US-based Walmart Inc. had to take down apparels from its online marketplace which were being sold by a third-party merchandiser. The apparels taken down had ‘IMPEACH 45’ design printed in front in block letters, which implied call to bring down the 45th US President, Donald J. Trump.
The retail giant suffered an outrage from Trump’s supporters, as the hashtag #BoycottWalmart was among the most-trending topics in the country on social media platform, fetching 50,000 plus tweets on Tuesday itself (July 3, 2018).
The products on Walmart’s marketplace were being sold by third-party sellers on its open market and a spokesperson from the American retailer told media that the items were not offered directly by the company. “We are taking down such items after a review of our marketplace policies,” he added.
Although, there is no specific time-line available that for how long these products were available online but the vendors (Connecticut-based Old Glory Music & Entertainment) who were selling the controversial apparel on Walmart said in a statement issued that they stocked over 10,000 politically inspired T-shirts which dealt with all aspects of politics, be it liberal or conservative content.
Glenn Morelli, President, Old Glory said, “We are a US-based company and we are proud to be American, and we sell T-shirts for a living.”
Reportedly, Walmart’s e-commerce platform (introduced to take on its rival brand Amazon) now stocks around 18,000 sellers and it receives a percentage from every sale that takes place on its e-marketplace.
