Walmart Investor Day: eCommerce Executing Well But Tariff Clouds Have Started Raining
What Walmart’s Investor Day Revealed About Their Strategy
One week into the tariff regime, Walmart essentially admitted to investors "we're still working through what this means for us." Translation? Who the hell knows what is going on. Not us.
When asked about the tariff situation, Walmart's CEO said he has a great CTO, Suresh. Huh? Confusion abounds in Bentonville... But frankly, who can blame them?
Walmart's Position Amid Tariff Uncertainty: A Mixed Outlook
A few learnings from the recent investor meeting, many I have not seen anywhere:
Not immune to current environment, but feel better positioned than most.
Confident in their strategy. Prepared to play offense.
Two-thirds of what Walmart sells is US-made. One-third is sourced all over, but the highest source is Mexico/China.
Q1 sales guidance should be in the range of 3-4%. Operating income guidance is unclear and a wider range due to "unfavorable category mix." Retail speak for people aren't buying our higher margin items, trading down.
"Our customers want pretty much unlimited choice." Some statement!
"More than 2/3 of our marketplace assortment is general merchandise."
"We have 21 billion-dollar private label brands."
66% of Marketplace top sellers use Walmart Fulfillment Services.
Key Takeaways from Walmart's Investor Day Meeting
All these are statements I had never heard before.
Walmart built a new shopping assistant named "Sparky". Cue groans.
Seth Dallaire said Walmart is exploring how it can license its (recently acquired) Vizio TV operating system to other TV OEMs. Sounds like a media network strategy to me.
Walmart has a new Chief Commerce Officer, David Guggina. Their background is running Amazon warehouses, as well as EVP at Walmart Supply Chain. Wonder where Walmart's focus is?
Is Walmart Prepared for Tariffs? A Deeper Look at Their Supply Chain
Saying two-thirds of the inventory is "US made" is a very slippery term in that there is no definition of that. It does not mean there are no foreign-sourced materials or that the supplier does not have a complex international supply chain.
What the CEO's Statement on Unlimited Choice Really Means for Walmart
I have never heard Walmart say before that customers want virtually unlimited choice/selection. It's a strong statement and points marketplace up and to the right. The question is, where does supply come from in this environment? Amazon grew on the backs of Chinese sellers.
Walmart's eCommerce Strategy: Performing Well, But Challenges Lie Ahead
Although sales and operating income guidance for the full year was "unchanged," I feel like anything is on the table now. The CEO even said as much with this statement:
"We just don't know enough to say we're not going to make this year."
Walmart's Confident Strategy: Can They Overcome the Tariff Storm?
This does not make me feel good.
This was a very "rah-rah" style event—more than I usually see out of Walmart. This makes me incrementally more cynical about reports out of Bentonville.
"Sparky": Walmart’s New Shopping Assistant and Its Potential Impact
My read is that Walmart is much more exposed than they are letting on. And if the "good old American" Walmart is this exposed, what hope do the rest of us have? Make your guidance cautious, and your employees nimble.
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