Responding to Current Events ...

When companies face rapidly changing conditions, it takes a great deal of skill to stay on the right side of public opinion. 

Online Ad for Walmart featuring an "enhanced" rifle which ran on "Black Friday"

Walmart is one of the leading retailers of firearms.  How should they handle their reputation - and their bottom line - in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings?  Up until now, the company had no qualms about selling the "Bushmaster" ... the gun model that was involved in those horrific shootings. 

As recently as Black Friday (the big shopping day following Thanksgiving) Walmart featured the SIG M400 "enhanced carbine rifle" on its ecommerce site with a featured price of $867.  And what's wrong with that?  The product is perfectly legal.  And profitable.  So, why not? 

Following the Sandy Hook shootings, Walmart pulled the Bushmaster - the gun model that was used in the shootings - from its shelves.  But what about the other guns?  How should it handle its role as a leading gun retailer when public opinion was shifting rapidly about gun sales.  Part of the problem is that public opinion is not universal.  In fact, those who favor permissive gun laws were buying up guns at a rapid pace because they were concerned about possible new rules.  Here's an excerpt from a Huffington Post story from December 19:

Walmart has reportedly sold out of semi-automatic rifles in five states, including Pennsylvania, Kansas and Alabama, according to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg. The nation's largest retailer reintroduced guns to many of its stores in 2011, after a five-year period of limited availability. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg, and it said it was not willing to provide comment to HuffPost.

Note a couple of points that illustrate the challenge that faces Walmart.  1) It pulled back from gun sales for five years, but re-introduced them in 2011.  2) It pulled the Bushmaster, but not other guns, from its shelves following Sandy Hook.  3) It didn't respond to a request for comment from the media. 

Walmart is in a tough spot, but it needs to come to a logical point of view ... communicate it ... and be prepared for the fallout.  Waffling is not a good strategy when emotions run high.