Archive for month: August, 2018

 

Target CEO Cornell Appears on CNBC: “”We’re seeing a great consumer response … unprecedented traffic. As we go back and look, we’ve never seen traffic growth like this,” Cornell said Wednesday morning on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Video/Read more

 

Costco in Middleton, WI trashes food after flooding hits area by Barry Adams at Wisconsin State Journal. “There are boxes of pork shoulder, push carts stacked with containers of macaroni and cheese, seasoned pork ribs and key lime pie. At least one cart was overflowing with packages of ground hamburger, while another held whole slabs of beef ribeye that can sell for over $150 a piece. And all of it was outside, baking in the August sun next to the loading dock of the Middleton Costco.” Pics/Read more

 

Lowe’s CEO Ellison Comes Out Firing at CNBC. “Our in-store technology is dated, overall execution is impaired by complexity, we have a large number of out-of-stocks in our stores that must be addressed, and we need to increase the rigor with which we evaluate capital investments.” Read more

 

…See earnings call summaries for Lowe’s and Target below

 

Ace Hardware Q2 US comp sales +3.3% Press release

 

Williams-Sonoma Inc. Q2 comp brand revenue +4.6%:  Pottery Barn +2.0% / West Elm +9.5% / Williams Sonoma +1.6% / Pottery Barn Kids and Teen +5.7% Press release

 

GRAB THE SPAM – Hawaii’s Big Island feels the effects of approaching Category 4 Hurricane Lane at CNBC. “Melanie Davis, who lives in a suburb outside Honolulu, said she was gathering canned food and baby formula. “We’re getting some bags of rice and of course, some Spam,” she said of the canned lunch meat that’s popular in Hawaii.” Read more

 

Kroger expands new home-delivery service Ship to Atlanta by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “The move covers its entire Atlanta division, including Georgia, Eastern Alabama and South Carolina.” Read more

 

COSTCO #100 in CANADA – Costco-mania descends on Edmonton International Airport by Ameya Charnalia at Star Edmonton. “Some shoppers drove hours to check out the new store, lining up early morning outside the warehouse-style retailer in anticipation of the 8 a.m. opening.” Pics/Read more

 

**A message from Kidibul – The festive, bubbly beverage made for kids’ parties! 100% natural & sparkling juice in a champagne type bottle with natural cork & wire to pop. Website | PowerPoint | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Kohl’s eliminates about 60 technology positions by Sari Lesk at Milwaukee Business Journal. “…migrating most of its technology platforms to the cloud to create automation efficiencies.” Read more

 

Food & Wine: The 10 Best Supermarkets in the U.S. (#8 WinCo, Wegmans #1) Ranked list

 

Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone donates $100 million toward an initiative that gives free tuition to medical students at New York University at Atlanta Business Chronicle. Read more

 

7-Eleven to launch automated, self-service convenience stores at Hankyoreh. “A total of four vending machine-style convenience stores (in trial): two at the headquarters of 7-Eleven in downtown Seoul, one at Lotte E&M in Incheon, and one at the headquarters of Lotte Rent-a-Car in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. The company is taking steps to commercialize the vending machine-style convenience stores and will be accepting franchise applications as early as next month.” Pic/Read more

 

Stein Mart Q2 comp sales +0.7% Press release

 

Kroger to kill plastic bags by 2025, will transition to reusable bags by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer via USA Today. “Kroger said it is also looking to cut back or phase out plastic bags for produce and meat, but it’s focusing on eliminating checkout bags for now…”The plastic shopping bag’s days are numbered,” Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen wrote in an editorial.” Read more

 

Stage Stores Q2 comp sales -0.2% for the total company / -2.2% for department stores / +11.4% for Gordmans off-price stores Press release

 

Amazon expands Alexa Fund Fellowship to 18 universities to support voice technology research by Nat Levy at GeekWire. List of schools/Read more

 

Nordstrom Board Authorizes $1.5 Billion Share Repurchase Program Press release

 

Sears says it will close 46 more stores in November – here’s where they are at CNBC. List

 

Amazon starts selling fashion, sportswear in Brazil at Reuters. “As with consumer electronics and most other goods sold on Amazon’s Brazilian marketplace except for books, the fashion brands and other articles will be delivered by the third parties vendors offering them, rather than Amazon itself.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

New Memphis REI store partners with brewery on IPA

Bill Ackman’s bet on Lowe’s is paying off

Jon Hamm, Ed Harris Joining Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Length of CVS Receipts Target of Jokes, and Now Activists

Saks’ ‘It List’ for Harper’s Bazaar Getting Experiential Treatment

PetSmart employee stabbed with flat end of a tire iron

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

 

Heard on the Call

Lowe’s Q2 Earnings Call

Marvin Ellison

Comparable sales growth of 5.2% overall. U.S. home improvement comp was 5.3%.

18% comp growth in Lowes.com.

We have work to do.

• We are significantly behind in our supply chain strategy
• Our in-store technology is dated
• Overall execution is impaired by complexity
• We have a large number of out-of-stocks in our stores that must be addressed
• We need to increase the rigor with which we evaluate capital investments

Simply stated, at Lowe’s we desire to be a great omni channel retailer.

• We need to better connect and align our systems and processes to create a truly integrated ecosystem.

The company has unfortunately become distracted over the past few years and specifically, we’ve tested initiatives that did not add value and were not core to our retail business.

I’m pleased to welcome:

• Bill Boltz as our EVP of Merchandising
• Joe McFarland as our EVP of Stores,
• Don Frieson as our EVP of Supply Chain (brings over 18 years w/Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club)
• David Denton to the team as our new CFO (CVS)

We’re also working aggressively to fill our open Chief Information Officer position and expect to have a leader named in short order.

To ensure an orderly wind down process (of Orchard Supply), we plan to conduct store closing sales and have partnered with Hilco Merchant Services to help manage the process.

• 86% of the Orchard stores that are closing are within a ten-mile radius of a Lowe’s store

We are eliminating approximately $500 million in planned capital projects for 2018…we will reallocate that $500 million to our share repurchase program.

I have charged the new leadership team to develop an aggressive plan to rationalize our store inventory to remove clutter and reduce lower performing inventory.

• This will enable us to invest in improved job lot quantities for pro and increase our depth of inventory in our top 2,000 high velocity SKUs.

We will evaluate the productivity of our real estate portfolio and our non-retail business investments.

No longer will we throw payroll at each problem.

Today we estimate roughly 30% of our overall sales penetration is from the pro segment.

We need the (Pro) brands.

Our end caps have been more leaning toward innovation than driving sales productivity.

• We’re going to shift away from innovation to innovation in driving revenue

We have very few, if any engineered standards in our stores…like how you unload a truck and how you float product from receiving to the sales floor to drive in-stock.

• …our stores are kind of fending for themselves, trying to make it happen. That is how you destroy productivity.

Dotcom: We tried to create better inventory visibility, and by doing that we drove a significant number of order cancellations that had a dramatic impact on the overall sales number of our dot-com business.

Roughly 60% of our ecommerce transactions were picked up in a store.

I would say Canada and Rona first has been a very positive benefit for the company.

 

Mike McDermott

We grew transactions 6/10ths of a percent while increasing average ticket 4.5%.

Double digit comps in lawn and garden…high single digit comps in seasonal and outdoor living…double digit comps in cooling.

Double digit comps in outdoor power equipment…double digit comps in pressure washers…high single digit comps in appliances.

We drove market share gains across all major categories where we introduced Craftsman to our line-up.

Today we’re proud to announce the introduction of Mapei to all stores, the leading brand in tile setting materials, and we’re also excited to announce the addition of Zoeller, the number one brand in pumps and a retail exclusive.

We’ll also streamline and simplify our reset process to improve our execution and reduce disruption for our stores.

• Reset challenges adversely impacted our performance in fashion fixtures, specifically light bulbs, and in paint throughout the quarter.

We’re also rolling out a new paint desk experience.

 

Marshall Croom

Comps were 8.2% in May, 4.2% in June, and 3% in July.

Full transcript via Seeking Alpha

 

———————————–

Target Q2 Earnings Call

Brian Cornell

Comparable sales grew 6.5% in the quarter…traffic growth of more than 6%…store comparable sales increased nearly 5%, and digital sales grew more than 40%

Home category was amazingly strong, up nearly 10%

Hardlines also saw high-single digit comp growth driven by strength in both toys and electronics.

Perhaps the strongest (consumer environment) I’ve seen in my career. 

By the end of 2020, we’ll have a newly refreshed base of stores, reflecting our plan to complete more than 1,100 remodels in a 4-year period through 2020.

The loyalty program is off to a very solid start in the Dallas market…John Mulligan (is) actually going to be heading down there this week to assess the program.

 

John Mulligan

We continue to see traffic driven incremental sales lift of 2% to 4% in our remodel stores.

At the end of the quarter, we were operating 26 mature small format stores, and on average this group saw high single-digit comp growth during the quarter.

Over the last year, Shipt’s membership base (has) more than tripled while orders, revenue and GMB are two to three times higher.

Our most recent Net Promoter Score for Drive-Up is 88, a crazy high number, the highest of any service we provide.

• We expect to have this service rolled out to nearly 1,000 stores by the holiday season.

The July sale presented a really robust test as orders in sales far exceeded our expectations. 

 

Mark Tritton

Comp growth in all five of our core categories accelerated in the second quarter, and all of them grew faster than our first quarter comp of 3%. 

Food and Beverage categories…saw share gains in every week of the quarter. 

• Growth continues to be led by adult beverage

We saw unusually strong second quarter growth across each of our style categories, Apparel, Beauty and Home. 

In Apparel, we saw high-teens growth in Baby.

In Essentials…growth was strongest in Baby and in Pets, both of which saw double-digit comp growth.

More than half of our digital sales on (July one-day sale) were in a highly differentiated and high-margin Home category. 

Full transcript via Seeking Alpha

 

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Eye on Retail Tipsheet is must-read material for retail execs every weekday morning. Tipsheet stories are carefully curated bright and early every morning to ensure fresh and unique content.

 

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Kohl’s quarterly comp sales +3.1% (vs. 2.7% expected) at CNBC. Read more

 

Apple Pay Now Accepted at All Costco Warehouses in United States at MacRumors. “Apple Pay will also be launching at pharmacy chain CVS and convenience store chain 7-Eleven in the U.S. later this year.” Read more

 

J.Jill Q2 comp sales +2.2% Press release

 

Fortune’s 2018 Change the World List (Alibaba #5, Kroger #6) Top 10 list

 

EUROPE – More than a third of farmed fruit and vegetables never makes it on to shop shelves because it is misshapen or the wrong size at ITV. Read more

 

Amazon hires star cardiologist Maulik Majmudarto help its push into health at CNBC. Read more

 

Farfetch, the UK-based marketplace for high-end fashion, confirms its plans to go public at TechCrunch. Read more

 

**A message from Sondare Megaphone sound enhancing case – Why tolerate average smart phone sound when you can have Loud + Clear Megaphone sound? No wires or batteries, boosts sound 2X and filters the sound for a smoother “stereo” listening experience. Perfect for: music, hiking, boating, golfing, and for the hearing impaired. Website/Video| Sample

 

Amazon’s arrival in Ottawa delivers dust-up with new neighbors by Laurie Fagen at CBC News. “Chantal Lee and her husband Kevin Martin moved to their rural east Ottawa home near Vars six months ago, hoping for some peace and quiet. But in mid-July, the couple say hundreds of dump trucks a day began thundering down their gravel road.” Read more

 

How Rite Aid And GoPuff Can Disrupt The Convenience Store Industry by Brittain Ladd at Forbes. Read more

 

First real Kwik-E-Mart from “The Simpsons” opens in Myrtle Beach by Chris Spiker at WBTW 13 News. “It’s the first full-service Kwik-E-Mart in the world and it has plenty of Simpsons memorabilia for sale. It also has famous food items from the show like Squishees and Lard Lad Donuts, along with Duff-branded, non-alcoholic energy drinks.” Video/Read more

 

Amazon ends 20% video game pre-order discounts for Prime members, cuts back Twitch Prime benefits by Tim Ellis at GeekWire. “The move comes just three months after Best Buy killed its own 20 percent discount membership program: Gamers Club Unlocked, which Amazon’s Prime discount originally competed directly with.” Read more

 

Cages removed from Barnum Animals crackers packaging amid pressure from PETA at Denver Post. Read more

 

Cramer: Nordstrom is the latest ‘retail resurrection’ at CNBC. “My take? I think this quarter validates Nordstrom’s strategy,” CNBC’s Jim Cramer said. “The company spent a fortune to upgrade everything, especially its digital business, and that was the right call.” Read more

 

Walmart becomes latest retailer to ban chemicals found in paint strippers at The Hill. “Walmart will no longer sell products carrying paint strippers that contain methylene chloride and NMP starting in February.” Read more

 

Meet the personal stylists who are training bots to be personal stylists by Abha Bhattarai at Washington Post via NY Daily News. “This whole process is like a partnership between me and the data,” said Gee, 29, who lives in San Francisco and now works full time for Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix, with its 3,700 stylists, had only 100 five years ago.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Minneapolis company lets pet parents take ‘fur-ternity leave’

Fashion retailers turn to Cambodia and Vietnam as tariffs hit China

What If the Museum of Ice Cream Is the Future of Retail?

1st Mustang Shelby GT 500 found but mystery still surrounds its history

The $27,000 Zombie Film That Refuses to Die at the Japanese Box Office

Cosmetics startup Glossier opens Chicago pop-up shop

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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Eye on Retail Tipsheet is must-read material for retail execs every weekday morning. Tipsheet stories are carefully curated bright and early every morning to ensure fresh and unique content.

 

Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

Contact us: Send story tips, press releases and advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: www.eyeonretail.net

 

Nordstrom Q2 Comp Sales +4.0% / Digital Sales +23% Press release

 

…CNBC: Nordstrom shares soar 10% on earnings beat “(Comp sales) were up 4 percent overall, far surpassing the increase of 0.8 percent that analysts had forecast. That consisted of same-store sales growth of 4.1 percent at Nordstrom’s full-price locations, and an increase of 4 percent at Nordstrom Rack.” Read more

 

…Wall Street Journal: Nordstrom Deserves Better by Elizabeth Winkler. Subscription

 

Dillard’s Q2 Comp Sales +1.0% Press release

 

GOOGLE FLAGSHIP STORE IN CHICAGO – Google is planning a two-level store in Chicago’s Fulton Market district, its first known location for a retail flagship. The technology giant is close to finalizing a lease for almost 14,000 square feet on the first and second floors of several connected, two-story brick buildings between 845 and 853 W. Randolph St., according to sources.” Tiered subs.

 

Restoration Hardware founder’s latest venture is folding at NY Post. “He had visions of this being the next J.Crew,” a source close to Gordon said. “Gordon ran out of time.” Guideboat sold upscale outdoors wear targeted at men and women ages 35 to 55.” Read more

 

Kroger and Nuro announce Scottsdale, Arizona as the city for their self-driving grocery delivery pilot Press release

 

UPGRADE – In October, Walmart Labs’ current San Diego team of 70 will take over a custom-built venue at Carlsbad’s premier business address: the Make campus at 5600 Avenida Encinas by Jennifer Van Grover at San Diego Tribune. “Amazon’s out here knocking on our door,” Jones said, explaining Walmart Lab’s rationale for the move.” Read more

 

DOWNGRADE – Walmart gets downgrade due to Flipkart’s weight on profits for ‘the next couple of years‘: Raymond James at CNBC. Read more

 

Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris opens new luxury glamping campground by Kaitlyn Schwers at Kansas City Star. “The “glamping” tents, according to the Big Cedar Lodge website, come with “a King canopy bed, crowned by a chandelier,” a table and chairs, a small refrigerator and coffee maker and a private bathroom with a shower.” Pics/Read more

 

AUSTIN – Amazon rolls out its first fleet of branded delivery vans in the country by Calily Bien at KXAN NBC. Pics/Video/Read more

 

**A message from Real Coconut Water – Our Brazilian Coconut Water is Sweeter than the Rest! Organic & Natural, PL & Branded. Sell sheet | Website | Request samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

The fight to shave milliseconds off your credit card purchases by Emily Bary at MarketWatch via NY Post. “Square announced that it had hit a new milestone, as it can now process chip cards in two seconds…Square also plans to eliminate the signature requirement for merchants, which will shave a few more seconds off of the overall process.” Read more

 

Welcome to Waltonville, where the world’s richest family reigns by Tom Metcalf at Bloomberg via Toronto Star. “Recent growth is due to the Walton grandchildren,” said local realtor Larry Horton, who says real estate prices have tripled in the past few years…“A few years ago you could have fired a scattershot downtown and not hit anyone,” said Don Overstreet, whose family jewelry store has been on Bentonville’s town square since 1948. “Now look at it.” Read more

 

Raley’s customers can now refill their prescriptions using a mobile app by Hannah Holzer at Sacramento Bee. Read more

 

Backlog for Big Rigs Stretches to 2019 by Erica E. Phillips at Wall Street Journal. “An unprecedented run of orders for big rigs has pushed the backlog at truck factories to nine months, according to industry analysts, the largest since early 2006.” Subscription

 

Dolls Kill Opens Flagship Store On Fairfax In Los Angeles Press release

 

Amazon exec Jeff Wilke explains the meaning of company’s newest leadership principle and how to avoid ‘Day 2’ by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. Read more

 

Staples is hot on the path of a major office supplier by John Chesto at Boston Globe. “Staples director Stefan Kaluzny increased the pressure this week on Essendant CEO Richard Phillips to do a deal. Phillips already has a competing offer on the table, to merge with Genuine Parts Co.’s S.P. Richards business.” Tiered subs.

 

Inokyo just launched its prototype cashierless autonomous retail store by Josh Constine at TechCrunch. “Inokyo (rhymes with Tokyo) is now accepting signups for beta customers who want early access to its Mountain View store.” Pics/Video/Read more

 

“Sparrow Mart” art pop-up features 31,000 felt groceries for purchase in faux supermarket at NY Daily News. 14 pics

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

How gender reveals became such a thing

The company behind BarkBox is planning to open dog park in Nashville

Energy supplier launches the world’s first certified vegan electricity

The Top 25 American Film Schools

These Baby Foods Contain Too Many Heavy Metals, According to Product Testers

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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Eye on Retail Tipsheet is must-read material for retail execs every weekday morning. Tipsheet stories are carefully curated bright and early every morning to ensure fresh and unique content.

 

Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

Contact us: Send story tips, press releases and advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: www.eyeonretail.net

 

Macy’s Q2 Comp Sales: Owned + Licensed +0.5% (vs. Expected -0.9%) “Adjusting for (the calendar shift), the company estimates that comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis were up 2.9 percent for the second quarter.” Press release

 

…Reuters: Macy’s posts surprise same-store sales growth “Excluding one-time items, the company earned 70 cents per share, much higher than analysts’ expectations of 51 cents.” Read more

 

US retail sales increase strongly in July via CNBC. “The Commerce Department said on Wednesday retail sales increased 0.5 percent last month…Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales nudging up 0.1 percent in July.” Read more

 

Walmart teams up with Ellen DeGeneres for new denim-focused clothing line at CNBC. “…will be called EV1 and will hit stores and Walmart.com next month, the company announced Wednesday. It will have nearly 60 items, including denim, graphic tees, sneakers and purses for women. According to Walmart, the “core” of the line is denim.” Read more

 

Kroger inks deal with Alibaba to sell PL groceries online in China Press release

 

Costco has a game for employees to win cash when a new store opens at Business Insider. “Participants are asked to put $1 in an envelope and predict how much money the new store will make on its first day of opening. The person who predicts closest to the correct amount wins all of the cash.” Read more

 

UK – Amazon’s one-day delivery ad banned as ‘misleading’ at BBC News. Read more

 

Home shopping networks refine their pitch by Melissa Fares at Reuters. “Qurate executives told Reuters they now are culling HSN’s core merchandise offerings to eliminate many higher-priced electronics and some home goods, such as vacuum cleaners and blenders. Instead, they are adding more niche cosmetic and apparel brands to help draw some distinction with QVC.” Read more

 

Meet the 23-year-old designer behind Target’s new clothing brand by Amanda Hancock at Quad-City Times. Read more

 

**A message from BK Resources – The Best Kept secret for commercial and food service kitchen equipment. Leading supplier of stainless steel: commercial faucets, sinks, work tables, bar equipment, ice bins and more. Catalog | Website | Contact

 

DOUG MCMILLON TO SPEAK AT SUMMIT – Walton group organizing invitation-only summit in Bentonville Oct. 18-21 by Paul Gatling at Talk Business. “The goal of the Heartland Summit, according to the event’s website, is “to showcase the exciting innovation happening between the coasts, spark frank conversations about the challenges the region is facing, and build networks to sustain economic growth and power problem solving across the country.” Read more

 

Tiffany plans to begin a complete renovation of its NYC flagship store in spring 2019 Press release

 

Google doubles down on massive Seattle campus with another new building in Amazon’s backyard by Nat Levy at GeekWire. “Work will begin on this block, which will feature a 12-story office building for Google with 23,000 square feet of retail space, in the fourth quarter of 2019, and it will be ready for Google in 2021.” Pic/Read more

 

Perry Ellis ends buyout talks with Randa by Carleton English at NY Post. Read more

 

Amazon Prime Air drone gets delivered to Smithsonian for museum display in 2021 by Alan Boyle at GeekWire. Read more/Pic

 

North Face plans move to Denver from Bay Area by 2020, transferring 650 jobs at Fox Business. Read more

 

Meijer Welcomes 45,000 College Freshmen to “Meijer Mania” – Complete with a DJ Press release

 

CDC monitoring measles outbreak in 21 states at ABC 11. “107 people from 21 states…have reported contracting the measles…The outbreak was linked to an amusement park in California where it is thought that a traveler from overseas brought it to the U.S.” Read more

 

Sears CEO Lampert offers $400 million for Kenmore at CNN Money. Read more

 

EPIC CART RETURN TROPHY – Walmart awards woman for returning cart in torrential rain storm at WPVI 6 ABC. “Walmart surprised her with a year’s supply of grocery pickup….”I didn’t do anything special, except I got wet,” Johnson said. She also received a trophy reading: “Sue Johnson. A Walmart legend for her most epic cart return.” Read more/Pic

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Hackers could use fax machines to take over entire networks

Bentonville’s Thaden Field to become ‘destination airport’

Q&A w/Casper CEO: It’s been rumored that Target is going to acquire Casper. Any truth?

The first graphene jacket is here, and it’s magical

Mom finds ‘disturbing’ card in diaper box she bought at Target

More than a dozen sick at Lifetime Fitness pool – too much chlorine

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

 

Heard on the Call:

Home Depot Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

 

Craig Menear

The highest quarterly sales and net earnings results in our company history.

The majority of seasonal sales we missed in the first quarter were recovered in the second quarter.

Navigating a sudden spike in demand like the one we witnessed in May isn’t easy.

• In the northern division the variability in sales over a two-week period of time was as high as 2,770 basis points as the weather turned more favorable.

Pro sales once again outpacing DIY sales in the quarter.

Online sales grew approximately 26%.

 

Ted Decker

Lumber, indoor garden, outdoor garden, and electrical had double-digit comps in the quarter.

Tools and appliances were above the company average.

All of the departments but lighting posted mid to high single digit comps.

Lawnmowers, watering, patios, ceiling fans, and interior and exterior paint all had strong comps.

Comp average ticket increased 4.9% and comp transactions increased 2.9%.

We are redefining big ticket sales as transactions over $1,000 (from $900) as they now represent approximately 20% of U.S. sales.

Transactions over $1,000 were up 10.6%

Sales to our pro customers grew double digits

Our interior paint business had its best half performance in more than five years.

47% of all of our online orders are picked up in the store.

We are thrilled to announce our new appliance partnership with Bosch.

 

Carol Tome

Our total company comps were positive 8% for the quarter. Positive comps of 11% in May, 7.5% in June, and 5.7% in July.

Comps in the U.S. were positive 8.1% for the quarter with positive comps of 10.6% in May, 7.6% in June, and 6.3% in July.

Total sales per square foot for the second quarter were $504, up 8.6% from last year.

Inventory turns were 5.4 times, up one tenth from last year.

It’s the 96% of the housing units that are in place that are driving the home improvement spend and not so much the marginal turnover that the media tends to pay attention to.

Unpack that 8% comp: About two points of growth came from our seasonal business, about one point of growth came from the index-based commodity categories…another 1% came from hurricane-related sales…four came from everything else.

I modeled what could happen (if housing turnover were to decline 15%)…No one is projecting that…the impact on comps…was less than 1%.

 

Marc Brown

Rolling out electronic shelf labels. We’ve not done this in the past and we’re starting with our appliance department, and we’ll do over half the stores this year.

 

Bill Lennie

On the B2B site being developed for Pros: We’ll probably get a couple of customers over on kind of a small test as we go through Q3. We’ll see more activity around this space in Q4.

• Tome: We saw a demo of it yesterday, though, and the demo looked good.

Pro penetration closer to 45% today (vs. 40% recently).

 

Full transcript via Seeking Alpha

 

**

Eye on Retail Tipsheet is must-read material for retail execs every weekday morning. Tipsheet stories are carefully curated bright and early every morning to ensure fresh and unique content.

 

Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

Contact us: Send story tips, press releases and advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: www.eyeonretail.net