Key Takeaways from WMT/KR Webinar

Research evidence excerpt

Key Takeaways from WMT/KR Webinar

Goldman Sachs Americas Retail: Broadlines

to tick up across the industry, with most food retailers highlighting a continued focus

on providing incremental value to consumers during 1Q results. As a part of this

backdrop, KR’s new CEO is taking a more proactive approach on its pricing strategy,

with its planned step-up in price investments likely to be gradual over time as it

adjusts its promotional cadence and intensity in order to reduce frequency and

complexity. This differs from the company’s historical heavy reliance on promotions

and is aimed at reducing the price gap between regular-priced items at KR vs. peers.

n Since the announcement, we have observed more price transparency in KR stores,

with clearer labels and less complex promotions. Additionally, the pricing actions

appear to be surgical and specific to traffic-driving SKUs. We believe that the

intentional nature of these price cuts will help mitigate the risk of a subsequent price

war.

What are your learnings on WMT following the pricing announcement? In your view,

are there any implications for the company’s margins, and for how long could we

expect this price investment to last?

n WMT management acknowledged that they have not published an announcement

like this in almost three years given that the company has prioritized its $5bn

marketing budget on communicating its speed (Walmart+) as well as on the

“Walmart. Who knew?” campaign highlighting general merchandise. We view the

recent price announcement as a return to value messaging.

n We do not expect WMT’s pricing actions to act as a headwind to margins given that

the company allocates capital to price investments each year, and we similarly do

not expect it to result in a change in guidance or long-term algo.