Walmart US Q1 comp sales +6.0% / Sam’s Club comp sales +7.2% Press release

 

…Pent-up demand, stimulus power Walmart’s ‘optimism’ for the year at Reuters. “Our optimism is higher than it was at the beginning of the year. In the U.S., customers clearly want to get out and shop,” Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said in a statement. “We anticipate continued pent-up demand throughout 2021.” Read more

 

Home Depot Q1 comp sales +31% Press release

 

…Home Depot crushes Q1 estimates at CNBC. “For the company’s first quarter this year, it reported 447.2 million customer transactions, up 19.3% from a year ago. Consumers were also spending more during their visits. Average ticket rose 10.3% to $82.37.” Read more

 

Macy’s Q1 comp sales up 63.9% on an owned plus licensed basis Press release

 

…Macy’s Surprises With Quarterly Profit and Raises Full-Year Outlook at Yahoo Finance. “According to chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette, Macy’s outperformed sales expectations across all three of its brands: its namesake chain, Bloomingdale’s and luxury beauty retailer Bluemercury.” Read more

 

Amazon Said to Make $9 Billion Offer for MGM at Variety. “Chatter that Amazon (and other tech and media giants) have been sniffing around MGM has circulated for some time. But sources indicated that Amazon’s interest in acquiring the studio has taken on a new tenor beyond the usual rumor mill.” Read more

 

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CVS appoints Shawn Guertin CFO as Eva Boratto exits at Reuters. “Guertin was with U.S. health insurer Aetna for 8 years and served as its executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief enterprise risk officer. He also played a key part in Aetna’s merger with CVS Health in 2018.” Read more

 

US home construction falls a surprise 9.5% in April at AP. “The report showed that applications for building permits, considered a good sign of future activity, rose 0.3% in April to an annual rate of 1.76 million units, a good sign that the April dip in construction will be temporary.” Read more

 

100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2021 (CVS #11, Target #26, Gap #32, Walmart #75, Best Buy #76, Walgreens #80) at 3BL Media Top 100 list

 

Target adding same-day delivery and pickup of adult beverages Read more

 

Amazon may launch healthcare business line with at-home COVID test and other diagnostic services at GeekWire. “Sources told Insider that Amazon could offer testing kits for infections that lead to respiratory and sexually transmitted diseases, and its long-term goal is to expand into areas such as clinical genomics. According to the report, a COVID-19 testing kit could arrive from Amazon in June.” Read more

 

Alibaba leads $400 mln funding in Masan’s retail firm, first Vietnam investment at Reuters. Read more

 

Amazon rebrands Amazon Go Grocery to Amazon Fresh at GeekWire. Read more

 

Britain’s M&S promotes food and strategy bosses in top team shake-up at Reuters. “British retailer Marks & Spencer has promoted strategy chief Katie Bickerstaffe and food boss Stuart Machin in a major shake-up of its management team’s responsibilities, making them the internal frontrunners to succeed Steve Rowe as chief executive.” Read more

 

EBay hires JetBlue CFO to head up finance Press release

 

Shein overtakes Amazon as the most installed shopping app in US at TechCrunch. “Its ascent is quiet because the startup, despite reportedly exceeding a $15 billion valuation, maintains an unusually low profile and doesn’t try to make itself known to the media. The app, dubbed the “TikTok for e-commerce” by China-focused internet analyst Matthew Brennan in this thorough piece on the startup, manufactures in China as many apparel retailers do.” Read more

 

Bed Bath & Beyond names John Barresi to the role of SVP Finance, Chief Accounting Officer “Mr. Barresi comes to Bed Bath & Beyond from Tiffany & Co., where he most recently served as Vice President of Global Business Transformation.” Read more

 

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