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Politically engaged retailers

One consequence of the Trump presidency in the US is greater engagement by retailers. Here is one example:

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  1. BOB

    It’s pretty sad that retailers feel the need to display this message when it really should be the default.

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  2. Mark Fletcher

    Bob I agree. Over ten days I took at photos of 20 stores with similar posters.

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  3. Colin

    The poster omits “All political persuasions” and “All colours”. Bet it is politically funded. Service and smile to all and don’t get sucked in both those with agendas

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  4. Mark Fletcher

    This one was created by the owner answer most of the ones I spoke with owners about.

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  5. Ross

    It is a sad reflection of your community if one feels the necessity to display such ‘politically correct’ crap. Only in America I suggest, and with the attitude of their Head of State it’s not surprising.

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  6. Paul S

    Colin , it says ” All Races” so therefore “All Colours” is implied. If they wen’t on too much more they would have needed a much bigger sign !!

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  7. Cuddles

    It’s marketing. Business are cashing in on anti Trump sentiment amongst the virtue signallers.

    Pepsi released one today….
    http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/news-and-views/the-backlash-to-kendall-jenners-pepsis-protest-ad-was-swift-and-just-20170404-gvduo0.html

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  8. Mark Fletcher

    There is a difference Cuddles between what I have written about and what Pepsi has released. My observation (based on three trips to the US this year) relates to small and independent retail businesses, placing sigs=ns usually made in-house and reflecting personal views. I saw no evidence of them trying to cash in.

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  9. Cuddles

    You went to New York and San Francisco didn’t you? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_values

    Not exactly ‘middle America’.

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  10. Mark Fletcher

    This year I have been to: Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Las Vegas. These cities represent a big proportion of the population and cover the range of US politics.

    Middle America is a misnomer in my opinion.

    Cuddles I know what I saw and heard in these businesses. The owners put up the posters because they wanted to. My experience is the majority of Americans agree. Trump is not liked.

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  11. Cuddles

    I know you don’t like Trump and that is ok.
    But opinions aren’t facts.

    You visited five states.
    Four of them are held by the Democrats.
    The Republicans won 30 States.

    You may not think Middle America exists but America believes it exists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_America_(United_States)

    And as of February, American small business does support Trump.
    https://smallbiztrends.com/2017/02/small-business-owners-approve-of-trump.html

    Make America and Australia Great Again.

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  12. Mark Fletcher

    The facts are I spoke with plenty of small business owners, some of whom identify as Republicans, who had signs like this.

    My post is about what I saw. Not politics observed from a distance but what I saw.

    A Wikipedia article does not speak for America. Trump does not represent middle America. His voters come from a narrow, carefully nurtured band.

    As for the silly slogan at the end of your comment, Australia is a great country. We, for the most part, are good at not venturing too far to the right or too far to the left. We are great.

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  13. Paul S

    One of the big reasons Trump got in was that people liked “Hill-liar-y” even less in some areas and occupations. I have a mate in the US who has served in the US Army (as a combat medic) and his words were basically “we have a bad choice of candidate either way. We don’t trust Hillary and had nearly any one but her been running against Trump, Trump wouldn’t have gotten even a look in” Hillary, contrary to what the media here shows actually got alot of bad press at certain points in the campaign and there were alot of people who had voiced their dissatisfaction with her early on. Apart from one or two blunders Trumps PR kept him standing and he basically fell over the line.

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  14. Mark R

    What a stupid sign why don’t the also include “illegal immigrants also welcome ?

    So prior to putting the sign up was it unclear who was welcome in this store ??

    Trump won because he won in states which were traditionally Democrat strongholds , voters also were sick and tired of “career politicians”

    There is a middle America you just have to get out of the big cities to find it, a lot of Democrats still can’t work out why they lost the election ,preferring to blame everyone else but themselves

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  15. Mark Fletcher

    Mark my opinions are based on time I have personally spent outside big cities, in states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin. Trump did not win for the reasons you outline. That is the narrative pitched. The campaign was far more clever and tactical than that.

    Unless you have spent considerable time in the US your can only go off what a highly biased media tells you.

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  16. Cuddles

    So tell us then, how did Trump win?

    What was the ‘clever and tactical’ campaign he used that delivered him the Presidency when his only ‘voters come from a narrow, carefully nurtured band.’

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  17. Mark Richardson

    I’m fully aware of the media bias and have followed US politics for the last 12 months . The majority of media are anti Trump which is consinstant with their left wing views . Fox News is one of the few pro Trump media outlets. I think Trumps message during the campaign was consistent. Protect borders, address the so called free trade policies and grow employment . The Democrats message was less convincing. Your statement that voters came from a narrow band ,could also apply to Democrat voters . I was surprised last time I visited the US 4 years ago at the anti Obama centiment from many people both black and white. Trump is liked by some and disliked by others that’s just the very nature of politics. If you follow just Australian news you would be subjected to only receiving a one sided negative view.The next 4 years will be very interesting and that will be the time to judge his performance .Judgments made now are are made by people who have already made up their minds .Logic is not present

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  18. Mark Fletcher

    The media are not anti Trump. There are many respected media outlets that Trump denigrates and refer to as fake news for their reporting of facts, provable facts, that disagree with his claims. Facts matter when it comes to things. Take Trump’s claim that Obama spied on him. There is no evidence whatsoever to support this yet Trump claimed it and repeated the claim. Again, there is no evidence.

    Since his inauguration The WaPo has fact checked his tweets. The truth is damning against Trump. This is not a functional truth, it is provable facts that are not open to interpretation, disagreeing with Trumps claims.

    In his campaign Trump attacked Obama on Syria and US attacks on Syria. Now he has the facts, Trump attacks Syria.

    Those points aside, it is th person who disgusts me. His own words and disgusting. His depiction of women and his boastfulness of abuse should disgust us all.

    None of this has anything to do with my post about independent small business owners getting engaged in the politics of the day. Good on them.

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  19. Stacey

    Mind the language but if you haven’t seen the Jonathan Pie response to the election it is brilliant. We where in the US just before the election and definitely got the vibe that people didn’t want to admit to voting Trump and I agree that he got in as a protest vote against Clinton.
    https://www.facebook.com/JonathanPieReporter/videos/1044777035645189/

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  20. Cuddles

    “None of this has anything to do with my post about independent small business owners getting engaged in the politics of the day. Good on them.”

    You are right. Back to my original point to that was dismissed but subsequently proven.
    It is a little piece of marketing used by bunch of guilt ridden, virtue signalling white liberals who want to appear to be doing and saying the right things.

    Kony was so 2012.

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  21. Mark Fletcher

    Cuddles your original point was not proven. I have spoken to the retailers, been in their shops. In almost every case they are small independent retailers acting along, not as part of any encouraged or co-ordinated effort. Those are the facts, as inconvenient as they may be.

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  22. Peter

    Some facts from the Presidential Election.

    USA Country wide Hillary got 2.8 Million more votes than Donald

    Donald who won scored less votes than the two previous Republican Candidates at the two previous pesenditial elections who both lost to Obama.

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  23. Mark R

    Problem is the election is not necessary won on the popular vote, it’s won on electoral college votes.

    A lot of those extra votes were from Democtat strong holds such as California where Trump did very little campaigning .

    He won in other states where previous Republicans such as Romney couldn’t win

    Also the US elections have non compulsory voting so if people Democtats disliked Hillary why would they vote at all ?

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