With the announcement of their impressive third quarter sales results that have outdone Wall Street predictions and resulted in a rise in the company's 2018 profit outlook.
The company published revenue figures of $123.18 billion which is over two billion more than predicted by Wall Street analysts. Walmart stores which had already been open for at least one year had a sales increase of 2.7% which is significantly higher than the anticipated increase of 1.8%. This is also the 13th consecutive quarterly increase for sales for Walmart. These strong results have meant that Walmart have now revised their profit outlook to $4.38 to $4.46 per share.
Grocery sales appear to have been the strongest performer in sales with their strongest sales figures in six years. The sales of fresh meat, produce and bakery have been particularly impressive. Part of this may be due to the increase in popularity of click and collect shopping where shoppers can order groceries online to collect in store. Walmart are still looking at expanding their kerbside pick up facilities even further.
Walmart plan further investment in their stores and will look to cultivate relationships with their customers by offering events such as seasonal parties. There will also be a further extension in the range of products that are currently offered for online sales. A major future development is Walmart's plan to begin selling the premium brand Lord and Taylor in their stores. It is expected that the clothing range will be on sale from next spring. Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart, has stated that the company plans to build on this and will be focused on attracting other premium brands such as Bose and Kitchenware.
Walmart have also been actively increasing their portfolio with the purchase of the Moosejaw, Modcloth and Bonobos brands. This activity is expected to continue as they look to improve on this impressive set of results, maintain their place in the competitive retail market and build towards a further increase in their profit outlook.
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