Baby has got to have new shoes. For those who can’t afford the nice ones, there is always Wal-Mart (NSYE: WMT). And that showed up in their same-store sales last month.
Wal-Mart’s same-store numbers moved up 2.6%, well above the .8% that was expected. Sam’s Club did a bit better than the Wal-Mart outlets.
The news supports the theory that some retailers will do much better than others. Wal-Mart is still known for everyday low prices. Macy’s (NYSE:M) and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) don’t quite fall into that category and neither do higher end retailers like Nordstrom.
This will almost certainly lead to a break in performance between a big-box retailer like Wal-Mart and most other niche or higher end stores. The stock prices of these firms are likely to reflect this. Wal-Mart trades near a two-year high and is likely to move up further. Macy’s, on the other hand, trades near its low.
Investing in retail is likely to get easier now. The stores with the best value at price are taking most of the business.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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