The core perspective from which we analyze the spread of Coronavirus should always center around health and safety concerns. Yet, an epidemic of this magnitude also has secondary consequences, including a heavy toll on global economic activity. The US stock market has been hit especially hard driven by concerns over supply chain viability, drops in global travel, consumer fears and more.
The wholesale sector is among the most interesting in retail with one of the industry’s steadiest performers, a recovering giant and Walmart’s own entry into the mix. So we decided to dive in and check in on the offline performance for Costco, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Sam’s Club.
It’s always risky to bet against the king, as few in retail boast the same record as Target over the last few years. Following weaker than expected holiday earnings, excitement around the company tapered off. But is this deserved?
In the world of offline retail, there is simply no matching the juggernaut that is Walmart. And looking at the in-store performance of Walmart Supercenters from November 2019 through January 2020 was, yet again, impressive. All the more so considering the shorter holiday season.
Nothing ignites the competitive retail spirits like some good, old-fashioned industry insults. In a recent interview, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson said that Under Armour “lost it many years ago” attributing much of the company’s decline to the focus on wholesale. Instead, he opined that the future of the U.S. athleisure space belonged to Lululemon, Nike and Adidas.
Even on the back of an incredibly strong Q3 for Popeyes and Burger King, parent company Restaurant Brands International suffered due to the struggles of Tim Horton’s. With Q4 earnings on the horizon, we dove into the performance of all three brands to see whether RBI can see strong results across its portfolio.
