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December 2018 Monthly Consumer Update: US, UK and China

Retail Sales:
The U.S. government
shutdown means that
December retail sales figure
are not yet available. In
November, year-over-year
growth in retail sales
excluding automobiles and
gasoline remained broadly
stable at 5.1%.
In November, grocery store
sales were up 3.0% and
clothing store sales up were
4.1%; department store sales
were down 0.2% year over
year.

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Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) 4Q18 Results: Sales Slow, New Strategy to Guide Growth

The 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.

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P&G (NYSE: PG) 2Q19 Results: Innovation Driving Growth, Competition Remains Tough

P&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.

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Weinswig’s Weekly January 25, 2019

hree 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.

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AI Creates Smarter Living: Takeaways from the TechLIFEStyle Conference in Hong Kong

The 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.

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Chinese New Year Preview: Year of the Pig Celebrations to be Worth ¥1 Trillion to Retail as Digital Gifting and Traveling Continue to Go Big

Retail 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.

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New Retail Briefing #1: JD.com and Alibaba Restructure

On December 21, 2018, JD.com announced it would restructure its operations with JD Mall, the company’s main revenue-generating unit. JD Mall will be divided into three business departments, including serving customers; business support services; and, infrastructure control and risk management. 

JD.com said in its announcement that the new structure will enable it to better focus on customers. JD Mall’s restructuring also aims to diversify its management team and assuage investors that Liu Qiangdong, JD’s founder and CEO, is not the only person driving decision-making at the company. 

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