Clothing Company Bans Wal-Mart

[player24]

Clothing Company Bans Wal-Mart

SHAWNEE, Kan. (May 18, 2005) – Ace Kicker Tees has announced that it will not allow Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) to carry Ace Kicker’s line of poker t-shirts in any of Wal-Mart’s more than 5,000 retail outlets.

Wal-Mart’s past history of music and book censorship contributed heavily to Ace Kicker Tees’ decision. “It really worries me when big business starts dictating ethics to artists and other creative voices,” says Ace Kicker Tees sole proprietor John Carlton. “One of our poker shirts has an obscenity on it. And we’re simply not willing to sacrifice our first amendment rights, regardless of what sum of money we stand to make in return.”

In addition, Carlton believes that the business values of Ace Kicker Tees and Wal-Mart are not in line with each other. “I have a great respect for Wal-Mart’s tremendous success and economic influence. But I believe that to get our products’ pricing in line with the low-price leader would require us to decrease quality and significantly devalue the creative contributions of all the people involved in making Ace Kicker Tees. Even though that means our prices will never compete with Wal-Mart, we believe our customers are willing to pay more for a premium quality product.”

The popularity of poker – especially No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em – has skyrocketed in recent months. Retailers have experienced increased sales in poker chip sets, electronic poker games, tabletops and other poker supplies. But despite the added demand, Carlton says Ace Kicker Tees must remain true to the company’s core values. “We might not ever sell at the highest volume, but we will always sell with the highest integrity.”

[jakethebake]

Hilarious! Are they serious?

[Lazymeatball]

this ain't high art, this isn't even a mainstream punk album, it's a fricking slogan on a cheap t-shirt with a picture of poker cards. Maybe these guys just don't need money for anything.

[player24]

Yes,they put the "F-word" on a poker T-shirt and now they need to protect their artistic integrity. I'm sure Wal-Mart is really gonna miss their business.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes,they put the "F-word" on a poker T-shirt and now they need to protect their artistic integrity. I'm sure Wal-Mart is really gonna miss their business.

[/ QUOTE ]

I liked the part about "first ammendment rights"...LOL.

[Shajen]

I'm gonna go a different route:

Walmart sucks. Their products suck. They are shady as hell.

I agree with the t-shirt maker, why sacrifice your integrity for a buck?

Also, Walmart will basically own this company if they agree with these demands. Walmart has a history of bending over companies once they get business from them.

Things like "You can't sale these shirts at any other retailer, including your own website or stores", "We need you to lower your wholesale price or we will drop you and you'll be screwed".

I hate Walmart. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[The Goober]

The artistic integrity thing is definately pushing it a bit for a t-shirt, but I'm happy to see anyone stand up to walmart.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
Walmart sucks. Their products suck. They are shady as hell.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't completely agree, but I am VERY pissed that they changed the shape of their water bottles. There are less places for me to chew on it after I'm done drinking [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm gonna go a different route:

Walmart sucks. Their products suck. They are shady as hell.

I agree with the t-shirt maker, why sacrifice your integrity for a buck?

Also, Walmart will basically own this company if they agree with these demands. Walmart has a history of bending over companies once they get business from them.

Things like "You can't sale these shirts at any other retailer, including your own website or stores", "We need you to lower your wholesale price or we will drop you and you'll be screwed".

I hate Walmart. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea. But I'm guessing this little company found out there's no way in hell they could get into walmart so they produce this silly press release as a publicity stunt and to make themselves feel better. The fact is, if they could get into walmart, they'd make a ton of money. sure margins would be lower, but volumes would be huge. Did they really think walmart would sell shirts with [censored] on them? That's just stupid. It's a mass merchandiser. Of course they won't. It has nothing to do with censorship. It has to do with not offending their customers. This isn't art. It's a consumer product. Hate walmart all you want, but these guys are still [censored] hilarious if they think anyone is buying this.

[pokerjo22]

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe these guys just don't need money for anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

Or maybe they figure the free publicity will make up for their lost sales?