Like I said a month ago, “get used to it.”
Net Sales Growth, April.
Wal-Mart Stores 6.5%
Sam’s Club 10.4%
International 18.4%
Total Company 9.8%
4 Week Comp Sales:
Wal-Mart 2.6%
Sam’s Club 6.6%
Total Company 3.2%
Sales Strength:
* Flat-panel TVs, with additional strong performance in April for video games and gaming systems.
* Food, dry grocery and consumables
* Allergy season helped drive sales of prescription and over-the-counter medications.
* Apparel sales continued to recover, despite cold weather, with strengths in basics and consumables.
Guidance:
“We estimate U.S. comparable store sales, excluding fuel, for the May four-week period to be between flat and two percent,” said Tom Schoewe, executive vice president and chief financial officer,
Like I have said before, ignore the guidance as a “news event”. It has been the same for over a year now month after month. If it ever changes then you have something.
Now, Wal-Mart is know as the bargain place to shop. In past slowdowns this has helped the chains customers. What has hurt is that Wal-Mart was not necessarily a “nice place” to shop. When customers felt more secure financially, they abandoned the stores for alternatives like Target (TGT). Wal-Mart is rectifying that. Those who live near a store that has been remodeled know what I am talking about. The shopping experience is leaps and bound better than what is was prior.
The current slowdown will draw more people to the stores and unlike post recoveries, the changes in them will keep them.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):Long WMT, None
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2 replies on “Wal-Mart Crushes”
Have you read the press release by Target? Same-store sales rose 3.1%, i.e., almost identical to Wal-Mart’s 3.2%. And Wal-Mart’s sales were inflated by higher prices of gasoline; Target doesn’t sell gas.
reuben,
target had promised “mid single digit increases” and is only 1/6 the size of wal-mart
not impressive