Framingham, Mass. – TJX Cos. cut its full-year forecast today amid softer sales, but struck of bullish tone about buying plans and the overall business.

“We are in terrific inventory position, and we have plenty of open-to-buy to take advantage of current environment,” company president and CEO Ernie Herrman told investors during this morning’s quarterly call.

Same-store sales at HomeGoods fell 13% as sales declined 11% to $18.6 billion during the quarter. However, Hermann said, inventories are “very clean,” and the team there has significant open-to-buy.

The 3 key takeaways about the company’s plans for home:

• Over the next few weeks, HomeGoods plans to buy 4 million units that will begin flowing into stores in September. Buyers will focus on the categories that are generating the best performance, he said, although he did not provide specifics.
• At the Marmaxx division, home comp was down by low teens on top of a 37% spike last year. Apparel now accounts for roughly 5% more of the mix, but home still has a bigger place in the assortment than it did in 2020.
• The consumer pull-back in home spending has been factored into go-forward planning at the company, and some funding has shifted from HomeGoods to Marmaxx.

TJX  plans to resume its store remodeling program “very aggressively,” said Hermman, and is beginning to roll out a new Marshalls prototype.

“There’s an opportunity for us to get more brick and mortar share from the other brick and mortar out there,” he added.

Total net sales for the second quarter ended July 30 declined 2% to $11.8 billion. U.S. comp store sales fells 5% versus a 21% increase in U.S. open-only comp store sales in the year-ago quarter. Net income rose 3% to $809 million, or $.69 per diluted share.

TJX Cos. now expects full-year comp in the U.S. to decline 2% to 3%. Previously, it forecast a 1% to 2% comp increase. Adjusted per-share earnings are now expected to land in the $3.05 to $3.13 range, compared with the prior forecast of $3.13 to $3.20.

See also:

• HomeGoods, Big Lots gain Q2 share in home as Bed Bath & Beyond declines further
• TJX home biz climbs down off explosive growth, but remains solid

Minneapolis, MN – Target Corp. continues cutting back on discretionary inventory to invest more in rapidly-growing frequency categories.

This morning, the company announced it has also reduced fall season receipts in discretionary categories by more than $1.5 billion.

While Target is planning cautiously for the remainder of the year, executives said current trends support the company’s prior guidance for full-year revenue growth in the low- to mid-single digit range and an operating margin rate in a range around 6% in the back half of the year.

Target Corp. took a 90% net earnings blow in the second quarter as shoppers shifted their spending to necessities, forcing the chain to go heavy on inventory clearance and, ultimately, cripple its profitability.

The result: Net earnings of $183 million, or $.38 per diluted share, down from $1.817 billion, or $3.65 per diluted share, a year ago.

Short on discretionary spending dollars, inflation-impacted shoppers streamlined their expenses to focus on food and beverage, household and beauty essentials. That, in turn, put pressure on the company to “rightsize” its inventories across the board early in the summer, particularly on items including home, luggage and other categories.

These actions “put significant pressure on our near-term profitability,” said chairman and CEO Brian Cornell.

Still, the company’s traffic and units grew, giving moderate boosts to sales and comps for the three-month period ended July 30.

Total revenue was up 3.5% to $26.037 million versus $25.160 million, and comp sales rose by 2.6% on top of 8.9 percent growth last year.

Additionally, store comps increased 1.3% on top of 8.7% growth last year, and digital comps grew 9.0% following growth of 9.9% last year.

In its earnings results today, Target also pointed out other quarterly strides: an increase in unit share in all five of its core merchandising categories; an almost 11% increase in same-day services – led by Drive Up, which grew in the mid-teens on top of more than 80% last year; and fulfilling more than 95% of Target’s Q2 sales at its stores.

See more:

Target swinging an axe at existing orders as it confronts inventory glut

Target celebrates remodelling milestone and keeps on rolling

Washginton — Furniture and home furnishings sales rose slightly in July in what was a flat month overall for retail, according to advance monthly estimates from the Department of Commerce.

The furniture and home furnishings category recorded an adjusted $12.122 billion in July, up 0.2% from  June’s $12.1 billion. But while sales in the category were relatively flat month-to-month, they were up 2.1% from July 2021’s $11.873 billion. For the year-to-date, furniture and home furnishings sales are at $81.913 billion.

In the overall snapshot, the full retail spectrum came in at $682.815 billion in July, which was basically even with June’s $682.585 billion. Year-over-year, retail was up 10.3% compared with July 2021’s $619.180 billion.

Very few categories recorded substantial growth in July, but non-store retailers led the way with a 2.7% increase vs. June. Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers and miscellaneous store retailers were both up 1.5% month-to-month.

Those gains were offset by a few notable losses. Gas station sales declined 1.8% as prices dropped, while motor vehicle and parts dealers saw their sales drop by 1.6%. General merchandise stores were down 0.7%, and clothing and clothing accessories stores sales fell 0.6%.

The DOC’s advance estimates are based on a sub-sample of the U.S. Census Bureau’s full retail and food services sample. A stratified random sampling method is used to select approximately 5,500 retail and food services firms whose sales are then weighted and benchmarked to represent the complete universe of more than 3 million retail and food services firms.

See also:

• NRF says recession unlikely in 2022, but 2023 could be a different story
• 3 key areas targeted as consumers shift spending priorities | Survey

Hailey Werthaiser Parnes

Mason, Ohio – Downlite’s newly appointed business development exec literally grew up in the down & feather industry.

Hailey Werthaiser Parnes, who has been promoted to VP of business development for the outdoor division, is the only daughter of Marvin Werthasier, owner and one of the original founders of Downlite.

She joined the manufacturer after working for some time in education. Growing up, she was exposed to the world of down & feather processing from a young age and frequently joined her father on many trips to trade shows, sitting with him in the meetings with customers and suppliers.

“I often think about, and truly appreciate how lucky I was, to gain so much experience at a young age.” she said. “I learned so much from my father during those years.  Downlite is a unique family business that is growing tremendously. To be a part of this and work with people I have known all of my life and the new team members who have since joined the Downlite family, has been and continues to be, an incredible journey for me.”

Downlite CEO Joe Crawford said the promotion was well-earned.

“Hailey grew up in this industry, travelled with her father domestically and around the globe, and has deep understanding of sourcing, quality and down processing. This gives Hailey a unique perspective in a unique industry.   It is not possible to overstate Hailey’s value to Downlite’s outdoor division and we look forward to Hailey’s continued contributions as she steps into this new role.

See also:

Downlite taps former Himatsingka exec for marketing

Downlite hires former Hollander exec for marketing and merchandising

Atlanta – Home Depot remains bullish about its business this year, coming off a booming second quarter.

Comp sales for the second quarter ended July 31 were up 5.8% on a consolidated basis and up 5.4% in the U.S. Same-store sales in its home décor division, which exists largely online, were positive although slightly below the company average, execs said.

During the quarter, the home improvement giant expanded its StyleWell private label décor brand into kids’ bedding and bath. Home Depot is the 12th largest seller of home textiles in the U.S. market, with 2021 sales of more than $760 million.

Total company sales rose 6.5% to $43.8 billion. Net earnings were up 7.6% to $5.17 billion.

See also:

Home Depot expands on private label bedding and bath

Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Kohl’s has named Christie Raymond as the company’s new chief marketing officer.

“I’m thrilled to have Christie step into the role of chief marketing officer for Kohl’s,” said Michelle Gass, Kohl’s CEO. “She joined Kohl’s several years ago bringing her tremendous experience and customer-driven leadership approach to the marketing organization.”

Raymond joined Kohl’s in 2017 as senior vice president, media and personalization, and moved up to executive vice president, customer engagement, analytics and insights in June 2020. She has been acting as the interim chief marketing officer since May 2022.

“Christie has been an asset to our senior executive team and she will be instrumental in our continued path forward as we deliver great value, a compelling brand portfolio and an inviting omnichannel experience to our millions of customers nationwide,” Gass added.

Raymond will lead the marketing organization including Kohl’s overall marketing strategy, brand and creative, media, loyalty, customer analytics, corporate communications, and Kohl’s philanthropic efforts. To support the company’s strategy to be the retailer of choice for the active and casual lifestyle, she will drive customer engagement, leverage the company’s leadership in loyalty, accelerate customer traffic, scale Kohl’s Media Network, and continue to build the Kohl’s brand.

Prior to Kohl’s, Christie held progressive roles at The Walt Disney Company. She has more than 20 years of marketing, retail industry and leadership experience.

See also:

• Kohl’s retools its plans now that acquisition deal with FG has tanked
• Home at Kohl’s slams up against a new shopping environment

Boston – Speaking at a retail conference here recently, Casper CEO Emilie Arel said the direct-to-consumer mattress and sleep accessories brand is focused on becoming profitable.

According to a story by Retail Dive, Arel told the group at eTail’s annual conference in Boston that the company is no longer “in the business of not making money anymore.”

During the event, Arel highlighted a number of cost-cutting initiatives, including the company’s decision to pull back on its planned store opening. She said the company is focused on controlling costs, cutting its marketing spend and zeroing in on its core product – mattresses – and slowing its store expansion plan. Last year, the company had said it would have 200 company-owned stores in North America.

Arel told the conference that the 73 stores currently in operation would be enough for at least a year as the company embarks on a “culture of frugality.”

The company, which filed its initial public offering in 2020, struggled to turn a profit. In 2021, Arel was named CEO of the company, and with its third quarter earnings report, Casper announced it would be taken private by Durational Capital Management.

The deal was sparked by challenges, including supply chain woes that arose during the pandemic, a miscalculation on its marketing budget and ongoing struggles to become profitable.

See also:

• Blog: Will Casper’s next step make the difference?
• People to Watch: Emilie Arel, Casper

Bentonville, Ark. – Walmart U.S. in recent weeks has been capturing more business from middle- and higher-income shoppers. But they’re mostly sticking to the food and consumables aisles.

For the second consecutive quarter, general merchandise comp sales were down in the mid single digits, with particular softness in electronics, apparel and home products. The strongest categories were automotive, lawn & garden and back-to-school.

At Sam’s Club, the home and apparel division comped up in the low teens, led by strength in apparel, outdoor living, seasonal and toys.

Key merchandising takeaways from this morning’s Q2 call with investors:

Inventory clearance. At the close of Q2, inventory was down 15 percentage points, but Walmart is still working through excesses in electronics, home and sporting goods. “We’ve also canceled billions of dollars in inventory to align with anticipated demand,” said John David Rainey, EVP/CFO.

Selective investments. Merchants have reassessed demand on a sub-category by sub-category basis, cancelling orders in the process in some cases. Walmart Inc. president and CEO Doug McMillon said the company will still bet big on items it expects to pay off, citing Halloween inflatables as an example. “You don’t want to go into too much of a defensive mode,” he said.

Second half seasonal goods. Fall and holiday products are focused on newness and heavily tilted toward opening price points. “We expect inflation to continue to influence the choices families make,” said McMillon.

Looking ahead. The overall business at Walmart U.S. is much larger than it was in 2019. “Next year, we’ll see purchasing levels that are more in line with the way we see demand going in terms of the mix today,” said John Furner, president and CEO of the division.

Total Walmart Inc. revenue for the quarter was $152.9 billion, up 8.4%, or 9.1% in constant currency. Operating income fell 6.8% to $6.9 billion.

See also:

• 3 reasons why Walmart now expects difficult terrain for general merchandise
• The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Walmart | Warren Shoulberg

New York – Seven leading volume retailers with combined annual home textiles sales of $17.6 billion will report their second quarter results this week. Here’s a quick hit list of what to look for.

Walmart: Reports 8/16. Home textiles sales = $7.1 billion

A month ago, Walmart cut its full-year guidance, saying the slowdown in general merchandise sales that began in Q1 was still ongoing, thus causing more markdowns than it had planned for. Earlier this month, Walmart laid off more than 200 headquarters staff as part of a restricting in the home office. Are things looking any rosier for the bellwether retailer?

Target: Reports 8/17. Home textiles sales = $4.2 billion

A rapid shift in the sales mix during Q1 left Target overloaded with inventory in categories like home, and it began planning more conservatively in discretionary categories. But Target is also a big destination for Back-to-Campus, especially dorm essentials. Its investor update this week should provide an early read on the season.

TJX Cos: Reports 8/17. Home textiles sales = $3.5 billion

The blistering pace of growth at TJX cooled down in Q1. Comp at HomeGoods declined 7% on top of a 40% increase in the year-ago quarter, and the home department comp at Marmaxx was off at a similar pace. However, the overall home business was described as very healthy and execs said shoppers were taking price increases in stride. We’ll find out on Wednesday whether that’s still the case.

Kohl’s: Reports 8/18. Home textiles sales = $1.5 billion

In early July, Kohl’s announced that business was even softer than it had anticipated and adjusted its expectations down accordingly. In home, where Q1 sales tumbled 17%, Kohl’s said it would pursue ancillary growth in home décor categories where it has relatively little share. We could get more insight on those plans this week.

Ross Stores: Reports 8/18. Home textiles sales = $1.3 billion

The off-pricer received its second quarter home goods imports earlier than expected, and with demand for the home category declining, Ross stored them in packaway and planned to flow them later this year. Ross execs said they expected sales and profitability to improve over the course of the year. We’ll learn this week if the there are any signs that the tide has begun to turn.

Home Depot and Lowe’s: Report 8/16. Combined home textiles sales = $1.17 billion

Home Depot kicked off the year with a strong Q1 performance as DIY customers continued to trade up for better-quality home improvement products. Execs were feeling optimistic about medium-to-longer term  demand. Lowe’s wasn’t as lucky, with first quarter sales down 4% on what the home improvement retailer attributed to unseasonably cooler spring temperatures, although sales trends began improving in May. The question: How will the outlook each shares this week be impacted by the flattening house market?

Chicago – Though the payouts may be relatively meager, some relief could be coming for suppliers left holding the bag when Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy four years ago.

Last week, Sears Holdings and its one-time creditors said they have reached a settlement, according to multiple reports. The $175 million settlement arose from a suit against former CEO and majority owner Eddie Lampert and other investors, who plaintiffs accused of steadily stripping assets from the company in the years preceding its Chapter 11 filing.

The settlement requires approval from the federal bankruptcy court.

Retail Dive reports the Sears Holding settlement would be funded through three entities: $125.6 million from insurers, $41.9 million from the defendants and $7.5 million from shareholding funds.

What remains of Sears Holdings was acquired by Lampert-controlled Transformco in 2019. Although e-commerce operations continue, there are fewer than two dozen Sears and Kmart stores locations in operations today.

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Kmart closes the last store in its original home state