Weak Same-Store Sales Haunt Walmart’s Second Quarter Earnings

Posted on August 16, 2012 by jway

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 16, 2012
Contact: Evan Yeats, (202) 721-8147
eyeats@ufcw.org

Weak Same-Store Sales Haunt Walmart’s Second Quarter Earnings

Lapped by Competitors and Below Many Analysts’ Expectations, Results Show Need for Real Change at Walmart

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. released their 2012 second quarter results, revealing continued fundamental weaknesses in the company. The following is a statement by John Marshall, Senior Capital Markets Economist with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union:

“Walmart continues to underperform.

                “The second quarter results today show Walmart’s weak revenue stream and inability to keep pace with its peers in the broader retail market. It starkly highlights the disconnect between the recent run up in share prices and the challenging fundamentals faced by the company.

                “The path forward for Walmart requires the company to make significant changes to right the course. Current attempts to meet profit targets by slashing staffing at the store level only make matters worse, with Walmart’s customer satisfaction ratings already ranking at the bottom in the industry. We are also concerned by reports that the company may be firing workers who have spoken out about the problems caused by this understaffing.

                “Walmart is still under federal investigation for its involvement in a bribery scandal, with a congressional committee this week suggesting that Walmart may have had compliance issues relating not only to bribery, but also to ‘questionable financial behavior’ including tax evasion and money laundering in Mexico.

“In the U.S., Walmart continues to face community opposition as it attempts to expand into urban markets. Its failure to reach agreements with community groups has created problems and delays in other major markets – like New York City, Boston and Washington, D.C.

                “Walmart workers and shareholders across the country have been calling for the company to make changes that would help restore consumer confidence, but Walmart has continually rebuffed these efforts to hear from and be accountable to key stakeholders. To really turn things around, Walmart must meet with front-line workers and communities to address the ongoing problems of short staffing, low wages and poor benefits that are impacting the company’s bottom line.”

###

© 2011, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.