Strategy: Furious Walmart customers post videos of stores locking up African-American beauty products (WMD)

Walmart is being sued for racial discrimination.

• Walmart is being sued by a customer alleging racial discrimination.
• The customer claims that the store is intentionally locking up certain products which are made for African Americans.
• Other customers have posted videos online of these locked cabinets.

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Walmart is being sued by a customer alleging racial discrimination.

A Walmart customer has filed a lawsuit against the chain, claiming that it is segregating products by race, CBS Local reported.

Essie Grundy was shopping for a comb in her local store when she found it was locked in a cabinet: “That's when I noticed that all of the African American products were locked up under lock and key," Grundy told reporters at a news conference on Friday.

Walmart said in a statement to Business Insider that it does "not tolerate discrimination of any kind."

"We’re sensitive to this situation and also understand, like other retailers, that some products such as electronics, automotive, cosmetics and other personal care products are subject to additional security. Those determinations are made on a store-by-store basis using data supporting the need for the heightened measures," a spokesperson for the store said.

Other customers have posted videos online claiming that the store is inconveniencing African American customers while leaving other products out in the open:

Certain products are locked in cabinets and can only be accessed by employees at the store:

This video shows how certain African American hair products are singled out:

One customer is calling for customers to boycott the store.

Others have come to Walmart's defense claiming that it only locks up products that are frequently stolen.

A store manager confirmed this and said that these products are kept under lock and key due to "high theft issues" and it is not racist act by the company.

Here is Walmart's full statement to Business Insider:

"We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind at Walmart. We serve more than 140 million customers weekly, crossing all demographics, and are focused on meeting their needs while providing the best shopping experience at each store. We’re sensitive to this situation and also understand, like other retailers, that some products such as electronics, automotive, cosmetics and other personal care products are subject to additional security. Those determinations are made on a store-by-store basis using data supporting the need for the heightened measures. While we’ve yet to review a complaint, we take this situation seriously and look forward to addressing it with the court."

Walmart is being sued for racial discrimination. Read Full Story