Retail not doing too good (not well at all:-)

Some, at least:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/18/business/kohls-problems/index…

Kohl’s can’t seem to catch a break, and it may have only itself to blame.

The department store chain on Thursday presented a dour outlook for 2022, saying it expects full-year sales to fall 5% to 6% compared to a year ago and blaming high inflation for preventing shoppers — specifically its middle-income consumers — from spending more at its stores. The company also reported a drop in sales and profit for the quarter ended July 30.

Kohl’s shares fell more than 7% Thursday.

But the economy isn’t its only problem. Kohl’s, (KSS) similar to other large chains including Target (TGT) and Walmart (WMT), is stuck with a lot of excess inventory that it can’t clear out. The chain’s inventory in the quarter was 48% above where it stood at the same time last year.
“We have adjusted our plans, implementing actions to reduce inventory and lower expenses to account for a softer demand outlook,” Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass said in a statement.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/20/business/target-outlook/index…

Target just demonstrated how quickly things can change in the world of retail, posting a terrible quarter after nearly two years of soaring profits and record revenue growth. But the big box retailer is promising things will change in the other direction just as fast.

Target was widely seen as one of the winners of the pandemic, gaining new customers as shoppers not wanting to go into brick-and-mortar stores were drawn to its growing curbside pickup and home delivery.
But after a disappointing fiscal first quarter when profits fell 40%, Target just had an even worse second quarter. Profits plunged 90% compared to a year earlier.

Inflation-weary shoppers shifted to buying essentials such as food and gas rather than “nonessential” general merchandise that is central to Target’s sales and profits. It was a stark contrast to larger rival Walmart (WMT), which posted only a narrow drop in profits for the quarter.

And for something a bit different (a company known to the average consumer as a retailer, but a report that doesn’t even mention the word):

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/28/tech/amazon-earnings-revenue/…

Amazon appears to still be going strong even as other Big Tech companies stumble amid pressure from inflation and an economic downturn.

The e-commerce giant on Thursday reported net sales of $121.2 billion for the quarter ended June 30, a 7% increase from the same quarter last year and higher than the $119 billion forecast by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Amazon (AMZN) stock surged more than 11% in after-hours trading following the results, shrugging off the company’s $2 billion loss that it attributed in part to its investment in electric truck manufacturer Rivian. Amazon posted a bigger loss last quarter that it similarly attributed to the Rivian investment.
“Despite continued inflationary pressures in fuel, energy, and transportation costs, we’re making progress on the more controllable costs we referenced last quarter, particularly improving the productivity of our fulfillment network,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement.

Amazon’s performance was buoyed by its cloud business, Amazon Web Services, which posted a profit of $5.7 billion on revenues of nearly $20 billion — a 33% increase from the same period last year.

Jeff

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Kohl’s can’t seem to catch a break, and it may have only itself to blame…

…Amazon’s performance was buoyed by its cloud business, Amazon Web Services

I guess the moral of this story is that Kohl’s needs to build a Kohl’s Web Services business.

'38Packard

  • but I guess Kohl’s is already late to that game…