4 Weeks Ended
Percent
3-2-2007 3-3-2006 Change
Wal-Mart Stores $17.572 $16.639 5.6%
Sam's Club 3.159 3.032 4.2%
International 6.063 5.107 18.7%
Total Company $26.794 $24.778 8.1%
Comparable sales for the periods ending Mar. 2, 2007, and Mar. 3, 2006,
were as follows:
4 Weeks Ended
3-2-2007 3-3-2006
Wal-Mart Stores 0.4% 3.5%
Sam's Club 3.9% 4.6%
Total U.S. 0.9% 3.7%
The 18.7% increase in International's net sales for the four-week period includes 4.1 percentage points from the consolidation of Wal-Mart Central America.
Wal-Mart Stores Division
During the four-week February reporting period, the strongest comparable sales performances continued in the grocery, consumables and pharmacy areas. Seasonal sales at Wal-Mart stores were strong in gift items for Valentine's Day. The softness in home and apparel sales cited during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 continued in February and is expected to remain through spring. Hardlines were impacted by unfavorable weather.
For the Wal-Mart Stores Division U.S., average ticket drove the February comparable store sales increase. Traffic in comparable stores was down, and the impact on same store sales from last year's hurricane-related sales continues to decrease.
Earlier this week, the Company announced the launch of its "site to store" service for U.S. stores. This service offers free shipping to Wal-Mart stores on thousands of items offered through its web site, http://www.walmart.com . The first phase of the rollout is available in more than 750 stores, with full national availability to all Wal-Mart Stores U.S. expected to be completed by late summer.
Sam's Club
Like Wal-Mart Stores, Sam's Club saw strength in the grocery, consumables and pharmacy areas during February. Consumer electronics categories continued their strong growth. Business member traffic tracked up during the reporting period.
The seasonal transition to spring in Sam's Club is complete in categories such as grills and patio. In addition, the conversion to a new online travel and vacation service at Sam's Club Travel ... Powered by Expedia, is complete and can be accessed at http://www.samsclub.com .
Guidance
Comparable store sales in the United States for the March five-week period are estimated to be between 1 and 2 percent, said Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Detail on Comparable Sales Fuel Impact
Comparable sales that are presented in this release exclude the impact of fuel sales in the Company's Sam's Club segment. Fuel sales impacted the Sam's Club and total U.S. comparable sales figures for the four-week period ending Mar. 2, 2007, by -0.6 and -0.1 percentage points, respectively. Including the impact of fuel sales, the Sam's Club and total U.S. comparable sales figures for the four-week period ending Mar. 2, 2007, would have been 3.3 and 0.8 percent, respectively.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart discount stores, supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club locations in the United States. The Company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. The Company's securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartstores.com and http://www.walmartfacts.com . Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com .
This release contains statements that Wal-Mart believes are "forward- looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are intended to enjoy the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by that act. These forward- looking statements discuss our expectation for continued softness for sales in the categories of home and apparel through spring 2007, our management's expectations relating to the full national availability of the www.walmart.com-related "site to store" service by late summer of 2007, and our management's estimate of comparable sales for the March five-week period. These statements are identified by use of the word "expected" or the phrase "are estimated" in the statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, domestically and internationally, including consumer spending patterns and debt levels, unemployment levels, fuel prices, inflation levels, weather conditions, competitive pressures and other risks. We discuss certain of these matters and other risk factors more fully in our filings with the SEC, including our last Annual Report on Form 10-K and latest Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. This release should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and certain other of our filings with the SEC through the date of this release. We urge you to consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating these forward-looking statements and not to place undue reliance on such statements. As a result of these and other matters, including changes in facts, assumptions not being realized or other circumstances, our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
SOURCE Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Investor Relations, +1-479-273-8446, or Carol Schumacher, +1- 479-277-1498, or Pauline Tureman, +1-479-277-9558, or Media Relations, Sarah Clark, +1-800-331-0085, all of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
http://www.walmartstores.com
