Deep Dive | January 28, 2019 Free Report 10 Retail Trends for 2019: Get Ready for Retail ReinventionGet ready for better stores and better retailing. We expect 2019 to be a year of reinvention — and not just for the retail sector as a whole, but for physical stores in particular. As we outline over the following pages, we anticipate that the year will be marked by spectacular retail, fast retail and smart retail. Read More
Insight Report | January 25, 2019 Premium 10 Trends for China E-Commerce 2019We expect 2019 will be a dynamic year for e-commerce in China. Consumers have high expectations and competition is stiffening. Here are 10 trends we think will shape China’s e-commerce landscape in 2019: Read More
Insight Report | January 25, 2019 Premium December 2018 US Monthly Retail Traffic and In-Store Metrics Report: Traffic Recovers After an Early-December LullU.S. store-based traffic and sales declined in December, while the conversion rate declined by 0.7 percentage points, according to RetailNext. ATV grew 3.1%, maintaining its strong showing since October. The rate of product returns climbed significantly, by 1 percentage point, its biggest increase since November 2017. Read More
Company Earnings Update | January 25, 2019 Register for Free Access Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) 4Q18 Results: Sales Slow, New Strategy to Guide GrowthThe personal care segment reported sales of $2.2 billion, down 2% year over year, and operating profit of $436 million, down 11% due to higher input costs and operating expenses as well as currency exchange effects. Higher sales volumes drove North America sales, increasing 4% year over year, driven by growth in Pull-Ups training pants, GoodNites youth pants and Depend adult care products. Developed markets outside North America saw sales decrease 4% while net selling prices dropped slightly. Read More
Company Earnings Update | January 25, 2019 Register for Free Access P&G (NYSE: PG) 2Q19 Results: Innovation Driving Growth, Competition Remains ToughP&G reported net sales of $17.4 billion for the three months ended December 31, 2018, up 0.2% year over year. Operating income came in at $3.9 billion, down 0.6% year over year. Gross margin on net sales decreased 130 basis points to 48.9% and operating margin fell 70 basis points to 22.3%. Due to income tax charges caused by a transitional impact of the US Tax Act, diluted earnings per share were $1.22, an increase of 31.2% compared to the previous year. Management said the strong result was driven by the company’s focus on product superiority, productivity and improving its organization and culture. Read More
Store Tracker | January 25, 2019 Premium Weekly Store Openings and Closures Tracker 2019, Week 4: House of Fraser’s Intu Stores Set to Stay OpenYear to date in 2019, U.S. retailers have announced 1,674 store closures and 1,380 store openings. Read More
Analyst Corner | January 25, 2019 Register for Free Access Weinswig’s Weekly January 25, 2019hree Ways China Will Lead Digital Retail Trends in 2019 — and Why These Trends Are Likely to Drive Consolidation Among Major Platforms China continues to lead the world in the integration of online and offline retail, most notably through Alibaba Group’s New Retail concept. We predict that retailers in the U.S. and Europe will increasingly adopt elements of New Retail in 2019. But what else is worth keeping an eye on in Chinese digital retail? This week, we discuss three digital trends we expect to see in 2019, and we note that all three are likely to strengthen the competitive advantages enjoyed by China’s market-leading apps and platforms, such as WeChat, Douyin (also known as TikTok) and Tmall. Read More
Company Earnings Update | January 24, 2019 Register for Free Access Burberry (LSE: BRBY) 3Q19 Update: Limited Edition Products Drive Excitement and SalesBurberry reported a 1.1% retail revenue decline for 3Q19 to £711 million. Comparable store sales rose 1%, driven by mid-single-digit comps in mainland China and Korea. There was very little change in price, thus the increase in comps was volume driven. A net two store closures eliminated 1% of retail selling space. Read More
Company Earnings Update | January 24, 2019 Register for Free Access Ahold Delhaize (ENXTAM: AD) 4Q18 and FY18 Update: Strong Performance Prompts Narrowing of GuidanceAhold Delhaize reported a trading update for its fourth quarter and FY18: In 4Q18, net sales were €16.5 billion, up 3.0% at constant currency, roughly in-line with the consensus of €16.48 billion by StreetAccount, but lower than the 3.6% growth recorded in the previous quarter. Net consumer online sales grew 26.4% at constant exchange rates. For FY18, net sales increased 2.5% year over year at constant exchange rates to €62.8 billion. Net consumer online sales reached €3.5 billion. Read More
Company Earnings Update | January 24, 2019 Register for Free Access Omnichannel Is Key: Takeaways from Retail’s Cutting Edge Conference at StartMeUpHK Festival 2019Dustin Jones, Managing Director of Fung Retailing Group, shared how foreign retailers can more easily enter the China market, leveraging Fung Retailing’s China expertise and supply chain capabilities — and its recent strategic partnership with Alibaba that deepens its reach and strengthens its digital capabilities. Read More
Flash Report | January 24, 2019 Register for Free Access JD.com Takes Flight in Indonesia with Drone Delivery TrialJD.com’s drone delivery is the first time a Chinese drone has been used for delivery in Southeast Asia, and is also the first time the Indonesian government has granted permission to use a drone for logistics purpose. Read More
Event Coverage | January 23, 2019 Register for Free Access AI Creates Smarter Living: Takeaways from the TechLIFEStyle Conference in Hong KongThe Coresight Research team attended TechLIFEStyle conference, part of StartmeupHK, held in Hong Kong January 22, 2019. StartmeupHK is an initiative launched by InvestHK to promote Hong Kong as a startup destination, connecting entrepreneurs and investors. The theme of the event was “living smarter, living better,” looking at how lifestyle technology can be woven into everyday life. These are some highlights of the event. Read More
Company Earnings Update | January 23, 2019 Register for Free Access Carrefour (ENXTPA: CA) 4Q18 Update: Latin America Picks Up the Slack as France Is Hit by DisruptionCarrefour reported group comparable sales excluding automotive fuel were up 1.9% year over year in 4Q18, versus 2.1% growth in 3Q18 and ahead of the consensus estimate of 1.0% recorded by StreetAccount. Performance in France was weak and growth was driven by Latin America. Total sales at actual exchange rates were down 2.3% year over year, impacted by currency effects. Read More
Insight Report | January 22, 2019 Premium Chinese New Year Preview: Year of the Pig Celebrations to be Worth ¥1 Trillion to Retail as Digital Gifting and Traveling Continue to Go BigRetail and food-service sales during Chinese New Year grew steadily from 2011 to 2018. During the 2018 Chinese New Year Golden Week (February 15-21), retail sales reached ¥926 billion (about $146 billion), 10.2 % higher than the same period in 2017 —and more than double what it was in 2011, according to Ministry of Commerce statistics. Read More
Insight Report | January 21, 2019 Premium UK Holiday 2018 Retail Sales and Trading Wrap-Up: December Growth Slows as Uncertainty Accelerates Structural Shift Away from the MidmarketMomentum in the retail sector decelerated meaningfully in December, as measured by both value and volume (real terms). Value sales growth slowed from 4.2% in November to 2.1% in December. This was despite a number of retailers reporting a better month in December following an unusually tough November. Across November and December in aggregative (our definition of the holiday period), sales were up 3.0% year over year. Read More