Company Earnings Update | February 11, 2019 Register for Free Access Coty (NYSE: COTY) Fiscal 2Q19 Results: Revenues Down But Luxury Beauty Up; Beats Analysts’ EstimatesCoty fiscal 2Q19 revenues were $2.51 billion, down 4.8% year over year and beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. Read More
Analyst Corner | February 8, 2019 Register for Free Access WEINSWIG’S WEEKLY FEBRUARY 8, 2019Late last week, Amazon filed its 10-K full-year financial report. This yearly update gives us a chance to review selected metrics from one of the world’s most-talked-about retailers. Read More
Deep Dive | February 6, 2019 Free Report US Retailer Survey: Revealing the Hidden Costs of Poor Inventory ManagementToday’s retail environment is marked by more intense competition and rapid changes in consumer preferences, both of which pressure retailers to make smarter inventory decisions. To minimize unplanned markdowns that impact the bottom line, retailers must ensure that they deliver products consumers want to buy to the locations where they want to buy them. Read More
Event Coverage | February 1, 2019 Register for Free Access Insights from the 2019 WeChat Pro Conference: Boosting Mini Apps and Personalizing Red EnvelopesEveryone gives away money in small red envelopes called hong bao at the Chinese New Year, and WeChat is launching new features to help users personalize this feature. Traditionally, hong bao are delivered in person, handed directly to the recipient, but in recent years this has gone digital: WeChat says about ¥3 billion was sent by WeChat in 2015 — but that figure climbed to ¥46 billion in just two years. Read More
Analyst Corner | February 1, 2019 Register for Free Access WEINSWIG’S WEEKLY FEBRUARY 1, 2019Robots: Moving Beyond Warehouses into the Stores and the Streets Robots burst into the consciousness of the retail industry when Amazon acquired warehouse-robot-maker Kiva Systems for $775 million in May 2012. Since then, many other retail companies have followed Amazon’s example and deployed robots in their own warehouses. These robots are not the kind that walk and talk; they’re flat, faceless machines that scoot across a warehouse floor, delivering a shelf of goods to a fulfillment center, where a human packer then completes the order. While many imagine that warehouses and fulfillment centers are already completely automated, most operate using human-machine teams, which are likely the most efficient and cost-effective solution. Read More
Store Tracker | February 1, 2019 Premium Weekly Store Openings and Closures Tracker 2019, Week 5: Things Remembered on Verge of Bankruptcy, Williams-Sonoma May Close 80 StoresYear to date in 2019, U.S. retailers have announced 1,678 store closures and 1,399 store openings. Read More
Insight Report | January 31, 2019 Premium US Holiday Comparable Sales Update: Department Stores See a Slowing Trend While a Number of Specialty Retailers ShineTwo big-box retailers, Costco and Target, posted strong numbers in the holiday season. Costco reported total same-store sales growth of 6.1% for December, which was below the 9.2% growth posted in November, but ahead of the consensus estimate of 4.8%. Costco grew its e-commerce sales by 13.6%. Target Corporation reported that comparable sales in the combined November and December period grew 5.7%, compared to 5.1% growth in the third quarter of fiscal 2018. Results were driven by positive store comps and comparable digital sales growth of 29%. Target expects that fiscal 2018 will be the fifth consecutive year in which its digital sales will grow more than 25%. Target gave guidance for fourth-quarter comparable sales growth of approximately 5%. Read More
Company Earnings Update | January 31, 2019 Register for Free Access eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) 4Q18 and FY18 Results: Steady Growth, More Returns for ShareholderseBay reported revenues of $2.88 billion in 4Q18, up 6.3% year over year and beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 billion recorded by Bloomberg. GMV was $24.6 billion, up 1% as reported and 2% on a currency-neutral basis. Gross margin increased 31 basis points to 78.5% and operating margin decreased 82 basis points to 23.7%. Non-GAAP diluted EPS increased 20.3% to $0.71, beating consensus of $0.68. Read More
Market Outlook | January 31, 2019 Premium Sector Overview: North American Food Retailers — Cross-Channel Retailing Is Emerging as the Dominant ModelEach Sector Overview report provides an analysis of a particular retail sector or consumer market. This report covers the North American grocery sector, concentrating on the US. Our coverage focuses on supermarket retailers with some discussion of other grocery channels. Mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs and discount stores are covered in a separate Sector Overview report. Read More
Flash Report | January 30, 2019 Register for Free Access Walgreens Boots Alliance Bags Over 60 Shopko Stores After Bankruptcy Court Approves BidsGeneral merchandise retailer Shopko filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 16, 2019. The company attributed its petition for financial restructuring to “excess debt and ongoing competitive pressures.” The retailer stated it would close an additional 38 stores this year, in addition to the 67 previously earmarked for closure, relocate 20 optical centers to freestanding locations and auction off its pharmacy business. Read More
Flash Report | January 30, 2019 Register for Free Access Unilever Expands Home Care Portfolio with the Acquisition of The LaundressOn January 28, Unilever announced it had acquired The Laundress, a premium detergent and fabric care company headquartered in New York. The Laundress was founded in 2004 by Gwen Whiting and Lindsey Boyd after two years of research yielded a non-toxic line of laundry and home cleaning products. The portfolio now includes over 85 eco-friendly products. Unilever said The Laundress will continue to operate from its New York City headquarters and that the two founders will remain in place to lead the business and operate the brand’s flagship store in New York. Read More
Company Earnings Update | January 29, 2019 Register for Free Access Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) 4Q18 Results: Driving Growth Through Acquisition, Innovation and ProductColgate-Palmolive reported net sales of $3.81 billion for the three months ended December 31, 2018, down 2.1% year over year but ahead of the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion recorded by StreetAccount. Group organic sales, which exclude the effects of currency movements, acquisitions and divestments, increased 2.0%. Operating income came in at $900 million, down 3.6% year over year. Gross margin decreased 70 basis points to 59.1% and operating margin fell 36 basis points to 23.4%. Read More
Insight Report | January 29, 2019 Premium New Retail Briefing # 2: Alibaba Steps Up Partnerships, NetEase Kaola Opens Flagship StoreAlibaba launched the “A100 Strategic Partnership” program in January 2019 to help partner brands digitalize by giving them access to resources within its ecosystem so participating brands can access Alibaba services in 11 areas to enhance online-offline business integration. Alibaba will also assign a dedicated team to serve each participating brand. Read More
Flash Report | January 29, 2019 Register for Free Access Legacy UK Retailers Tesco and Marks & Spencer Think Radically to Expand Margins and Revive Revenue GrowthIn a press release on January 29, Tesco confirmed plans to close fresh-food counters in around 90 stores, with 700 further stores retaining a “full or flexible” counter offer. It will also simplify stock management at store level, close store canteens and make job cuts at its head office. The company estimates that up to 9,000 roles could be impacted but it expects up to half of these people could be redeployed. Read More
Company Profile | January 29, 2019 Premium B&M European Value Retail (LSE: BME) Company ProfileB&M European Value Retail SA (B&M) is a UK-based retailer that offers a range of food and beverages, fast-moving consumer goods brands, and nongrocery products. The company offers products in the home and furniture, electrical goods, health and beauty, food and drink, and clothing and footwear categories, among others. Read More