This article courtesy of Agape Press.
American Academy of Pediatrics Concurs
Despite a modest upswing that followed the collapse, Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the American Family Association, says Kmart is in serious financial trouble. His organization has called for a national boycott of the retailer as that chain continues to sell music CDs with violent and sexually profane lyrics. He cites that fact as a major reason for families deserting the store.
“Now what I'm not saying is that AFA's boycott of Kmart has had everything to do with Kmart's financial woes,” Sharp says, “but I believe it is an indicator that people are no longer walking through the front door and shopping in their stores.”
Numerous tests conducted by AFA since August have proven Kmart does not enforce its own policy regarding sales of such music to minors and children. Clerks at several stores across the nation have continuously bypassed computer-based age verifications, selling violence-laden CDs by artists such as Eminem, Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker, and Snoop Dog to children as young as 13.
AFA says it has repeatedly asked Kmart to stop selling CDs marked with parental advisory warning stickers because of the messages the music promotes — and AFA is not alone in voicing its concerns about the dangers of such music to children. The American Academy of Pediatrics, in a report issued in 1996, stated that while it strongly opposes censorship, “the AAP is greatly concerned that negative behavioral messages are being recorded and repeatedly broadcast.”
The AAP also says, “It is in children's best interest to listen to lyrics that are not violent, sexist, drug-oriented, or antisocial.”
A Dollar-Based Decision?
According to AFA, one reason Kmart CEO Chuck Conaway and chain leaders have refused to stop selling this type of music may be they are “bowing to new lows just to make a dollar.” Conaway, installed as president of the chain in 2000 to reverse its fortunes, has seen his ship continue to founder.
A late November report by Associated Press says the company's efforts to revitalize its business have not produced the results the company wanted. Sales at Kmart were flat in the second quarter, with the company trimming its losses to $95 million. And Kmart was predicting flat to 2% sales gains for the just-completed holiday season.
The company has been on shaky ground so long, AFA says, some analysts question whether it will survive. “If they can't change something dramatically, then their ultimate destination is oblivion,” retail analyst Brian James, with Loomis, Sayles & Co. in Boston, told Associated Press. “I think competitively right now there is no reason for them to exist. If they did not exist right now, no one would miss them.”
Paying the Price
Like Sharp, AFA president Don Wildmon believes part of the company's problems stem from its anti-family policies. “Kmart can't blame its poor sales on the economy when other retailers are faring better,” Wildmon says. “They are putting more importance on the almighty dollar than they are on the values of family — and they are paying the price.”
This is the second time Kmart has come under fire for selling products harmful to the family. In the 1990s, AFA led a successful campaign against Kmart for selling pornographic magazines through its former subsidiaries Waldenbooks and Borders. After the retailer sold off its interests in those two chains, then-President and CEO Floyd Hall assured AFA that Kmart would not return to its anti-family practices.
But AFA says the chain did not stick to its word — and according to Wildmon, that is why the pro-family group is again leading a boycott of Kmart stores.
