Analyst Corner | February 22, 2019 Register for Free Access WEINSWIG’S WEEKLY FEBRUARY 22, 2019Amazon was among the retailers to report a slower holiday quarter: The company’s North America sales growth slowed from 35.0% in the third quarter to 18.3% in the fourth quarter. These figures exclude Amazon’s high-growth Amazon Web Services (AWS) business and, so, should closely reflect its retail and marketplace revenues. Read More
Event Coverage | February 22, 2019 Register for Free Access Countdown to Shoptalk 2019: Startup Pitch Competition Participants Profile, Part 1 — Ladingo and IncreasinglyLandingo offers a cloud-based solution to enable seamless international shipping for business-to-consumer e-commerce. The company focuses on larger items, such as furniture, bicycles and other bulky products. Container sharing optimization allows Ladingo to offer lower shipping rates for larger items. Read More
Insight Report | February 21, 2019 Premium A Look into Starbucks’ Mini App on Taobao and Alipay: All Services in One Lite App As the Companies Deepen Their CooperationStarbucks steps up digital efforts in China, working with market giants Alibaba and Tencent’s WeChat as upstart Luckin Coffee nips at its heels. Read More
Flash Report | February 21, 2019 Register for Free Access Sainsbury’s-Asda Merger In Doubt: Is It Time for Sainsbury’s to Refocus?On February 20, 2019, the CMA published its provisional findings on the merger of Sainsbury’s and Asda, indicating that it could be a bad deal for consumers, through “a poorer shopping experience, and reductions in the range and quality of products offered.” The commentary was a shot across the bow for Sainsbury’s, which is effectively acquiring Asda, and throws the deal into serious doubt — driving down Sainsbury’s share price some 15.5%. Read More
Company Earnings Update | February 20, 2019 Register for Free Access Walmart (NYSE: WMT) Fiscal 4Q19 Earnings: Beats EPS Estimates from Strong Expense ManagementWalmart reported fiscal 4Q19 revenues of $138.8 billion, up 1.9% year over year and in line with the consensus estimate. Total revenues excluding foreign currency effects were $140.5 billion, up 3.1%. Membership and other income was $1.1 billion, down 6.0%. Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales increased 43%, benefiting from strong online grocery sales. U.S. comps increased 4.2%, ahead of the 3.1% consensus estimate. Read More
Insight Report | February 20, 2019 Premium 2019 Tax Tracker #2: Year-over-Year Decline in Tax Filings Starts to ModerateEach year, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reports tax return filings and refunds on a weekly basis, starting in February and going into the April 15 filing deadline. It is still early in the filing season, so there will likely be more variability to the data. Filings are likely delayed due to confusion over the new tax rates and the government shutdown, which made it difficult for accountants to get answers to help people prepare income tax returns. Read More
Market Outlook | February 20, 2019 Premium Sector Overview: Apparel & Footwear — Consumer Connectivity Changing Sector LandscapeNew digital marketplaces have made the apparel and footwear market truly global, giving consumers access to brands and products once available only by traveling. Brands are bringing products to neighborhoods that previously had very little access to the latest fashion trends. Read More
Market Outlook | February 18, 2019 Premium Sector Overview: US Department Stores — Off-Price Formats and Marketplaces are Winning (and Millennials are Shopping Department Stores)U.S. department store sales will shrink 5.8% per year to 2023. In response department stores are expanding off-price, pairing with unique partners and seeking to right-size. Read More
Company Earnings Update | February 18, 2019 Register for Free Access Unicharm (TYO: 8113) FY18 Results: Revenue Below Consensus, China Remains a Main MarketUnicharm reported FY18 revenue of ¥688.3 billion, slightly below the consensus estimate of ¥689.2 billion and up 7.3% from FY17. Read More
Insight Report | February 18, 2019 Premium January 2019 UK Retail Sales: Solid Growth for Grocery and ClothingJanuary was a solid month for the core sectors of grocery and clothing, though the substantial department stores/mixed-goods retailers sector turned negative; the latter may not surprise watchers of John Lewis’s weekly sales figures, which ranged from meaningfully negative to mildly positive across most of January. Read More
Insight Report | February 18, 2019 Premium December 2018 US Retail Sales: Year-Over-Year Growth Slows to Just 1.0% as Most Sectors Experience a Sluggish DecemberOur measure of core retail sales is non-seasonally-adjusted sales excluding gasoline and automobiles. This metric increased by just 1.0% year over year in December, slowing dramatically from the growth in preceding months, including a 5.2% uplift in November. This resulted in total holiday-period sales coming in at $693 billion, up by just 2.9% year over year. Read More
Analyst Corner | February 15, 2019 Register for Free Access WEINSWIG’S WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15, 2019Eight things you need to know about retail in China: Smartphones are key, cash is going away (seriously), shopping festivals are booming, smaller cities are spending – and more. Read More
Insight Report | February 12, 2019 Premium New Retail Briefing #3: Walmart China Eyes Retail Innovation; A.S. Watson and Unilever Agree to New Retail PartnershipsWalmart China launched the Omega8 initiative in January 2019 to serve as a proof of concept (POC) platform that lets tech startups test newly designed technology applications in a real retail environment. Walmart reported over 50 startups signed up for the initiative. Walmart will train these companies in a variety of retail operation skills. Walmart said its existing 400 offline stores in China will act as testing grounds for startup technology before rolling out to mass market. This Omega8 initiative shows Walmart’s ambition of leveraging tech startups for its own digital innovation, and understanding of the Chinese market. Ben Hassing, Senior Vice President of Walmart China said, “Walmart has worked with many technology startups not only to propel our business in China, but also to understand the Chinese market and China in greater depth.” Read More
Insight Report | February 11, 2019 Premium Understanding the Asian Retail Market, Including Eight Insights from China: Deborah Weinswig’s CES 2019 PresentationSummary of the presentation given by Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, at CES Las Vegas on January 9, 2019, focusing on eight things people can learn from China. Read More
Company Earnings Update | February 11, 2019 Register for Free Access L’Oréal (ENXTPA: OR) FY18 Results: Highest Comparable Sales Growth in Over a DecadeL’Oréal reported FY18 EPS of €7.08, up from €6.65 in FY17, but slightly below the €7.11 consensus estimate. Total revenues were €26.9 billion, up 4% year over year and above the €26.8 billion consensus estimate. Read More