Wal-Mart Posts Worst Sales Ever as U.S. Retail Figures Slump
May 11th, 2007What’s the matter?
America’s Re-Fi ATM is closed, that’s what’s the matter.
Have a nice day!
Via: Guardian:
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, yesterday posted its worst monthly sales figures since its records began in 1980.
The company said same store sales fell 3.5% in April on the same month a year ago. Same store sales measure the performance of stores that have been open for at least 12 months.
But Wal-Mart was not the only US retailer turning in a poor performance in April, triggering fears that the housing slump in the US might be spilling over into consumer spending and that the economy might be taking a decided turn for the worse.
Federated Department Stores, the company behind Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, reported a 2.2% fall in April sales. The Gap continued to underperform, posting a 16% drop in sales – the retailer’s long-running difficulties led to the departure of its chief executive in January. Abercrombie & Fitch, the clothing brand that recently opened in London, said April sales were down by 15%.
The discounter Target, Wal-Mart’s biggest rival, reported a 6.1% decline in same store April sales.
The UBS International Council of Shopping Centres tallies the results of more than 50 of the leading retailers in the US and said combined sales in April had declined by 2.3%, the biggest drop since the index was first started in 1970. “The slowdown is at hand,” said chief economist at the council Michael Niemira.
As Barbara Streisand, and so many others have crooned, you can cry me a river.
Used to be that the saying was “where General Motors goes there goes the U.S. economy. Now is it to be measured by Walmart’s “performance?”
Like any animal or pet that is in great distress of health and overall wellbeing, Walmart is a company that needs to be put down. God/dess forgive me, Euthanasia. The Walton family can go quietly into the night with the billions that they’ve made. But willikers, what to do with all the others who have worked and been screwed by Walmart without enjoying it? I say put the cash cow down now before it can harm another human being.
All the retailers are hemorrhaging, not just Walmart. Paging Mr. Bernancke: If you really meant your promise to drop money from helicopters to avert a deflationary depression, now would be a good time to start the engines. After all, the overextended borrowers would really prefer that inflationary depression you guaranteed them.