Walmart Inc. kept its crown as retail king, ranking No. 1 in U.S. sales for 2008, according to the National Retail Federation’s STORES magazine, but Oklahoma stores also made the list.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, posted revenue exceeding $405 billion in 2008, attributed in part to a successful re-launch of its Great Value line and attracting new customers because of the economic environment.
STORES magazine ranked the top 100 retailers by annual revenues reported in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, public statements by the companies and estimates based on Planet Retail research.
Two Oklahoma retailers also made the cut. Oklahoma City-based Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores came in 31st place with just under $12.5 million in annual revenue, an increase of 8.6 percent. Tulsa’s QuickTrip claimed the 45th spot on the list, with about $8.64 million in revenue in 2008.
from the wire
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Showing posts with label Wal-Mart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wal-Mart. Show all posts
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Walmart seeking to grow overseas
ROGERS, Ark. — Walmart is actively seeking acquisitions abroad, including in Russia, as its low-price formula helps it pick up market share and customers in the global recession.
We’re well positioned for growth,” Wan Ling Martello, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Walmart, told reporters at a media conference Thursday, the day before the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
Sales in Walmart’s international business, which now accounts for almost 25 percent of its revenue, rose 9.1 percent to $98.6 billion in its latest fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31. The company operates 10 different formats like hypermarkets and supermarkets under more than 60 store banners. About 80 percent of Walmart’s international business is from acquisitions, Martello said.
The company’s latest big acquisition overseas was D&S, the Chile-based food retailer, which was announced in February. Walmart has said its emerging markets have bigger growth potential.
Martello noted that as the recession has expanded globally, consumers worried about unemployment and higher debt have consolidated their shopping trips and gravitated toward in-store brands. They also are seeking bargains online.
Keeping prices low
Vicente Trius, who formerly led Walmart’s Asia market and became president and CEO of the company’s Latin America division last week, noted that in Japan, shoppers are very sensitive to price.
So Walmart’s Seiyu operation has responded by keeping its prices between 5 and 10 percent lower than its local competition.
Walmart has started an aggressive remodeling program that is to roll out in 500 existing supercenters this year.
The company is combining elements that it has tested in stores across the United States.
At Sam’s Club, executives are offering more fresh produce, pizza and macaroni and cheese in response to consumers’ new preference for eating at home to cut costs.
by the associated press
We’re well positioned for growth,” Wan Ling Martello, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Walmart, told reporters at a media conference Thursday, the day before the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
Sales in Walmart’s international business, which now accounts for almost 25 percent of its revenue, rose 9.1 percent to $98.6 billion in its latest fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31. The company operates 10 different formats like hypermarkets and supermarkets under more than 60 store banners. About 80 percent of Walmart’s international business is from acquisitions, Martello said.
The company’s latest big acquisition overseas was D&S, the Chile-based food retailer, which was announced in February. Walmart has said its emerging markets have bigger growth potential.
Martello noted that as the recession has expanded globally, consumers worried about unemployment and higher debt have consolidated their shopping trips and gravitated toward in-store brands. They also are seeking bargains online.
Keeping prices low
Vicente Trius, who formerly led Walmart’s Asia market and became president and CEO of the company’s Latin America division last week, noted that in Japan, shoppers are very sensitive to price.
So Walmart’s Seiyu operation has responded by keeping its prices between 5 and 10 percent lower than its local competition.
Walmart has started an aggressive remodeling program that is to roll out in 500 existing supercenters this year.
The company is combining elements that it has tested in stores across the United States.
At Sam’s Club, executives are offering more fresh produce, pizza and macaroni and cheese in response to consumers’ new preference for eating at home to cut costs.
by the associated press
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Retailers thinking outside box to lure thrifty consumers
NEW YORK — From paper towels at Toys "R” Us to bagged lettuce at Target, several large retailers are taking a page from Walmart — the king of one-stop shopping.
The world’s largest retailer, whose annual meeting is set Friday in Fayetteville, Ark., about 25 miles from its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., continues to rapidly gain new shoppers with its focus on the basics.
So its rivals are stretching beyond their longtime boundaries to keep cash-strapped consumers coming in the door.
Target, known for cheap chic clothing and home accessories, hopes boosting its grocery offerings will help it grow. And it’s relaunching an in-store line of home and personal-care products such as sunscreen as "up & up.”
Toys "R” Us Inc., which has long carried baby formula and diapers, is rolling out a new section in 260 of its almost 600 stores with more consumables, such as paper towels, hand soap and detergent.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. has been rapidly expanding its once-limited food assortment and adding brands such as Jif peanut butter from J.M. Smucker Co. and Triscuits from Kraft Inc.’s Nabisco brand as it is striving to pull in more shoppers. The store also added 200 food products in May, company spokesman Josh Braverman said.
Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics, noted there was a good reason consumables weren’t seen as a growth engine before: Profit margins are much thinner in food than apparel or home furnishings.
"It’s boring, and there’s not much glamour,” Perkins said.
"But Walmart has set the gold standard and the path to follow in recessionary times.”
Merchants are realizing that if shoppers are going to keep spending less, stores need them to come in more frequently. And offering a greater range of necessities will help.
by the associated press
The world’s largest retailer, whose annual meeting is set Friday in Fayetteville, Ark., about 25 miles from its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., continues to rapidly gain new shoppers with its focus on the basics.
So its rivals are stretching beyond their longtime boundaries to keep cash-strapped consumers coming in the door.
Target, known for cheap chic clothing and home accessories, hopes boosting its grocery offerings will help it grow. And it’s relaunching an in-store line of home and personal-care products such as sunscreen as "up & up.”
Toys "R” Us Inc., which has long carried baby formula and diapers, is rolling out a new section in 260 of its almost 600 stores with more consumables, such as paper towels, hand soap and detergent.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. has been rapidly expanding its once-limited food assortment and adding brands such as Jif peanut butter from J.M. Smucker Co. and Triscuits from Kraft Inc.’s Nabisco brand as it is striving to pull in more shoppers. The store also added 200 food products in May, company spokesman Josh Braverman said.
Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics, noted there was a good reason consumables weren’t seen as a growth engine before: Profit margins are much thinner in food than apparel or home furnishings.
"It’s boring, and there’s not much glamour,” Perkins said.
"But Walmart has set the gold standard and the path to follow in recessionary times.”
Merchants are realizing that if shoppers are going to keep spending less, stores need them to come in more frequently. And offering a greater range of necessities will help.
by the associated press
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Retailers change their Mindset
NEW YORK — When times were good, retailers sold sundresses in February and heavy wool sweaters in August.
Now, Americans worried about the recession are buying only what they need today. This new frugality has merchants and suppliers overhauling every aspect of their businesses, from window displays to the fabrics they choose to purchase.
It’s changing some of the rules of retail.
Joan Danehy, a 63-year-old retired teacher from Cazenovia, N.Y., would always get a head start on spring, buying summer clothes for her grandchildren when it was still chilly in March. She would put her purchases aside and give out the items a few months later when the weather turned warm. This year, she passed by the colorful assortment at Lord & Taylor without buying.
"A year ago, I knew I was going to have money, but now there is this feeling that you are going to need it for something else, paying a bill or buying tires,” said Danehy, whose retirement funds have lost half their value. "Not that we were rich, but I didn’t worry about tomorrow. Now, the stock market affects every decision I make.”
Consumers have long griped about merchandise being out of sync with the weather — lots of corduroy in the summer. And while the industry had made some inroads in offering more timely fashions in recent years, it didn’t have much incentive to make big changes because shoppers kept buying. Retailers also liked getting items into stores early because the preseason sales helped them gauge how much to reorder for the season.
‘A big problem’
The recession is forcing retailers to rewrite the rules. For one thing, the pullback by consumers has forced retailers to slash prices at an unprecedented rate to move merchandise.
That has slashed profits. For the fourth quarter of 2008, retailers’ profits dropped 26.6 percent compared with a year earlier, according to Ken Perkins, president of research company RetailMetrics LLC. First-quarter profits are forecast to be down almost 22 percent.
The new consumer mind-set is expected to dampen sales again — and expedite the shift in what stores put on their shelves.
"This was a big problem for a long time, and it took a disaster for people to reassess what was wrong,” said David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, which advises stores on apparel buying.
Department stores are taking cues from so-called fast-fashion rivals, said Michael Londrigan, chairman of the fashion merchandising department at the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising in Manhattan. Stores such as H&M and Zara are known for constant deliveries of styles that can be worn right away.
The strategy does require a big balancing act for stores: keeping the selling floor feeling new and fresh while keeping fashions in sync with the weather.
by the associated press
Now, Americans worried about the recession are buying only what they need today. This new frugality has merchants and suppliers overhauling every aspect of their businesses, from window displays to the fabrics they choose to purchase.
It’s changing some of the rules of retail.
Joan Danehy, a 63-year-old retired teacher from Cazenovia, N.Y., would always get a head start on spring, buying summer clothes for her grandchildren when it was still chilly in March. She would put her purchases aside and give out the items a few months later when the weather turned warm. This year, she passed by the colorful assortment at Lord & Taylor without buying.
"A year ago, I knew I was going to have money, but now there is this feeling that you are going to need it for something else, paying a bill or buying tires,” said Danehy, whose retirement funds have lost half their value. "Not that we were rich, but I didn’t worry about tomorrow. Now, the stock market affects every decision I make.”
Consumers have long griped about merchandise being out of sync with the weather — lots of corduroy in the summer. And while the industry had made some inroads in offering more timely fashions in recent years, it didn’t have much incentive to make big changes because shoppers kept buying. Retailers also liked getting items into stores early because the preseason sales helped them gauge how much to reorder for the season.
‘A big problem’
The recession is forcing retailers to rewrite the rules. For one thing, the pullback by consumers has forced retailers to slash prices at an unprecedented rate to move merchandise.
That has slashed profits. For the fourth quarter of 2008, retailers’ profits dropped 26.6 percent compared with a year earlier, according to Ken Perkins, president of research company RetailMetrics LLC. First-quarter profits are forecast to be down almost 22 percent.
The new consumer mind-set is expected to dampen sales again — and expedite the shift in what stores put on their shelves.
"This was a big problem for a long time, and it took a disaster for people to reassess what was wrong,” said David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, which advises stores on apparel buying.
Department stores are taking cues from so-called fast-fashion rivals, said Michael Londrigan, chairman of the fashion merchandising department at the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising in Manhattan. Stores such as H&M and Zara are known for constant deliveries of styles that can be worn right away.
The strategy does require a big balancing act for stores: keeping the selling floor feeling new and fresh while keeping fashions in sync with the weather.
by the associated press
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Best Buy , better than sales show
Strong management with the lack of competitors , " cicut city " went out of business .
Makes Best Buy , our only real choice to buy our Tv's Blu-ray players , and of course computers .
Their stock is on the rise , and still moving forward . It would a place for myself to put money into . Sells are up 10% , for the retailer .
Only competition left is Wal-Mart . Which is holding it's number one slot for retail sales .
Yes , Best Buy and Wal-Mart is were my money is going to invest .
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wal-Mart Eliminating 650 Jobs
Wal-Mart said it is closing a central Ohio optical lab to reduce cost , eliminating 650 jobs .
The retailer said friday " March 27 2009 " that work from the facility near Columbus will be done at th optical labs in Crawfordsville , Ind, Fayettevillie Arkansas and Dallas .
The lab processes eyewear orders from Vision Center in Wal-Mart stores .
Wal-Mart said it will continue to operate an optical merchandise distribution center in Lockbourne . The company said the affected workers will receive paychecks and benefits for the next two months and be eligible for jobs at other Wal-Mart locations .
from the wire
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wal-Mart handes out Bonues
It comes in like a natural disaster , over coming every thing in it's path .
Yes , Wal-Mart .
With record breaking sales , and a choke hold on the consumers wants and needs . Wal-Mart makes Billions .
And Wal-Mart is giving some of the profit to the staff .
With about 2 billion dollars to it's hourly employees through financial incentives, including $934 million in bonuses .
New CEO Mike Duke said " Wal-Mart now needs to Accelerate and Broaden all of our efforts ".
Consumers go to Wal-Mart , to save their hard enearned dollar . Wal-Mart is doing what a company can do by keep the prices low , from Contact Lenses to HDTV's .
And from their low prices their stock is and has been holding strong . For its ficcal year Wal-Marts sales rose 7.2% . Yes , their stock floats between 49 dollars to 51 dollars . Yet if you look into their competition is doing far less business and their stocks show the effect .
Aslong the business is doing well , the Wal-Mart staff should awarded for their hard work , for keeping Wal-Mart the number one retailer .
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