Today’s Tipsheet: April Retail Sales Rebound | Walmart’s 2nd Campus Store | Stater Bros. Margin Hit
“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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