Wal-Mart Comparable store sales in apparel improves
Source: Wal-Mart Stores Inc Date: 2007-12-14
Wal-Mart Stores Inc reported net sales for the four-week and 43-week periods ending Nov. 30, 2007, and Dec. 1, 2006, respectively.
Wal-Mart Stores:
Grocery and pharmacy continued to drive strong comparable store sales during the November four-week period. In addition, Wal-Mart had very solid “Black Friday” sales across the store, from entertainment items to sleepwear. Customers responded both in-store and online to Wal-Mart’s price leadership initiatives.
“We’re happy with our sales performance, but more important, we are pleased with our customer satisfaction scores,” said Eduardo Castro-Wright, Wal-Mart Stores U.S. president and chief executive officer. “We conducted more than 20,000 surveys among Wal-Mart customers on ‘Black Friday’ and our overall customer experience scores were high. We plan to offer that same level of customer service and price leadership, including secret in-store specials, throughout the Christmas season.”
Comparable store sales in apparel improved during the four-week November period from the previous period, driven by performance in outerwear. With colder temperatures, customers responded to Wal-Mart’s merchandise offerings and prices. The home category remained soft.
Sam’s Club:
In the November four-week period, Sam’s Club had strengths in a number of holiday and gift-giving categories, including electronics and video games. Other strong categories across the clubs included produce, bakery, juice andwater, and consumable items. Moving into the December five-week period, sales of toys and Christmas seasonal items are meeting expectations.
An increase in gas prices over last November of almost 40 percent, combined with higher volume fuel sales versus the prior year period, resulted in a positive 2.8 percent fuel impact on Sam’s Club’s comparable club sales. Increases in average ticket and small business traffic drove comparable club sales performance.
International:
During the November period, the Company’s operations in the United Kingdom, Brazil, China and Argentina continued their recent positive performance. A weak consumption environment continues to affect sales growth figures in Mexico, particularly in terms of average ticket. However, the customer count for Mexico’s units continues to increase.
Guidance:
The Company expects the comparable store sales of its U.S. operations for the December five-week reporting period to be between one and three percent, said Tom Schoewe, executive vice president and chief financial officer. The December five-week period runs from Dec. 1, 2007 through Jan. 4, 2008.
