Retail & Wholesale

Lowe’s (LOW) operates in the home improvement industry where most products, especially building materials, are largely standardized and undifferentiated.

Lowe’s sources its merchandise from over 7,000 suppliers with no supplier accounting for more than 6% of sales.

Lowe’s (LOW) has reported a positive trend in comparable store sales (XRT) for the past ten quarters.

One of the ways retailers can track their store performance is via productivity measures like sales and profitability per retail square foot.

Going omni-channel makes natural sense for both Lowe’s and Home Depot. Both retailers have a massive store network in the US, which can double as strategic fulfillment centers.

The Home Depot’s (HD) focus on the pro customer allows the retailer to compete in the installations market and the product demand the services create.

The Rona (RON.TO) acquisition should give Lowe’s (LOW) a market-leading position in Canada’s home improvement market, estimated at over $45 billion Canadian.

Adverse foreign currency movements due to an appreciating US dollar have reduced Walmart’s top line by $12.3 billion in the last three quarters.

Lowe’s sales performance and growth in fiscal 2016 have been robust so far, with net sales rising by 4.9% and same-store sales rising by 4.6%.

Walmart’s reported operating income margin declined from 5.6% in fiscal 2015 to 5.0% in fiscal 2016.

Wage costs are expected to be a headwind for Walmart. On February 20, Walmart made the second round of wage increases for over 1.2 million staff.

Costco posted record results for fiscal 2015. Revenue grew by 3.2% to $116.2 billion, and net income rose by 15.5% to $2.4 billion.

Costco has been able to steadily increase the renewal rate in the US and Canada from 88% in fiscal 2010 to 91% in fiscal 1Q16.

It’s relatively easy to open a competing business like Target’s, though it’s harder to do it on the scale that the retailer presently enjoys.

Target opened 15 new stores in fiscal 2016. Its same-store sales rose 2.1%, with customer traffic at stores up 1.3%.

Target has identified four signature categories it’s concentrating on to provide higher store and web traffic and sales: Baby, Style, Wellness, and Kids.

In fiscal 2016, Target’s (TGT) performance was upbeat for all merchandise categories with the exception of hardlines.

Target (TGT) has several marketing programs designed to attract higher store (XRT) (RTH) traffic and higher customer loyalty.

Target operates 1,792 stores in the United States under multiple store formats. Its merchandise assortment differs by store, store location, and store size.

Target (TGT) has been making improvements in its supply chain to cope with the additional demand posed by e-commerce and omni-channel retailing (RTH).

Target (TGT) spent $1.4 billion on capital expenditure in fiscal 2016, representing about 2% of sales.

The growth rate in activewear or athleisurewear has outpaced the overall clothing market, with a double-digit CAGR over the past five years.

Supercenters are more likely to double as fulfillment centers as Walmart widens its omni-channel capabilities. They are likely to provide the company with economies of distribution.

Foot Locker (FL) has several key strengths. It’s the largest specialty retailer (XRT) of sporting goods in terms of US store count.

In today’s Get Real, we took a closer look at Uber’s trouble and an unexpected boost for Canopy Growth while markets react to more unrest.

Target stock closed 14.1% higher on November 20 thanks to the company’s remarkable performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2019.

Yesterday, Macy’s (M) stock fell 10.9% after department store peer Kohl’s (KSS) announced weak third-quarter results and shared a gloomy outlook.

TJX Companies (TJX) reported better-than-expected earnings results for the third quarter of fiscal 2020, which ended on November 2.

Margins in the food and staples (XLP) retail segment are slender. It’s important for Walmart (WMT) to keep a tight grip on the cost structure.

During the third quarter, Walmart’s digital sales in the US increased 41% on YoY basis. The reported growth rate showed a sequential acceleration.

Currently, AWS is the market leader in the cloud computing sector. Microsoft Azure holds second place, and Google Cloud comes in third.

Charlotte’s Web Holdings (CWEB) (CWBHF) will report third-quarter earnings before the market opens on November 13. Let’s look at analysts’ expectations.

AT&T stock is prospering, while Netflix’s problems could be rising. We also have the latest earnings including U.S. Steel and Chevron today.

When you think of retail companies leading technological innovation, Walmart (WMT) might not be the first name that comes to mind. But it should be.

Target investors have a lot to celebrate in 2019. Stellar growth, a robust financial performance, and share buybacks have boosted shareholders’ returns.

In today’s Get Real, we saw that several third-quarter results are out and all over the board. We also have recommendations for stocks to watch going forward. 

Macy’s (M) stock fell 4.2% on October 18 after Credit Suisse downgraded its rating. Credit Suisse downgraded the rating to “underperform” from “neutral.”

Retailing has undergone a tremendous change over the last couple of decades. The brick-and-mortar model is giving way to online retailers.

Google marked its 21st anniversary in the hot seat. Federal and state entities have opened antitrust investigations into the company.

On the same day that Facebook’s Oculus confirmed its plans to enter the AR market, Amazon unveiled its own AR-powered smart glasses.