Walmart Bows Cyber Monday Deals Just as ‘Pre-Black Friday’ Gets Under Way
Walmart hadn’t yet launched its “pre-Black Friday” event in stores and online Friday morning when it unleashed its Cyber Monday deals that will follow hot on the heels of Thanksgiving Day price cuts and Black Friday promotions. It’s all in keeping with the retailer’s plan to be aggressive this season amid “industry softness” that led the company to lower earnings projections for Q4 in its latest earnings call (CED Nov 15 p5).
Leading the Cyber Monday promotions are an LG TV bundle combining a 55-inch LED-lit TV with a soundbar ($500 off to $799) and a Samsung 46-inch LED TV ($400 off to $479). Other specials include a LeapFrog LeapPad2/Crayola bundle ($60 off to $69), a Double Power 7-inch tablet ($20 off to $59) and an HP red 14-inch laptop ($133 off to $295). Walmart is offering special buys on a PS4 bundle with DualShock 4 controller and game for $517 and an Xbox One bundle with a choice of accessory for $599. Walmart also cut its minimum price for free shipping of online orders from $50 to $35, matching Amazon’s rate that was raised from $25 in October.
Meanwhile, Walmart went on the offensive late Thursday after a difficult week. The world’s largest retailer was cited by the National Labor Relations Board for disciplining -- and in some cases, firing -- workers for strikes and protests dating back to Black Friday 2012 and was denounced in the blogosphere and on late-night TV in response to a campaign by local Walmart workers at a store in Canton, Ohio, who held a donation campaign for workers in need.
In a letter to the media, Walmart spokesman David Tovar noted the “fair amount of media coverage” last year about Walmart on Black Friday for protests by workers and their supporters in a number of cities picketing for higher wages and better working conditions. “Some of you correctly reported that the ’strikes’ weren’t real strikes at all, but made-for-TV events orchestrated by the unions,” Tovar said. “The cries were loud, but the promises from our critics never materialized.”
More labor events are planned in the coming days, including Black Friday, and Tovar said Walmart respects “the union’s right to protest” but challenged its critics. A list of questions Tovar posed urged the media to consider how many people attending protests are current Walmart employees working at the stores where the protests are taking place; how many United Food & Commercial Workers International Union workers earn more than $25,000 a year; what are working hours and wages for employees of Walmart competitors; and “why does Walmart become the focus of these strikes when our pay is on par with other retailers?” Tovar also questioned whether covering Black Friday strikes against Walmart is “really newsworthy?”
The OUR Walmart website, meanwhile, is providing employees and supporters the downloadable materials they need to host a Black Friday protest event. It is also fielding a petition to President Barack Obama urging him to meet with supporters protesting Walmart salaries of less than $25,000 a year and calling on Walmart to pay workers “enough to feed and support their families.” The petition had 116,171 signers early Friday afternoon. The site also links visitors to planned Black Friday protests via a ZIP code locator.
Walmart said it recognizes the “broader debate in this country around the economy and service industry jobs” and cited an “erosion of middle class jobs.” Walmart wants to be “part of the solution,” Tovar said. “As a large employer with many entry level jobs, we have a responsibility to be a part of this conversation, and you'll see us engage in it over the coming weeks and months,” he said, urging dissatisfied employees to work with Walmart “in a constructive manner to rebuild America’s middle class.” Creating good jobs and “real career opportunities” involves expanding education, training, and workforce development “and we're ready to do our part,” Tovar said. The NLRB authorized the filing of a complaint against Walmart asserting violations of workers’ rights but has yet to open a proceeding to give the parties an opportunity to reach a settlement.