Monday, May 7, 2018

Evaluating Kohl’s Strong Holiday-Season Sales Performance


Analyst Chuck Grom is a managing director at Gordon Haskett Research Advisors. A regular commentator on financial matters, Chuck Grom recently was featured in Reuters discussing the strong performance of Kohl’s Corp. in the 2017 holiday season. 

Between November and December 2017, Kohl’s posted an impressive 6.9 percent increase in same-store sales, its best holiday performance in 36 months. Store activity checks by research company Retail Metrics also indicate that Kohl’s was one of the most visited department chains in the country during that period. 

Kohl’s sales performance was higher than the 1-4 percent increases reported by JCPenney and Macy’s. According to analysts, this good showing was attributable to the company’s shifting business model away from shopping malls to stand-alone department stores. The performance also follows a revamp of the retailer’s beauty departments, an increased space allocation for Under Armour sporting goods, and a partnership with Amazon for its smart home products.

Monday, April 23, 2018

Retail Prices Were Strong During 2017 Holiday Season


Friday, March 30, 2018

Cowboys Add to Wide Receiver Depth with Signing of Deonte Thompson


Thursday, March 15, 2018

Wal-Mart Reacts to Tax Reform Through US Employee Wage Increase


A veteran Wall Street analyst, Chuck Grom leverages past experience with JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank as Gordon Haskett Research managing director. With extensive knowledge of consumer-facing retail segments, Chuck Grom’s firm recently provided insight within a Bloomberg article on Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.’s January 2018, announcement that it would increase its starting pay across the United States to $11 an hour.

This wage increase represents a 10 percent gain for employees of the largest retailer worldwide, which has global sales that generate nearly $500 billion annually. The total cost of the wage increase for Wal-Mart will be $300 million, not including one-time cash bonuses also planned. 

With Wal-Mart expected to generate $12 billion in net income in 2018 and achieving $57 million in hourly sales, this amount represents approximately nine days of profits. The wage increase is among the strategies undertaken, including buybacks and price cuts, to utilize the $2 billion in tax benefits realized under the new US tax system reforms. 

The cost of the wage increase, while substantial, is small relative to total operations. As a point of reference, the company’s US e-commerce chief Marc Lore received $244 million in 2016 as part of shares attached to his company Jet.com, which was purchased by Wal-Mart.