Retail & Wholesale

eBay’s take rate fell from 3.79% in 2Q13 to 3.53% in 2Q14. However, the company isn’t worried about it since take rate is offset by healthy revenue growth.

Walmart (WMT) has a mix of debt and equity in its capital structure. The retailer’s (XRT) total debt, both short and long-term, is ~$56.6 billion.

The main reason for Amazon’s gross margin increase was the increasing proportion of third-party sellers who sell their products on Amazon.

Walmart (WMT) is the world’s largest retailer. The company reported 6,189 stores in its International segment—compared to 4,987 in the US in 3Q15.

This article discusses Nordstrom’s inventory management in comparison to that of its industry peers.

Walmart (WMT) has been concentrating on expanding the store count of its larger supercenter format. A supercenter averages ~179,000 square feet in size.

Walmart (WMT) operates retail (XRT) and wholesale stores. The stores are located in the US and 26 other countries around the world.

In fiscal 2013, the company’s Retail segment contributed 97% of Nordstrom’s revenues of $12.5 billion, while the Credit segment accounted for only 3%.

Walmart’s Sam’s Club segment consists of membership-only club warehouse retail operations. Members include both business owners and individual consumers.

Nordstrom is an upscale department store that competes with other high-end stores. However, not all of Nordstrom’s target customers are high-end shoppers.

Walmart is among a select group of global retailers (XRT) (RTH) competing in a variety of store formats. However, Walmart dwarfs all of the other companies.

Nordstrom’s multichannel strategy and best-in-class customer service have made the company famous.

This article provides a brief overview of Nordstrom’s growth story.

Macy’s target consumers include Millennials. The company launched collections aimed at Millennials, including QMack, Maison Jules, and Bar III Carnaby.

Only two of the top 12 US retailers, Macy’s and Nordstrom, managed to witness a rise in market share over the period 2009–2014.

Illumina’s outlook is outstanding, as it has posted excellent 3Q14 results and its earnings continue to be bullish.

Gauging a company’s debt levels is crucial to understanding its financial health. Maintaining high debt levels in uncertain times can be damaging.

To address inventory issues associated with online sales at its distribution centers, Best Buy rolled out a ship-from-store strategy.

Best Buy is building strong relationships with key suppliers to mitigate the impact of heightened competition from suppliers’ retail stores.

At Best Buy, returns, replacements, and damages account for nearly 10% of revenues and have cost the company over $400 million in losses each year.

Best Buy’s growth rate in same-store sales had been negative since fiscal 2011. Efforts to optimize the shopping experience have changed that.

Before being appointed Best Buy CEO, Hubert Joly was credited with turning around two other companies. Best Buy’s stock has appreciated by 111% since.

Best Buy is the leading consumer electronics retailer in the US. Today, Best Buy has more than 1,900 stores and locations.

Everything is not hunky-dory with the e-commerce business. Brick-and-mortar stores complain that being online hurts them on two fronts.

SBUX recognizes its limitation in attracting customers. As a result, SBUX is exploring other growth strategies. It’s looking at other beverage businesses.

Lululemon Athletica announced an increase of 10.4% in its revenues to $419.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 compared to $379.9 million in 3Q14.

These changes should lower future inventory levels and probably result in higher inventory turnover and lower inventory-to-cash days.

Mobileye, the Israel-based vehicle safety technology company, earned gross proceeds from its initial public offering of $1.023 billion.

The Tyson Foods product portfolio includes a variety of products such as value-added chicken, beef, and pork, pepperoni, pizza crusts, and much more.

Tiger Global Management’s holdings included 48 stocks during the third quarter. The size of the fund’s US long portfolio fell slightly from $7.8 billion to $7.5 billion.

The Tyson Foods Pork segment processes live hogs into primal, sub-primal cuts, case-ready pork ready to be sold at retail stores, and fully cooked products.

Wholesales represented 68% of Under Armour revenues in 2013. As a category, however, DTC sales have increased steadily over the years.

Under Armour: Sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution decisions Under Armour, Inc. (UA) manufactures virtually nothing in-house. Production is outsourced to third-party manufacturers overseas. This is common practice in the apparel industry among companies including the The Gap, Inc. (GPS) and Fossil, Inc. (FOSL). These companies are held by the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY), as are United Armour, or […]

George Soros’ Soros Fund Management added a new position in Marathon Petroleum (MPC) that accounts for 0.45% of the fund’s 1Q 2014 portfolio.

Spinco will have one of the largest, most diversified portfolios of strip centers and malls in the United States. It will hold a total of 98 assets.