- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported this morning that November same-store sales rose just 2.6 percent, at the low end of predictions. The company blamed a late Thanksgiving that delayed holiday sales.
Total sales for the month were up 10.3 percent to $20.997 billion in the four-week period ended Nov. 29.
The Wal-Mart division's sales for the four-week period were $13.7 billion, up 10.5 percent over sales of $12.400 billion in the similar prior-year period.
Sam’s Club sales for the four-week period were $2.646 billion, up 7.0 percent over sales of $2.474 billion in the similar prior-year period.
The International division's sales for the four-week period were $3.499 billion, up 13.7 percent over sales of $3.078 billion in the similar prior-year period.
- Ahold subsidiary US Foodservice has acquired Allen Foods, a foodservice distributor that generates about $245 million a year in annual sales.
The move may have come as a surprise to some in the industry, given Ahold’s recent profit downturn and decision to focus only on core businesses; pundits were predicting that it would be a while before Ahold acquired anything new. However, US Foodservice CEO Jim Miller said that the acquisition fit with the company’s strategy because it reinforced a core business.
- USAToday reports this morning that a new survey by the Society for Human Resource Management reveals that more than 75 percent of workers say they are satisfied with their jobs.
Thirty percent of employees polled considered themselves ‘very satisfied,' and 35 percent say they're satisfied on the job, the survey showed. A mere 11 percent said they were dissatisfied with their jobs. Older workers were happier than younger workers, while men and women were equally satisfied – but for different reasons. Women were more concerned with flexibility to balance life and work issues and communication, while men put a premium on job security and benefits.
Interestingly, workers themselves were more happy that their human resources professionals thought they were; in the same survey, HR managers predicted only eight percent of workers would say they were “very satisfied.”
- Here’s one we hadn’t seen before -- selling fresh cut Christmas trees over the Internet.
Walmart.ccom announced that it is selling fresh cut frasier fir Christmas trees over the Internet between now and December 9. They cost $57.64 plus shipping, stand between six and six-and-a-half feet tall, and are delivered within a few days of ordering.
- KC's View:
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Is there anything Wal-Mart won’t try? Maybe other companies have done this before, but it’s the first time we’ve seen it…and we’re tempted to try it.
