Market Vectors® Retail ETF

Key trends could benefit Cartier and its peers. But weak consumer demand and intense competition—especially from online retailers—remain headwinds.

The US Dollar Index fell to 93.8 before closing on October 14. It fell due to the release of weak domestic data in the form of the PPI and retail sales.

On August 13, 2015, US retail sales came in at expected levels for July. The increase in the retail sector was broad-based.

The Dover Refrigeration & Food Equipment unit is a major provider of refrigerated display cases and kitchen equipment such as cookers, mixers, braising pans, and packaging and processing solutions for the meat and poultry business.

Of the 32 analysts covering Costco (COST), 69.0% have rated the stock as a “buy” as of April 5. The stock has been rated as a “hold” by 31% of these analysts.

Costco’s suppliers include companies like PepsiCo (PEP), Procter & Gamble (PG), and the Kraft Heinz Company (KHC). No single supplier accounts for over 5% of revenue.

The DIY customer accounts for about 60% of Home Depot’s sales.

Amazon could launch a new smartphone during the June 18 event, which will pit it against the smartphone market leaders Samsung (SSNLF) and Apple (AAPL).

The April retail sales report indicated that the gains were broad-based with nine of the 13 major categories moving higher during the month.

In order to meet both these long-term objectives, the Fed needs to balance the effect of a monetary move on both inflation and changes in unemployment.

The Census Bureau Index is a broad barometer of the retail sales, whereas the Redbook and ICSC Indexes only include chain store sales.

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.

Costco has seen traffic growth averaging 4.3% per year in the period between fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2015. In fiscal 1Q16, club traffic rose by 3.5% YoY.

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).

In 2015, Skechers became the second-largest footwear company in the United States, trailing global market leader Nike (NKE).

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

The Redbook Sales Index compiles and analyzes comparable store sales at more than 9,000 stores.

The United States Census Bureau releases a monthly report on retail sales in the United States. Let’s take a look at the latest data.

As we discussed in Part 1 of this series, Dollar General (DG) reported its fourth-quarter 2017 results on March 15.

The advance estimates for US retail (XRT) and food services in January 2018 were $492 billion—a decrease of 0.3% from December.

Retail sales (RTH) have posted impressive growth in 2017. However, the growth is still below the long-term average.

The United States Census Bureau’s latest retail (XRT) sales report was released on December 14, 2017. It reported that retail sales for November have risen 0.8%.

After reaching a lifetime high in October 2017, the ISM (Institute of Supply Management) non-manufacturing index fell 2.7 percentage points to 57.4%.

Core sales—excluding energy (XLE), building materials, and auto sales—also rose 0.4% in October, which is a positive sign for the economy.

Walgreens Boots Alliance’s strong 4Q17 results were received well by the market. The company’s stock price rose 3% and closed at $69.36 on October 25.

During the first nine months of 2017 (or 9M17), Walgreens Boots Alliance’s total sales increased 0.9% YoY to $89.5 billion.

Wall Street analysts are projecting 11.2% earnings growth for Walgreens over the next year.

Revenue and earnings Realty Income (O), a retail REIT engaged in US real estate investment, recorded 8% revenue growth in 2016, compared with 10% growth in 2015. The growth was driven by rentals and tenant reimbursements. Its operating costs and other expenses (including interest expenses) rose 6% in 2016 and 8% in 2015. Its gains on asset […]

The story behind Kohl’s rising yield Department store retailer Kohl’s (KSS) saw its sales fall 3% in 2016, driven by lower comparable sales, after recording growth in 2015. Like Macy’s, it was impacted by online competition, store closures, discounts, and advertisements. Its operating income fell 8% in 2015 and 24% in 2016, while its operating […]

On June 16, 2017, Amazon, the world’s largest diversified online retailer, announced its intention to acquire Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion in an all-cash transaction.

As competition increased, premium grocer Whole Foods Market (WFM) failed to compete with the low-priced products on the shelves of Kroger (KR) and Walmart (WMT).

Amazon (AMZN) announced on Friday, June 16, 2017, that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Whole Foods Market (WFM) for $13.7 billion in an all-cash transaction.

Kroger (KR) will report its fiscal 1Q18 results on June 15 and is expected to post an 18.6% fall in EPS to $0.57 and total sales of $35.7 billion.

Dollar General’s (DG) business strategy revolves around driving profitable topline growth while enhancing its low-cost operator position and capturing new growth opportunities.

Dollar General (DG) is the largest discount store retailers in the United States in terms of total revenue generated.

In this article, we’ll discuss Whole Foods’ financial performance to better understand what prompted Jana to consider strategic alternatives for the company.

WBA’s Retail Pharmacy International segment’s sales fell 14.5% YoY to $3.1 billion, primarily due to currency headwinds and weakness in UK pharmacy sales.

Wall Street has predicted that Dollar General’s EPS will rise 8.7% YoY (year-over-year) to $1.41 on sales growth of 12.9% in the fourth quarter.

Target (TGT), the third-largest mass merchandiser in the US, declared results for 4Q16 on February 28, 2017.

Emerson Electric’s (EMR) omnichannel sales strategy is a multichannel approach that provides an integrated shopping experience.

Home Depot (HD) is set to announce its earnings results for fiscal 2Q16 on August 16, 2016.

The Staples-Office Depot deal was always a long shot. The spread was always wide. The Obama administration is getting tougher on antitrust enforcement.

Walgreens Boots Alliance’s (WBA) sales rose 48.5% YoY (year-over-year) to $29 billion in 1Q16. The increase was largely driven by the consolidation of Alliance Boots’ operations.

Walgreens Boots Alliance’s (WBA) Pharmaceutical Wholesale division consists of the legacy Alliance Boots pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution businesses.

Walgreens became a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance after a merger.

Whole Foods’ sales for fiscal 2015 earned $15.3 billion—a 8.4% rise over the previous fiscal year, and a 9.6% average rise over the past three fiscal years.

Whole Foods has only trailed Costco in per-foot sales metrics. Costco averaged more than $1100 between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2015.

The US dollar index, which measures the strength of the US dollar against a basket of six currencies, continued to garner strength on November 13 as it rose to a high of 99.2 before closing the day at 98.8.

The DTC channel enables Under Armour (UA) and its peers make a brand statement. Due to the higher profitability impact, and also the control DTC gives over the brand, this is one of the most important channels for UA.

The peers outperformed Costco based on the net profit margin and current ratio. Costco is way ahead of its peers based on the EPS, PE ratio, and PBV ratio.

Costco has a market cap of $63.16 billion. Its YTD price movement is stable. After the earnings report in 4Q15, it rose by 0.12% and closed at $143.72 per share.

Lululemon’s same-store sales performance was healthy in 2Q16. There’s been a reversal in the negative trend that dogged the retailer for much of last year, particularly in its brick-and-mortar channel.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, month-over-month retail sales rose by 0.2% in August. The rise was primarily driven by miscellaneous store retailers, food services, and the motor vehicle sector.

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) saw both higher traffic and conversion in stores in the United States and Canada in 1Q16.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for August came out at 101.5. It was a much higher level than the previous month’s reading of 91.

Lululemon has expansion plans in Europe and Asia. The company is looking at 20 stores each in these regions by 2017, according to CEO Laurent Potdevin.

Walmart (WMT) has been growing faster than the overall e-commerce market. This year, its growth rate is expected to trump Amazon’s (AMZN) growth rate.

In 2013, Walmart closed 29 underperforming stores in China. It also announced a revamp. It planned to open 110 new stores in focused geographies.

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

Coach’s transformational plan aims to return the handbag maker to “a place of best-in-class profitability and sustainable growth.”

Stuart Weitzman is a vertically integrated high-profile footwear manufacturer. The company sells footwear targeted at the premium women’s market.

Eric Rosengren took office on July 23, 2007, as the 13th president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, serving the First District. Rosengren has a dovish stance on monetary policy.

A decrease in retail sales, would imply the opposite. In this section, we will analyze some of the macro factors that will likely impact retail sales.

In his speech to the London School of Economics, Dallas Fed President outlined how “fiscal drag” is holding back GDP growth.