Company Earnings Update | February 4, 2019 Register for Free Access Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) 4Q18 Results: Beats Consensus Estimates, Guidance Below ConsensusNorth America revenues were $44.1 billion, up 18.3% year over year, posting operating income of $1.7 billion, compared to a profit of $1.7 billion in the year-ago quarter. International revenues were $20.8 billion, up 15.5% year over year, posting an operating loss of $0.6 billion, compared to a loss of $0.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. AWS revenues were $7.4 billion, up 45.3% year over year, posting an operating profit of $2.2 billion, compared to $1.4 billion in the year-ago quarter. Read More
Insight Report | February 1, 2019 Premium Revised Foreign Direct Investment Policy to Rejig the E-Commerce Playing Field in IndiaOn December 26, 2018, the Indian government unexpectedly announced a revised FDI policy for e-commerce. Since 2010, when it first allowed 100% foreign investment in business-to-business e-commerce, international firms such as Amazon set up intricate joint-venture and holding company structures to cleverly navigate the Indian e-commerce landscape. Read More
Market Navigators/Market Outlook | February 1, 2019 Premium Sector Overview: US Apparel Specialty Retailers — Collaborations Are the New NormalIn 2018, U.S. apparel and footwear specialty retailers’ sales totaled $197 billion, according to Euromonitor International, and its analysts forecast sector sales will grow at a CAGR of 3.3% to 2023, reaching $232 billion. Relative to the recent past, 2018’s results were strong. Sportswear and athleisure are driving specialty apparel and footwear sales. We see areas of opportunity in the lingerie and plus-size categories. We expect specialty retailers to continue exploring collaborations, partnerships and global expansion – particularly into China and India. Read More
Event Coverage | February 1, 2019 Register for Free Access World Bank Sees Slowing Productivity and Social Inclusion As Key Challenges for High-Growth East Asia CountriesThe success of these economies has been built on the “East Asian Development Model,” which the World Bank says includes policies and initiatives to promote export-oriented manufacturing, supported by education designed to support economic growth. However, developing East Asia still has some gaps to fill. China’s per capita GDP is only one-fifth the average for high-income economies, followed by Vietnam at just 5% and Cambodia at 3%, according to the World Bank report. When South Korea achieved high-income status in 2000, its labor productivity was 2.5 times higher and its human capital was one-third higher than China’s was in 2018. 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
Company Earnings Update | February 1, 2019 Register for Free Access Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) 4Q18 Results: Beats Consensus Estimates, Guidance in Line with ConsensusTractor Supply reported Q4 revenues of $2.13 billion, up 9.2% year over year and above the $2.10 billion consensus estimate. Comps were 5.7%, beating the 3.7% consensus estimate and comprising a 3.0% increase in average ticket and a 2.6% increase in transaction count. All geographic regions and all major product categories had positive comps. Continued strength in everyday merchandise in the consumable, usable and edible categories helped drive comps, in addition to strong sales of winter and other seasonal products. Read More
Company Earnings Update | February 1, 2019 Register for Free Access H&M (STO: HM-B) FY18 Results: Logistics Upgrade Proves a Drag on ProfitsFor 1Q19, the company expects markdowns to be around 1 percentage point lower compared to the year-ago period and expects to see continued improvement in inventory, led by strong collections and increased full-price sales. Net sales for the period December 1, 2018 to January 28, 2019, increased 4% year over year in local currencies. In FY19, the company plans to open around 335 new stores, of which around 240 will be H&M stores. H&M plans to close 160 stores. The company will open new logistics centers outside Madrid and north of London at the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020. Read More
Company Earnings Update | February 1, 2019 Register for Free Access LVMH (ENXTPA: MC) FY18 Results: Fashion and Leather Goods Set the PaceLVMH full-year sales rose 9.8% to €46.8 billion. Currency exchange rates adversely impacted full year sales results by (400) bps. Online sales rose approximately 27-28%, to €3.7 billion and now represent 8% of consolidated 2018 revenues. Fashion and leather goods set the sales pace, achieving 15% organic growth in 2018. The Louis Vuitton brand has surpassed €10 billion annually and the fashion and leather goods segment now represents 39% of consolidated 2018 revenues, up from 36% in 2017. 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
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
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
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
