Archive for month: May, 2013

“Wal-Mart’s top merchandisers share insights” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “In a rare panel discussion held Thursday (May 16), four senior management merchandisers for Walmart U.S. spoke candidly about the importance of communication in the busiest company on the planet…Buchanan added that for his team, localization means figuring out what the customers want making sure it’s on the shelf. Gloeckler said Walmart.com is a great testing ground for small to medium size suppliers for home products. She said the supply chain is easier to maneuver with online offerings.  “The top sales item of Walmart.com each week will usually end up with a 2,000-plus store count … the next new modular,” she said.”  Read more:  https://www.thecitywire.com/node/27899#.UZoRZ7XVDX4

“Walgreens’ Mobile Strategy Revealed” at Mcommerce Summit by Jonathan Crowl at Mad Mobile News.  “One of the most stunning facts from the Walgreens report was the multiple streams of Web traffic it receives. Only 50 percent of its current Web hits come from traditional computers. The remaining half are from mobile devices, with 80 percent of those hits from smartphones.  And more than half the company’s prescription refills are now done online, rather than in-person or over the phone.”  Read more:  https://madmobilenews.com/walgreens-mobile-strategy-revealed-at-mcommerce-summit-1578/#.UZoQHrXVDX4

See the Walgreens’ PowerPoint deck: “Increasing Customer Engagement with Mobile”  https://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/lib/17139.pdf

Forbes Earnings Preview: Home Depot.  “Optimism surrounds Home Depot as it gets ready to report its first quarter results on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Analysts are expecting the company to book a profit of 78 cents a share, up from 65 cents a year ago.  The consensus estimate has gone up, from 75 cents, over the past three months.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/narrativescience/2013/05/17/forbes-earnings-preview-home-depot-7/

‘Lack of evidence closed probe into Walmart lobbying case’  at One India News.  “New Delhi, May 19: Lack of evidence has forced a closure in the investigation of whether Walmart had bribed officials to gain wider access in the Indian market, a report said on Saturday.”  Read more:  https://news.oneindia.in/2013/05/19/lack-of-proof-closed-probe-into-walmart-lobbying-case-1219887.html

“Canadians turn to comparison shopping as cost of food rises: survey” at The Financial Post.  “According to the survey, 84% of respondents across the country said their food prices have increased over the past year.  Ontario — where competition between grocery retailers has been intense for several years — was the only province below the national average, with 80% of respondents saying they felt food prices had gone up.”  Read more:  https://business.financialpost.com/2013/05/16/canadians-turn-to-comparison-shopping-as-cost-of-food-rises-survey/

“There’s Data in That Toothbrush (And Lots of Other Products, Too)” by Kate Kaye at Ad Age.  “In effect, data allows marketers to get feedback directly from products, said John T. Cain, VP of SapientNitro and co-founder of Sapient-owned Iota Partners, an agency that “instruments” products and environments to understand consumer behavior.  “If you could talk to the products, you might get a completely different perspective,” he said, doing his best rendition of a 21st century Dr. Dolittle. “As the price of technology comes down, increasingly there will be and can be embedded sensing bits in products.”  Read more:  https://adage.com/article/dataworks/toothbrushes-pill-packages-record-consumer-data/241557/

“The CMO is Dead” at The Economist.  “Nearly 40% of CMOs do not think they have the right people and resources to meet their goals, says an Accenture report entitled “Turbulence for the CMO”. Martin Sorrell, the boss of WPP, the world’s biggest marketing and advertising group, says that since the 2008 financial crisis marketers have been elbowed aside by finance and procurement chiefs. Dominique Turpin, the head of IMD, a Swiss business school, writes that “the CMO is dead”.  Read more:  https://www.economist.com/news/business/21578063-thanks-new-digital-tools-marketing-no-longer-voodoo-less-guff-more-puff

“Lowe’s Earnings Preview: Comps And Operating Margins Lag Home Depot, But For How Long?” at Seeking Alpha.  “Lowe’s reports its fiscal q1 ’14 earnings before the bell on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, a day after Home Depot. Analyst consensus, per ThomsonReuters is looking for $0.51 in earnings per share (EPS) on $13.45 billion in revenues for expected year-over-year growth of 16% and 2%, respectively.  Quarterly comps are expected between 2%-3%.”  Read more:  https://seekingalpha.com/article/1444071-lowe-s-earnings-preview-comps-and-operating-margins-lag-home-depot-but-for-how-long?source=email_rt_article_readmore

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Walmart Q1 Earnings Released this Morning:

How Walmart Sees it:  “Walmart reports a 4.6 percent increase for Q1 EPS of $1.14; U.S. businesses forecast positive comp sales for Q2.”  from Walmart Press Release.  “Walmart U.S. comp sales declined 1.4 percent in the 13-week period from Jan. 26 to Apr. 26, 2013. Comp sales performance was impacted by a delay in income tax refund checks, challenging weather conditions, less grocery inflation than expected and the payroll tax increase. Walmart U.S. gained market share in the measured category of “food, consumables and health & wellness/OTC.”  Read full release:  https://news.walmart.com/news-archive/investors/walmart-reports-a-46-percent-increase-for-q1-eps-of-114-us-businesses-forecast-positive-comp-sales-for-q2-1820850

How CNBC Sees it:  “Wal-Mart Profit Beats; Soft US Sales a Drag on Revenue” at CNBC.  “Wal-Mart posted first-quarter earnings excluding items of $1.14 per share, versus $1.09 per share in the prior year-ago period. Revenue rose to $114.19 billion, from the $113.02 billion figure seen a year ago; including currency effects, revenue was $113.4 billion. Analysts had expected the company to report a profit of $1.15 per share on $116.25 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100740377

How Fox Business Sees it:  “Wal-Mart Posts 1Q Miss, Tepid 2Q Outlook” at Fox Business.  “Developing: Wal-Mart revealed first-quarter earnings of $1.14 a share on sales of $113.4 billion, shy of estimates of $1.15 a share on $116.3 billion in revenues. The world’s biggest retailer said it expects to earn between $1.22 and $1.27 a share in the second quarter, also missing forecasts of $1.29. Shares of the Dow component slid 2.3% in pre-market trading.”  Read more:  https://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/05/16/wal-mart-posts-1q-miss-tepid-2q-outlook/#ixzz2TSDdVjhM

“Kroger hunting for acquisitions, CFO tells investors” by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier.  ““Now, if there was distressed real estate that’s in-market and we can take those stores and fold them into Kroger, and it’s more of a real estate transaction rather than buying a business, those have been exceedingly great for us, and we continue to look for those kinds of opportunities,” Schlotman said. “It always seems like there’s a lot of assets available in our industry. There just hasn’t been anything on a grand scale that has met the metrics.”  Read more:  https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2013/05/kroger-hunting-for-acquisitions-cfo.html

“Home Depot’s Chairman and CEO Frank Blake to Present at Sanford Bernstein 29th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2013” at Market Watch.  “Frank Blake, chairman and CEO, will present at the Sanford Bernstein 29th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2013 in New York, NY. The presentation will begin at 2 p.m. ET on May 29, 2013.”  Read more:  https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-home-depot-to-present-at-sanford-bernstein-29th-annual-strategic-decisions-conference-2013-2013-05-15

“Kroger Defends Double Coupon Elimination” by John Springer at Supermarket News.  “Michael Schlotman said eliminating double coupons has helped the company invest in lower everyday prices that benefitted a larger group of shoppers than the chain’s heavy coupon shoppers.  “Now, they’re a very vocal part of your customer base, and they don’t like it when you stop giving them that reward,” he said. “But the percentage of customers who actually enjoyed the benefit of that, our view was we were better off taking those dollars and investing them in better prices for all of our customers rather than rewarding just a select segment of our customers.”  Read more:  https://supermarketnews.com/retail-amp-financial/kroger-defends-double-coupon-elimination

“Wal-Mart taps St. Louis startup to monitor Bangladesh textile factories” by Amir Kurtovi.  “Wal-Mart said it will give $600,000 toward a project that will let allow all those textile factories to have a voice. The retailer is partnering with Labor Voices, a St. Louis startup with a mobile phone-based portal for supply chain management.  Last year, Labor Voices was among the winners of the Arch Grants competition. The deal with Wal-Mart will allow factory workers to provide feedback and report unsafe working conditions using Labor Voices’ platform.”  Read more:  https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/BizNext/2013/05/walmart-taps-st-louis-startup-in.html

“Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Invites You to Join Its First Quarter 2013 Earnings Conference Call Webcast” at Market Watch.  “In conjunction with the Lowe’s Companies, Inc. first quarter 2013 earnings press release, you are invited to listen to its conference call to be broadcast live over the internet on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.”  Read more:  https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lowes-companies-inc-invites-you-to-join-its-first-quarter-2013-earnings-conference-call-webcast-2013-05-15

“Can Macy’s Win the Department Store Battle?” by Andrew Marder at The Motley Fool.  “For the rest of 2013, be on the lookout for similar comparable-store gains. Macy’s has forecast 3.5% for the full year, but I wouldn’t be surprised by anything up to 4%. Investors should also keep an eye on the new brands that Macy’s is launching this year, as those lines will give customers new reasons to visit the stores.”  Read more:  https://ht.ly/2wUtfm

“Inside Target’s Canadian Invasion” by Chad Fraser at Investing Daily.  “Canadian shoppers have long complained about products being more expensive in Canada than in the U.S., particularly in recent years, when the Canadian dollar has been trading near parity with the greenback. The Conservative federal government has also been paying attention to the issue. In his latest budget, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty eliminated $76 million of tariffs on certain goods entering the country, including baby clothing and ice skates, mainly to address this price gap.  “This is an important test. We’re going to take a few items . . . take the tariffs off them, and we’re going to see what happens to prices in Canada.” said Flaherty.”  Read more:  https://www.investingdaily.com/17412/inside-targets-canadian-invasion/

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“Walmart Q1 Earnings Preview” at Trefis.  “Wal-Mart will release its Q1 fiscal 2014 results on May 16. Although the retailer performed steadily throughout fiscal 2013, we expect it to report relatively slow growth during this quarter. Higher payroll taxes and delays in tax refunds will be some of the key factors governing the retailer’s results in the U.S. Additionally, Wal-Mart’s expansion in international markets such as Brazil, Mexico and China is likely to weigh on its overall revenue growth. Since the company took this step to improve its store profitability, we expect the comparable store sales growth to improve.”  Read more:  https://www.trefis.com/stock/wmt/articles/184866/wal-marts-earnings-will-reflect-soft-u-s-spending-and-slower-expansion-abroad/2013-05-13

“Retail Sales Rebound in April; Increase 0.6 Percent”  “Strengthening employment data, increasing housing prices and a record-breaking stock market provided consumers the confidence they needed to shop in April. According to the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, April retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted from last month and increased 3.9 percent unadjusted year-over-year.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130513005976&div=-1245645151

“What’s Amazon’s Master Plan for Coins?” by John Paczkowski at All Things D.  “Like other virtual currencies — Facebook credits, for example — Coins is notional, which makes it easier to spend. As in gambling, the abstraction of converting real money into virtual money makes it harder to keep track of how much of the former you’re actually doling out. And, of course, once you purchase Coins from Amazon, it becomes the only place to redeem them.”  Read more:  https://allthingsd.com/20130513/whats-amazons-plan-for-coins/

“US: Stater Bros takes margin hit to keep customers” by Dean Best at Just-Food.  “The company, which runs over 160 stores in California, booked a 1.7% increase in sales to US$1.93bn. Stater said like-store sales were up 1.1%.  However, Stater Bros. chairman, president and CEO Jack Brown said the retailer decided to “keep prices low” to maintain traffic, which meant margins came under pressure.”  Read more: https://www.just-food.com/news/stater-bros-takes-margin-hit-to-keep-custom_id123185.aspx 

“Country’s Second ‘Walmart on Campus’ to open at Arizona State University in Tempe” by Alex Ferri at ABC 15.  “The country’s second “Walmart on Campus” will open Wednesday at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus.  The new location functions as a convenience store and offers ASU students and faculty easier access to Wal-Mart’s “everyday low prices,” according to a press release.”  Read more: https://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/tempe/walmart-on-campus-to-open-at-arizona-state-university-in-tempe#ixzz2TGSXNaUX

“Nearly 75% Of All Smartphones Sold In Q1 Were Android, With Samsung At 30%” by Ingrid Lunden at Tech Crunch.  “Android continues to steal the show, led by handset maker Samsung. Google’s mobile platform now accounts for nearly 75% of all handset sales, a jump of almost 20 percentage points on a year ago, and equating to 156 million devices sold in the three-month period.”  Read more:  https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/14/android-nearly-75-of-all-smartphones-shipped-in-q1-samsung-tops-30-mobile-sales-overall-nearly-flat-says-gartner/

” ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ Now Available for Brands” by Shareen Pathak at Ad Age.  “Indie production company Fishbowl Worldwide Media — which was founded by Bruce Gersh and America’s Funniest Home Videos producer Vin Di Bona — is launching a home-video licensing division that will open up the entire library of the homemade video program to advertisers and brands.”  Read more:  https://adage.com/article/media/america-s-funniest-home-videos-brands/241443/

“Amazon online retailer hit by strike in Germany” at Reuters.  “Workers at two German Amazon locations have walked out in support of higher wages and to press their right to collective bargaining. The all-day stoppage is set to disrupt services in Amazon’s second biggest market.”  Read more:  https://ht.ly/2wRrWi

“Major retailers join Bangladesh safety plan” by Steven Greenhouse at NY Times via The Seattle Times.  “Consumer and labor groups hailed the move by Sweden-based H&M as an important step toward improving factory safety in Bangladesh, saying it would increase pressure on other Western retailers and apparel brands to do likewise.”  Read more:  https://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020979990_retailersbangladeshxml.html

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“Home Depot’s CMO Trish Mueller Discusses Mobile Initiatives” by Mark Walsh at Media Post.  “In the social realm, Mueller was bullish on Twitter, calling the microblogging service “a new horizon in terms of information and connectivity for consumers, more so than other social platforms.” Home Depot has recently tested pushing tweets to mobile users based on relevant Twitter conversations, even if they are not marked with a hashtag.  That might involve sending a tweet about paint products if someone tweeted about having to paint their kitchen. Mueller said engagement has been 40% higher with such tweets in mobile than on the desktop.”  Read more: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/200004/home-depot-ramps-up-mobile-spend.html#ixzz2St9QxwGc

“At Walmart and Other Retailers, Price-Matching Has Its Perils” by Dudley and Rupp at Businessweek.  “When Walmart rolled out its “simplified” Ad Match Guarantee in 2011, it promised that store workers would get “extensive” training “to ensure the price-match policy is executed consistently across all stores.” That hasn’t happened, says Richard Hampton, a customer service manager who’s on medical leave from a Walmart Supercenter in Rowlett, Tex. “The policy may well be as intended in the ads, but the reality is quite different and apparently arbitrary.”  Read more:  https://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-09/at-walmart-and-other-retailers-price-matching-has-its-perils

“Costco’s April sales disappoint analysts” at The Seattle Times.  “Costco’s revenue at stores open at least a year climbed 4 percent in April, but fell just shy of analysts’ expectations.  Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 4.5 percent increase.”  Read more:  https://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020949363_apuscostcosales.html

“Whole Foods to consider acquiring Fresh & Easy stores: co-CEO Robb” at Market Watch.  ““We will certainly be taking a look at it,” Robb said in a phone interview after the grocer’s upbeat May 7 earnings report.  He said there are no assurances Whole Foods would offer to acquire one or more of the sites.  There will be competition. Tesco said in mid-April it’s received “lots of interest” from potential buyers, with some keen on buying the entire business.  Fresh & Easy operates 199 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada.”  Read more:  https://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/05/09/whole-foods-to-consider-acquiring-fresh-easy-stores-co-ceo-robb/?link=sfmw

“Lowe’s, Food Lion parent company join Affordable Care Act protest” by Ely Portillo at Charlotte Observer.  “Pittenger and his colleague Congressman Richard Hudson have introduced a bill that would repeal the “auto enroll” provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Under the law, companies with more than 200 workers must automatically enroll full-time employees in their healthcare plans within three months, unless the employees opt out.”  Read more:  https://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/09/4032691/lowes-food-lion-parent-company.html#storylink=cpy

“Kroger Tops Loyalty Program Survey” by Michael Garry at Supermarket News.  “The Kroger program, which is facilitated by Kroger’s partnership with DunnhumbyUSA, received an 83% overall satisfaction rating in the study, whose finding were compiled in the Maritz Loyalty Report.”  Read more:  https://supermarketnews.com/marketing/kroger-tops-loyalty-program-survey#ixzz2StBQvbeq

“P&G Survey Finds More Than 80% of U.S. Moms Prefer Daily Help over Grand Gestures for Mother’s Day”  “Eighty-seven percent of those surveyed would prefer to have a little more time to themselves, a family day out, or a little more unprompted help around the house. Eighty-three percent said this would make them feel more appreciated and loved, even if it is just a simple ‘Thank you’ for all the things she does for the family.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130509006276&div=-1245645151

“Amazon reportedly developing 3D smartphones” by Rex Crum at WSJ.  “Amazon.com is reportedly expanding its reach into technology hardware by developing smartphones with 3D screens. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the maker of the Kindle Fire tablet is working on two different smartphones.”  Read more:  https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-reportedly-developing-3d-smartphones-wsj-2013-05-09?mod=latestnews&link=sfmw

“Roundy’s Same Store Sales +1.3% in Q1 ’13”  “Net sales for the first quarter of 2013 were $983.5 million, an increase of $45.3 million, or 4.8 %, from $938.2 million for the first quarter of 2012.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130509006289&div=-1245645151

Thanks for reading…have a great weekend.

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