VIRTUE SIGNALING-WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
By: Bren Brown, President
Walmart decided to quit selling “assault style rifles”, handguns, handgun ammunition, .223 and 5.56 ammo. Maybe you care. Maybe you don’t. For us, perhaps great news – as we will sell more, but for America – not such good news. When we see retailers cow to the media machine, we see loss. Loss of American values.
The media used to report the facts and then WE decided what WE thought about said news. Now the media tries to tell us what to think and it’s not always based in fact.
Corporate America seems to be buying into the narrative that the answers to “mass shootings” lie in taking away products from law abiding citizens. But don’t be fooled, it’s really not about what they think will affect real change. It’s a chance to pander to virtue signaling while pulling SKUs that do NOT make them money.
I know a lot of you were just thrilled when Dick’s Sporting Goods reported a loss of sales after pulling the big, scary firearms. I have a serious fact to lay out for you. They may have lost sales, but I guarantee they didn’t lose profit. Let me help you understand (and know these numbers are COMPLETELY fictitious and only for an easy example):
Dick’s sells 6 million dollars at 30 percent margin.
Dick’s pulls a selection of 2A items.
Dick’s now reports sales of 4 million dollars. Everyone cheers—they lost money.
Back up the bus—the new cumulative margin is 45% because now their 2A items aren’t dragging down their profit margins.
Because if you weren’t aware, firearms and ammunition are some of THE LOWEST retail margins and least profitable retail items for sale anywhere.
Dick’s actually made the exact profit by getting out of the firearms business in my made-up example—$1.8 million. But, now they don’t have to mess with ATF compliance of said SKUs, political push back and no way to advertise these products. It takes less insurance and their Wall Street bankers are happy. They unloaded the stale inventory (because, let’s be real, they were never really in the firearms business), did some virtue signaling and walked on unscathed.
Another truth for the firearms people who want them to be damned—and I ain’t against you. You are NOT their target demographic. You likely aren’t the parents who are spending $500 for the next, perfect baseball bat to get your kid to MLB. They don’t need you. And, some of those who said they wouldn’t shop there really needed soccer cleats for their kid recently and that is where they went. I am NOT against you. Dick’s has good prices on sporting goods. It’s their specialty. Firearms were never their business.
And, we have NO RIGHT to tell any retailer what makes sense to sell and what does not.
Walmart is no different. Did they pull all ammo? No.
Newsflash—all calibers are deadly. (So are knives, poisons, alcohol, hammers, saws, etc. that they sell.) They pulled calibers that fit the narrative as a way of backing out of the risky business of selling 2A items. Make no mistake, we want that business. We are IN THE FIREARMS BUSINESS. Faith, Family and Freedom—is what Frontier Justice is ALL about. If you are in shooting sports, know we value your business. If you have been thinking about buying a firearm, or getting training, we are in it. If you have been out of it, and are looking to get back into it, we have you covered.
We appreciate each and every one of you—and respect your right to have a Walmart or Dick’s shopping bag in the back seat of your car. We are starting a campaign…..bring your Walmart and Dick’s shopping bags into a Frontier Justice and we will bag your items (in their bags). They don’t sell freedom but their shopping bags can help carry your freedom to the car. We’ll give you a buck off of orders of $25 or more when you do. Because, you know Walmart used to carry freedom.
Make Walmart (and Dick’s Sporting Goods) Great Again.
Unapologetically 2A,
Bren Brown
PS One coupon per client with $25 or more of regularly priced merchandise; per day; expires Oct. 31, 2019.
