Washington sources reported that Walmart removed shirts and other gear from its online marketplace bearing the phrase "Impeach 45" after supporters of US President Donald Trump lambasted the retail giant on social media. Meanwhile Walmart nixed the items yesterday after images of jerseys and baby gear with the anti-Trump slogan went viral on social media and at midday, the phrase Boycott Walmart was trending on Twitter.
A company spokesman said "These items were sold by third party sellers on our open marketplace, and were not offered directly by Walmart and we are removing these types of items pending review of our marketplace policies." Moreover the controversy highlights a challenge of doing business in a country increasingly polarized by politics, where supporters and critics of Trump have become more vocal in pressuring companies with boycott threats when they appear to be taking sides.
Meanwhile Neil Saunders, managing director of
consulting firm GlobalData Retail said Walmart's decision to remove the
anti-Trump merchandise made sense given the company's profile. Saunders said "A
lot of the stores are in locations that are probably fairly Republican and they
do need to take action because it could alienate a large portion of their
customer base".
