BENTONVILLE, Ark., Sept. 6 -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
(NYSE: WMT) reported net sales for the four-week and 30-week periods ending
August 31, 2007, and September 1, 2006, respectively, as follows (dollars in
billions):
Net Sales
4 Weeks Ended Percent 30 Weeks Ended Percent
8/31/2007 9/1/2006 Change 8/31/2007 9/1/2006 Change
Wal-Mart Stores $18.157 $16.836 7.8% $133.297 $125.451 6.3%
Sam's Club 3.344 3.148 6.2% 25.178 23.530 7.0%
International 6.721 5.841 15.1% 49.012 42.234 16.0%
Total Company $28.222 $25.825 9.3% $207.487 $191.215 8.5%
Comparable store sales for the four-week and 30-week periods ending August 31, 2007, and September 1, 2006, respectively, were as follows:
Four Weeks Comparable Store Sales
Without Fuel With Fuel Fuel Impact
8/31/2007 9/1/2006 8/31/2007 9/1/2006 8/31/2007 9/1/2006
Wal-Mart Stores 2.8% 2.9% 2.8% 2.9% 0.0% 0.0%
Sam's Club 5.2% 2.6% 4.0% 1.4% -1.2% -1.2%
Total U.S. 3.1% 2.9% 3.0% 2.7% -0.1% -0.2%
Thirty Weeks Comparable Store Sales
Without Fuel With Fuel Fuel Impact
8/31/2007 9/1/2006 8/31/2007 9/1/2006 8/31/2007 9/1/2006
Wal-Mart Stores 0.8% 2.6% 0.8% 2.6% 0.0% 0.0%
Sam's Club 5.2% 3.3% 5.0% 3.8% -0.2% 0.5%
Total U.S. 1.5% 2.7% 1.5% 2.8% 0.0% 0.1%
Wal-Mart Stores
Back-to-school categories drove sales during the four-week August period at Wal-Mart Stores U.S. In the general merchandise area, back-to-school categories had solid sales performance, with strength in electronics, school supplies and children's apparel. Sales of laptops and calculators did well, as families prepared for later school start dates in some states such as Florida and Texas. Back-to-college essentials and "rollback" features helped increase sales in domestics, including bedding, bath towels and plastic storage and organization items.
Price leadership initiatives continued to drive traffic to Wal-Mart's grocery business as well. Food categories were strong throughout the month and the back-to-school season helped drive convenience items for school lunch boxes and snacks.
"We are pleased with our performance during August, because it reflects continuing momentum in grocery and electronics. Home and apparel are expected to continue improving into the fourth quarter," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Stores U.S. "Overall, we are pleased with our inventory position at the end of August."
Sam's Club
Sam's Club's sales for the four-week period were driven by increases in average ticket with both business and Advantage members. Sales among small business members continued to be strongest. Similar to the prior four-week period, sales in electronics, fresh food and grocery were strengths. Hotter weather positively impacted sales of some seasonal items. The clubs are transitioning now to Halloween and autumn seasonal categories and are beginning preparations for the holiday season.
International
During the August period, Brazil and the United Kingdom continued their recent positive performance. Brazil sales continued to improve ahead of the market, mainly driven by a stronger price position, assortment that is customized to the local community and a recovery of disposable income. Asda continued to gain market share during August. Macroeconomic factors contributed to a slowdown in sales in Mexico during the period.
Guidance
The Company expects the comparable store sales of its U.S. operations for the September five-week reporting period to be between 1 and 3 percent, said Tom Schoewe, executive vice president and chief financial officer. The September five-week period runs from September 1 through October 5, 2007.
As previously noted, the Company reports net sales and comparable store sales consistent with the National Retail Federation (NRF) calendar. The NRF calendar included 53 weeks for the most recently completed year, but includes only 52 weeks this year. The weekly sales information for the four-week and 30-week periods ended September 1, 2006 reported in this release match the comparable weeks in the retail calendar for the current fiscal year. However, these four-week and 30-week comparable store sales periods reported for last year ended August 25, 2006, one week earlier.
The Company has posted on its Web site, http://www.walmartstores.com/investors, a "reclassification" document showing prior year comparable store sales re-grouped to match the comparable weeks for the current reporting calendar. The reclassified total U.S. comparable store sales for the September 2006 five-week period ending October 6, 2006 is 1.6 percent, excluding the impact of fuel.
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. 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 include statements as to our management's expectation for comparable store sales for the September five-week reporting period to end October 5, 2007, and as to our management's expectations for sales of apparel and home overall during the fourth quarter for fiscal year 2008. These statements are identified by use of the words "expects" or "expected", 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. This release should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K and certain other Company filings with the SEC through the date of this release. The Company urges 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.
-0- 09/06/2007
/CONTACT: Investor Relations, +1-479-273-8446, or Carol Schumacher,
+1-479-277-1498, or Anthony Clark, +1-479-277-9558, or Media Relations,
John Simley, 1-800-331-0085, all of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc./
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/Web site: http://www.walmartstores.com
http://www.samsclub.com
http://www.walmart.com /
(WMT)
CO: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
ST: Arkansas
IN: REA SUP
SU: SLS
SH-CD
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8872 09/06/2007 07:29 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
