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Commitment to low prices meets obligation to shareholders
Walmart took prices up in April, and the average gap with competitors narrowed to 16.8% from 17.8% the prior month, according to the most recent monthly survey of prices conducted in the Dallas and Chicago markets by Credit Suisse. The firm also found that Walmart has been among the most aggressive in terms of passing through inflation to customers. During the past three months, Walmart’s prices on the 60 food, health and beauty and household items the firm tracks each month increased 2% during the past three months and over the past year prices have risen by 3.6%.
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Guess Q1 profit down 15%, narrows view
Los Angeles — Guess Inc. beat first-quarter revenue expectations, even though it also reported a 15% decline in net income. The company said net income fell to $42.7 million in the quarter ended April 30, compared with $50.3 million in the year-ago period.
Total revenue increased 9.8% to $592.2 million, beating analysts' predictions of $567.7 million. Strength in Asia, where revenue rose 24%, drove the increase. Revenue in Europe also helped, rising 12%. Revenue in North America was the weakest, up 5%.
Same-store sales fell 3.1% in U.S. dollars.