Today’s Tipsheet: Lowe’s Soggy Sales | H.Depot Earnings Call Highlights | Why Target Ditched Amazon

 

“Lowe’s Earnings Miss as Cool Weather Damps Sales” at CNBC.  ” “Cooler-than-normal temperatures and greater precipitation resulted in a delayed spring selling season, which impacted our results in exterior categories,” Robert A. Niblock, Lowe’s chairman, president, and CEO, said in a statement. “While overall performance in the month of March was particularly soft, April improved significantly and we have maintained that positive momentum through the first few weeks of May.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100750905

 

“Lowe’s Reports First Quarter Sales and Earnings Results (Lowe’s Press Release)”  “Sales for the quarter decreased 0.5 percent to $13.1 billion from $13.2 billion in the first quarter of 2012, while comparable sales for the quarter decreased 0.7 percent.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130522005140/en/Lowe%E2%80%99s-Reports-Quarter-Sales-Earnings-Results?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

“Home Depot Q1 Earnings Call Transcript” at Seeking Alpha.  Heard on the call:

“Transactions for tickets over $900 also representing approximately 20% of our US sales were up 9.7% for the first quarter. Average ticket increased 5% in the first quarter.”

“For the first time in the last several years the growth rate in our pro customer segment outpace the growth rate in the consumer segment.”

“Also our smaller spend pro customers contributed more significantly to the overall pro growth than in the last few years. Our expectation was that we would see improved performance in the smaller spend pros as the housing market recovers, so this is another positive sign.”

Craig Menear brand mentions:  SoftSpring carpet, Moen, Delta Foundations, Glacier Bay, Behr’s Marquee Paint, Graco, Pennington

“Comps for U.S. stores were positive 4.8% for the quarter with positive comps of 4.8% in February, negative 3% in March and positive 10.8% in April.”

“Every department with the exception of our garden department reported a positive comp in the quarter.”

“This year we estimate we lost about $188 million of garden sales. But it’s not lost forever, some of it’s lost. But we are going to get the majority of that back in the second quarter and with that comes people.”

“One out of five customers who pick up and order at the store also buys an additional item over there.”

Read the full transcript:  https://seekingalpha.com/article/1450221-the-home-depot-s-ceo-discusses-q1-2013-results-earnings-call-transcript?source=email_rt_article_title

 

“Kids Turn to Twitter, Shun Facebook ‘Drama’ ” by Holly Ellyatt at CNBC.  “”Teens are now migrating to Twitter in growing numbers, often as a supplement to their Facebook use,” Pew reported.  “Twitter draws a far smaller crowd than Facebook for teens, but its use is rising. One in four online teens uses Twitter in some way. While overall use of social networking sites among teens has hovered around 80 percent,Twitter grew in popularity,” the Pew report said.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100756598

 

“Target Corporation to Webcast 1st Quarter Earnings Conference Call”    “WHAT:  Target Corporation’s webcast of its 1st quarter earnings conference call.  WHEN:  Wednesday, May 22, 2013 9:30 a.m. central time.  HOW:  Investors and the media are invited to listen to the call through the company’s website at www.target.com/investors (click on link under “Upcoming Events”)”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130521005146&div=-1245645151

 

“Staples, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2013 Performance”  “Sales for the first quarter of 2013 were $2.8 billion, a decrease of four percent compared to the first quarter of 2012. First quarter 2013 sales growth was negatively impacted by approximately one percent due to 48 store closures during the 12 months preceding the first quarter of 2013”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130522005640/en/Staples-Announces-Quarter-2013-Performance?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

“Best Buy CEO Sees Turnaround Within His Control” by Courtney Reagan at CNBC.  “”These vendors, Samsung and others, spend billions of dollars developing new products. Just seeing pictures or mock-ups, but without demonstration and explanation, you are missing the point. Vendors are excited about using our platforms in store and online, it’s an enhanced experience [compared] to competitors,” he said.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100755262

 

“Why Target Ditched Amazon” by Rachael King at WSJ.  “Just weeks after the launch, the retailer experienced the first website outage the day it started selling a limited collection of the Italian design label Missoni for Target. In the following six weeks, the site crashed again with Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel addressing the issue on an investor conference call, reported Minnesota Public Radio. “Those challenges are painful, in the moment,” said Ms. Jacob.”  Read more:  https://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-236427/

 

“Amazon’s plan for giant spheres gets mixed reaction” by Sanjay Bhatt at Seattle Times.  “Glass orbs.  Planet Earth.  Fly eyes.  Whatever you make of them, the three glass-and-steel spheres Amazon.com has proposed as the “heart” of its high-rise complex in Seattle’s Denny Triangle drew instant reaction Tuesday from online commenters and at a public hearing before a city design review board.”  Read and see more:  https://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2021026826_amazoncampusxml.html

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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