THAT SALES IN JULY WERE MOVING
IN REVERSE AMID NEW SURGES IN
COVID ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
HERE TO HELP US UNPACK ALL OF
THIS CONFUSION, MY FAVORITE
RETAIL ANALYST, HITHA HERZOG.
GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
CHERYL: HELP ME MAKE SENSE OF
WALMART.
I ACTUALLY DID THE NUMBERS THIS
MORNING WITH MARIA ON THE SHOW.
THESE WERE BLOWOUT NUMBERS FROM
WALMART.
NEXT THING YOU KNOW, THE
CONFERENCE CALL STARTS AT 8:00
A.M. EASTERN TIME AND THE STOCK
STARTS GOING DOWN.
WHAT GIVES?
>> WE SAW A LITTLE BIT OF THE
SELLOFF, MOSTLY HAVING TO DO
WITH INVESTORS TAKING PROFITS.
THEY SAW THIS RECORD RUNUP AND
THEN THEY STARTED TAKING MOST OF
THEIR PROFIT EARLIER IN THE
MORNING.
BUT YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE
FACT THAT THE STIMULUS HAS
STALLED AND A LOT OF WHAT WE SAW
WITH WALMART, ESPECIALLY ON THE
DISCRETIONARY SIDE, WAS THE
SPENDING OF THOSE STIMULUS
CHECKS.
WITH THAT SAID, WALMART IS
SQUARELY, AND THEY DID THIS ON
PURPOSE, THEY POSITIONED THEM AS
AN ESSENTIAL RETAILER AND WHAT
WE ARE SEEING WITH RETAILERS IS
A REAL BIFURCATION.
THE ESSENTIAL RETAILERS LIKE
WALMART, HOME DEPOT AND TARGET
AND LOWE’S THAT ARE REPORTING
OUT TOMORROW OF THE WORLD, THEN
YOU HAVE THE OTHER NON-ESSENTIAL
RETAILERS, FOR EXAMPLE, THE
DEPARTMENT STORES, JC PENNEY
WHICH YOU KNOW IS FILING FOR
CHAPTER 11, NEIMAN MARCUS WHICH
IS REALLY NON-ESSENTIAL, MAY BE
ESSENTIAL FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME,
BUT FOR THOSE THAT IT’S NOT
ESSENTIAL, THEY ARE NOT SELLING
TOILET PAPER, SO YOU ARE SEEING
THAT ALSO HITTING THE DOLDRUMS
THERE.
THAT’S WHAT WE ARE SEEING WITH
THE CONSUMER.
CHERYL: IT’S ALSO INTERESTING
ABOUT WALMART, I WAS READING A
NOTE FROM A UBS ANALYST GOING
INTO THE REPORT THIS MORNING
THAT HE WAS PRETTY BULLISH ON
THEIR BACK-TO-SCHOOL STORY WHICH
NOW, THEY GET ON TO THE
CONFERENCE CALL AND BY THE WAY,
DOUG WILL BE ON WITH MARIA
TOMORROW SO THIS IS ALL GOING TO
COME UP, BUT BASICALLY THE
COMPANY SAID WE ARE A LITTLE
UNCERTAIN ABOUT BACK-TO-SCHOOL.
UBS WAS SAYING NO, NO, NO,
WALMART IS PERFECTLY POSITIONED
BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY OR
JUST YOU CAN GO AND DO ONE-STOP
SHOPPING.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE
FOR CLOTHES, YOU DON’T HAVE TO
GO SOMEWHERE FOR SCHOOL
SUPPLIES, YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO
SOMEWHERE TO PICK UP, YOU KNOW,
THINGS FOR YOUR HOME.
IT’S ALL WITHIN THE DOORS OF A
WALMART.
THEN THE E-COMMERCE STORY AS
WELL WHICH I STILL THINK IS A
STRONG STORY, 97% JUMP, BECAUSE
THEY ARE GOING AFTER AMAZON.
I THINK AMAZON SHOULD BE NERVOUS
AT THIS POINT ABOUT WALMART.
>> RIGHT.
WALMART HAS SPENT UPWARDS OF, I
MEAN, WE ARE TALKING INTO THE
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TRYING TO
TAKE AWAY THAT MARKET SHARE FROM
AMAZON.
WE’RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT
REALLY DOMINATING WHEN IT COMES
TO BACK-TO-SCHOOL ITEMS SUCH AS
CLOTHES AND SUPPLIES, RIGHT.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CONSUMER
PACKAGE GOOD AS WELL.
OR
ORACLE CAME OUT WITH THIS STUDY
THAT SAYS A LOT OF PACKAGED
GOODS THESE STORES WERE SELLING
REALLY HIT A PEAK AT MARCH AND
APRIL, JUST AS THE HEIGHT OF THE
PANDEMIC, EVERYONE WAS
SHELTERING IN AND STARTED TO
TRAIL OFF TOWARDS MAY, RIGHT,
WHEN PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO SEE
THAT SUPPLY CHAIN LOOSEN UP A
LITTLE BIT.
SO WHAT WE ARE SEEING NOW, AND
TO YOUR POINT, WALMART REALLY
POSITIONED THEMSELVES SO
PERFECTLY.
YEARS AND YEARS AFTER TRYING TO
GO UP AGAINST AMAZON, TAKING
AWAY THAT MARKET SHARE, POURING
MONEY, CAPITAL EXPENDITURE INTO
THEIR ONLINE INFRASTRUCTURE, NOW
IS THE TIME THAT REALLY THEY
WERE ABLE TO SHINE.
WE SAW THAT IN THE NUMBERS.
97% ONLINE GROWTH E-COMMERCE,
THAT’S -- IF THEY CAN SUSTAIN
THAT FOR THE NEXT COUPLE
QUARTERS, I WOULD SAY THAT HAS
PAID OFF IN BILLIONS.
CHERYL: WHAT YOU ARE SAYING THIS
MORNING ABOUT THE PEOPLE TAKING
SOME PROFITS OFF THE TABLE WITH
WALMART, VERY INTERESTING TAKE
