a very poor city with more section 8 housing projects than normal has a ton of ammo, guns and hunting supplies. Walmart #3-4 are in cities where every other car cost $50k+. High rise's, shopping malls that are 3x3 miles. I just don't get it. I have only purchased one firearm from Walmart and that was a savage axis I got for cheaper than anyone else. I also don't purchase ammo there because I reload. It also seems each Walmart carries the same stuff between all 3 of them. Lots of single shots, cheap 22 rifles and pump shotguns. I did see a savage heavy barrel with camo stock and scope I was hoping wouldn't sell and be clearance but that's about it.

I can see why they sell guns because it attracts everyone and not just the gun people to the sporting goods dept. If it wasn't for looking for a good deal I would never leave the grocery part of the store and never pickup misc items in sporting goods. I tend to visit more when clearance happens as I get hunting soaps, backpacks, etc. pretty cheap.
 
Walmart’s in CA don’t sell guns because of the training it takes to certify someone to sell the guns and the requirements the state puts on them for handling the sales. It’s just not worth the hassle.
In addition there were several major smash and grab robberies of guns in Walmart’s in CA a few years back. Being in a letigious state Walmart didn’t want the liabilities that come with gun thefts so those events also contributed to their decision not to sell guns.

I honestly do not blame them.
 
In my area Wal-Mart is the ONLY department store that still sells guns AFAIK. The days of picking up an 870 at the local hardware store are pretty much gone. I try my best to support my local brick and mortar LGSs but if you ask me I'd say the more options the better.

There's a small hardware store near me that was dying a slow death. I only ever went in there because their selection of small hardware (machine screws and whatnot) was vastly superior to Lowe's and HD. A few years ago they reinvented themselves and among other things started selling guns. Not only that, they price them at just over cost and I often see guns there listed for just a few bucks more than the best deals I can find online. There's typically a couple good deals on ammo to be found too, so I often make an excuse to stop in and support them now.
 
Funny that,the local wallyworld closest to my house will not sell guns.
Down the road a few miles ,the wallyworld there is selling rifles & shotguns !.
Guess some managers have a set,and some don't.
This is common. In the Raeford, NC area, a WM built in the early 2000's sells them, but one built about 7 miles down the same highway in 2009(ish) doesn't. I knew the sporting goods manager at the new one- she said that its a simple matter of knowing that when someone wants to purchase a gun at WM, people will be willing to drive the extra short distance, so the PITA of running a gun counter isn't worth it. However, the new WM sold ammo, hunting accessories, etc.
 
If there is a school very close they don't sale (I don't recall the distance).
 
If there is a school very close they don't sale (I don't recall the distance).
That may explain why the one in the country does not sell them. They have a vocational school across the road from them.
 
WalMart discontinued firearms in a lot of stores a few years ago, may be 2008 or so, but then brought them back to some of those stores (including a local one) because overall sales dropped in certain high margin departments.

It turns out that firearms and their accessories, ammo, etc. bring a specific type of customer to the store even if there is not that much purchasing of the firearms going on. However, the same people go on to look at hardware, tires, etc. and buy some items which are often high profit margin items. Given the death match between Amazon and Walmart, I suspect that WalMart wants as many customers in the store that might make an impulse buy as possible to ward off buying the small high profit items from Amazon.

I have been a prime member almost since it began and it is my impression that Amazon seems to be going the other way by downplaying and discouraging firearms related vendors and parts and stuff, particularly after the CT situation. I also see fewer Amazon partner linked sale items to things like Midway etc. that could be reduced compensation, etc. or a desire to exit that type of business. WalMart, on the other hand, has a pretty healthy hunting and sporting goods section in their online business with some decent prices plus ship to store for some items, albeit with a sucky web interface.
 
Consider that it costs a store dedicated employees to sell guns. They can't just take someone from the grocery, auto, housewares or electronics and put them behind the gun counter. They have to be trained in procedures and paperwork. That means a Walmart open 24 hours selling guns could possibly need someone trained and qualified for the gun counter on three shifts, seven days a week. Even if they close the gun counter overnight, they still need staff two shifts, seven days. That's at least four people just to cover the 8 hour 5-day a week shifts. Add two more people to cover their days off. They'll need to pay 6 or more salaries to run that counter. When it's not busy, they can do other jobs, but again people doing other jobs can't just go behind the gun counter without training/qualification.

My point is that a store manager or other decision maker is not just going to choose to sell guns or not based on their political preferences. There's a high cost for employees to run it. I live in a very gun-ho rural county in a western state, but I don't think our county's two Walmarts can make a profit with gun sales. Ammo and accessories yes, but the small gun cases they have are almost certainly money losers. I'm sure the profit on ammo and accessories cover it, not to mention the store's other departments, but if they took the few rimfire rifles and sporting shotguns away, same-store-profits would go up. A savvy manager would reinvest in the ammo and accessory area to assure politically sensitive customers it wasn't a political statement. They might even promote some local stores that can do better anyway.

The other option is to go full bore and compete with Sportsmans Warehouse, which does a raging trade in my area. But Walmart would have to include handguns. Without handguns, their gun counter is a losing proposition. Without handguns, they might as well just sell ammo and accessories.
 
BTW, here is the original stories from 2011 in Time magazine involving the return of firearms to some Walmart stores.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/29/ammo-on-aisle-three-walmart-brings-back-guns-to-many-stores/

Money Quote
"Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, had pulled guns from the shelves of its U.S. stores five years earlier, along with thousands of less popular items. But after a customer backlash, they put many of the products back on the shelves. This latest push is part of a move to bring back what they call “Heritage” items such as fishing rods and bolts of sewing fabric. The company said they underestimated the importance of the slower-selling items in drawing customers to their stores."

In running a retail business, the first rule is that you have to get the customers in the store in order to get them to buy (if online, to your website). Everything in WalMart is set up for optimal marketing--for example they track the cheap items that people are likely to buy which they price close to cost but they use presentation tricks to get you to switch to a higher margin product in the store. Endcaps, placement on the highest, midrange, or lowest shelf, refreshes, store design, etc. etc. are all designed to make you spend time and thus more money in the store. Other companies at the time did this through intuition but WalMart invested early in store analytics and quick use of that information to affect store sales.
 
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