Wal-Mart launches PR offensive
Website and ad campaign to ‘set the record straight’
Wal-Mart is fighting back in the face of continuing criticism, launching a US advertising campaign which it says aims to ‘set the record straight’ on issues such as its business and employment practices.
The world’s biggest retailer has also launched a new web site, www.walmartfacts.com, designed to give employees, customers and the media information about the company.
In a full-page ad published in more than 100 US newspapers across the country, Wal-Mart chief executive Lee Scott said it was time for the public to hear the “unfiltered truth” about Wal-Mart, which has 1.2m US employees.
Scott said: “There are a lot of ‘urban legends’ going around these days about Wal-Mart, but facts are facts. Wal-Mart is good for consumers, good for communities and good for the US economy.”
Scott acknowledged that the ads, in the form of a letter from Scott and placed in newspapers such as [i]USA Today[/i], [i]The Wall Street Journal [/i]and [i]The New York Times [/i], was an “unusual approach” for Wal-Mart. He said: “For too long, others have had free rein to say things about our company that just aren’t true. Our associates are tired of it and we’ve decided it’s time to draw our own line in the sand.
“We understand that, as one of the most visible corporations in the world, we will be a target for criticism. When it is valid, we try to learn from it and become a better company. But we have made a commitment to our associates, customers and suppliers that when false allegations are made about Wal-Mart, we will actively correct the record. That’s what this day is all about.”
