Walmart Q4 comp sales: Walmart U.S. +8.6% / Sam’s Club +10.8% / Int’l Net Sales +5.5% Press release | Earnings call presentation

 

…Walmart shares fall on earnings miss, retailer sees sales growth slowing in coming year at CNBC. “Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said it will boost the wage of U.S. workers, raising the average for hourly employees to above $15 per hour.” Read more

 

…Walmart rides soaring holiday demand to beat same-store sales estimates at Reuters. “Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year surged 8.6%, excluding fuel, in the three months ended Jan. 31, well above analysts’ expectations of a 5.6% rise, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.” Read more

 

Ahold Delhaize Q4 U.S. comp sales (ex-gas) +11.2% Press release

 

Pfizer study deals new blow to South Africa’s vaccine hopes at Reuters. “Scientists will meet on Thursday to advise South Africa’s government on its next steps after a study suggested the dominant local coronavirus variant may reduce antibody protection from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine by two-thirds.” Read more

 

Shipping Container Shortage Gives Commodity Prices Extra Boost at Wall Street Journal. “At $4,709 per container, rates from Asia to the U.S. West Coast are almost four times higher than they were in March 2020. For taking goods to the East Coast, rates have more than doubled to $5,658 per container.” WSJ subs.

 

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Former AWS real estate managers, accused of taking millions in kickbacks at GeekWire. “Casey Kirschner, an AWS real estate manager, and Carl Nelson, Kirschner’s boss and mentor — were leading that physical expansion for Amazon. The third, Colorado developer Brian Watson, put himself forward as a person who could salve Amazon’s growing pains. In the ensuing 2-and-a-half years, the groundwork laid during the afternoon meeting at the West 8th building would support a $500 million data center building blitz, before allegations of secret kickbacks, bribery and double-dealing blew it apart.” Read more

 

Britain’s Asda sees sales rise 5.1% in Christmas quarter at Reuters. Read more

 

Indian trader group calls for ban on Amazon following damning report at TechCrunch. “The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday “demanded” serious action from the Indian government against Amazon following revelations made in a Reuters story. “For years, CAIT has been maintaining that Amazon has been circumventing FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] laws of India to conduct unfair and unethical trade,” it said.” Read more

 

Blue Apron Q4 net revenue +22% Press release

 

Kroger will close more stores over hazard pay laws for workers at CNN. “”Unfortunately, Seattle City Council didn’t consider that grocery stores — even in a pandemic — operate on razor-thin profit margins in a very competitive landscape,” QFC said in a news release…With the additional hazard pay requirement, “it becomes impossible to operate a financially sustainable business.” Read more

 

US jobless claims rise to 861,000 as layoffs stay high at AP. “The figures underscore that the job market has stalled, with employers having added a mere 49,000 jobs in January after cutting workers in December. Nearly 10 million jobs remain lost to the pandemic.” Read more

 

Winco to revamp Boise headquarters building at BoiseDev. “Winco will spend $2.17 million to remodel the building on Armstrong Pl. off Emerald in West Boise, according to a building permit issued last month. The 71,964-foot office building will see new skylights, reconfigured walls and partitions, new exterior siding, new doorways, and a pair of exterior overhead doors. The building will also see updated interior finishes.” Read more

 

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