No, Walmart Is Not Suddenly Woke
Is the nation’s biggest retailer racing to outdo Washington on e-cigarettes and guns? Or is Washington just unbelievably slow?
Above all else, it’s a business.
Photographer: Luke Sharett/BloombergIt has been a busy month at Walmart Inc. First, America’s largest retailer said it would stop sales of some kinds of ammunition in the wake of a shooting at one of its stores in El Paso, Texas. Then, on Friday, the company said it would cease selling e-cigarettes as a mysterious lung illness has raised new concerns about the safety of vaping.
This has led to chatter that some sort of new, “Woke Walmart” is emerging, with CEO Doug McMillon taking up the mantle of outspoken crusader. Let’s not get carried away: Walmart is moving in the right direction on these issues. But to say that the company is taking on a new, bolder political posture is an overstatement.