Wal-Mart Struggles; J.C. Penney Sparkles

[boann]

i love this story... i so hate wallmart..



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050816/...arns_retailers;_ylt=AjgU_jA.XdrH1rRlIuXocges0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bG I2aDNqBHNlYwM3NDk-

humm the url isn't working right but you can find it on yahoo news.


Wal-Mart Stores Inc. struggled in the second quarter and offered a disappointing third-quarter profit forecast, again blaming higher gasoline prices for cutting into spending plans by its low-income shoppers. In contrast, shoppers at moderate-price department store retailer J.C. Penney Co. Inc., focused on fashion rather than fuel, resulting in robust results and an upbeat outlook.

The disappointing results from Wal-Mart offer further evidence that the discounter can't rely on the lowest prices to fuel sales and profit growth as rivals like Target Corp. and Penney, both of which appeal to a higher-income shopper, keep sharpening their merchandising assortment. While Wal-Mart began to expand into trendier apparel and home fashions this year to make itself less vulnerable to the economy's jitters, the question is whether it can draw in shoppers fast enough to turn business around.

[Sava]

YAY WALMART BURN IN HELL AND DIE!

DIE WALTONS!

[Kontiki]

"Struggle" is a relative term. Their profit was up 5.8% in Q2 to $2.8 billion, beating analysts estimates but falling short of their own overly optimistic projections.

[mrmitchell]

Last thing I recall, Wal Mart is still the largest company in the world...

Last thing I recall, Wal Mart and JC Penney aren't direct competitors anyway...

While Wal-Mart began to expand into trendier apparel and home fashions this year to make itself less vulnerable to the economy's jitters, the question is whether it can draw in shoppers fast enough to turn business around.

There is no business to turn around. Wal Mart continues to expand at a rate that would blow your mind if I could remember it.

As for the company expanding into "trendier" products - people shop there for low prices. I can get "trendy" anywhere, but it all burns right through my wallet.

Gasoline is a bigger problem for Wal Mart. They have to ship huge numbers of products, and a lot of their customers are in the lower brackets that can't afford to drive off to Wal Mart whenever they feel like it. If I was their CEO I would be pushing billions into hydrogen, etc. research. It's not directly related to their business, but it would create a huge savings for them if a steady, inexpensive fuel source was made viable.

[mrmitchell]

By the way, gas was $2.51 today at the cheapest pump in town. What the hell happened to push it up, did a refinery blow up or something?

[Ninot]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
By the way, gas was $2.51 today at the cheapest pump in town. What the hell happened to push it up, did a refinery blow up or something?

it did a 10 cent per litre jump here in Montreal yesterday.

thats a 40 cent per galon jump, for our American friends.