Retail

Retail
Costco stock rises on positive September earnings
Costco Wholesale stock rose more than 2% after the retailer released positive sales results for September. The company reported net sales of US$26.58 billion for the period ending 5 October, an increase of 8% year-over-year. Comparable sales climbed by 5.7%, led by a 6.3% rise in the United States and 6.3% growth in Canada, with an 8.5% increase across other international markets. Online sales jumped by 26% from last year as shoppers turned to digital channels as the company operates 914 warehouses, including 629 in the United States. It also noted that comparable sales for the prior year benefited 2% in the U.S. and 1.5% worldwide from temporary demand spikes tied to Hurricane Helene and port disruptions, suggesting this year's growth came from steadier demand patterns. The rise in sales has also been driven by membership growth. "At Q4 end, we had 38.7 million paid executive memberships, up 9.3% versus last year. Executive members represented 47.7% of paid members and 74.2% of worldwide sales,” CFO Gary Millerchip said during the company's fourth quarter earnings call in September. At the time of writing, Costco (NASDAQ: COST) stock was up 3.07% to US$942.89.
Retail
Retail reporting wrap: US consumer strength in question
The strength of the American consumer is once again in focus as some of the nation’s biggest retailers reported quarterly earnings in recent weeks. The results provided a glimpse into the United States' household spending patterns, with resilience in certain categories, and also illustrated the growing weight of tariffs on corporate strategies. Despite the S&P 500 reaching multiple record highs this year, retailers have struggled to keep pace with the broader market rally. Home Improvement Retailers: A Tale of Patience and Pro BetsHome Depot’s fiscal second-quarter results highlighted both resilience and lingering headwinds. The company stuck by its full-year outlook for 2.8% growth in total sales and about 1% growth in comparable sales. That commitment helped lift shares post-result, even as earnings and revenue fell slightly short of market expectations - marking the retailer’s first miss on both fronts since 2014. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $4.68, compared with expectations of $4.71. Revenue reached $45.28 billion, just under the $45.36 billion forecast, but up nearly 5% year-over-year. Net income was essentially flat, at $4.55 billion. Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail acknowledged the
Retail
Myer posts $211m loss after Apparel Brands purchase
Myer Group reported a loss last fiscal year following its purchase of Apparel Brands, with shares dropping by 28.9%. Total sales were A$3.67 billion across the fiscal year, up 12.5% due to the acquisition, while Myer Retail sales rose 1.2%. It reported a statutory net loss after tax of $211.2 million, caused by a one-off non-cash impairment from the acquisition. “FY25 was a transition year for Myer Group as we reset the base to position the business for long-term growth. Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions and tough retail markets in Australia and New Zealand, we achieved positive sales growth in our first period as a combined Group,” said Myer executive chair Olivia Wirth. “Our trading for the first seven weeks of FY26 has been positive and we are cautiously optimistic about the year ahead, with emerging pockets of improving consumer strength. We also expect to see a return on the enhancements and investments we have made to strengthen the Group and offset ongoing cost of doing business headwinds.” Operating gross profit was $1.41 billion, boosted in the year’s second half by the Apparel Brands purchase. The company reported $656.0 million in FY25’s first half. The company’s cost of doing business rose $43
Retail
Founders: Paris Buckland getting Storepro back on track
Last year, Paris Buckland was tasked with getting her parents' business, Storepro, back on track while juggling motherhood and her own business. Working at the business on and off for 15 years, Buckland was named CEO in November 2024 after returning to the company years before to help with the store fitters' COVID recovery. “Around mid to end of COVID, I came back on, kind of as a strategic advisor to help navigate what was happening with the changes and the industry and construction in general,” Buckland tells Azzet. “Then we had a change of leadership and I stepped into the CEO role.” At Storepro, Buckland says they help brands fit out stores with equipment, fixtures and fittings while also acting as partners and achieved double-digit growth from 2021 to 2024. She also says the industry she entered can be competitive, especially in Victoria, where she is based, due to there being low barriers to entry. “It's a really low barrier to entry, kind of, because you can kind of come in as a tradesman or a project manager, for example, and you can start up quite easily,” she says. However, Buckland also pointed out that it is an industry that has seen much evolution in recent years, as retail was hit hard by COVID.C
Retail
Coles estimates cost of underpayment court action
Coles Group may have to pay another A$150 million to A$250 million (US$131 million) to staff who were underpaid by Australia’s second-largest retailer. That is the company’s estimate of the cost of a Federal Court decision on 5 September 2025 on proceedings launched by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) on behalf of salaried managers in Coles’ supermarkets. Coles said the preliminary estimate of the further ‘remediation’ includes interest and on-costs and a potential adjustment for the period since Coles’ initial remediation process was conducted under which it has paid the affected managers $31 million. But it did not take account of any potential penalties or costs associated with a separate but overlapping class action. The range is based on the underpayments alleged by the FWO relating to historical work patterns, adjusted and extrapolated for the period for which Coles has committed to remediation and the broader population of affected salaried team members covered by the General Retail Industry Award 2010 (GRIA) across its supermarkets business. Noting media speculation regarding the financial impact of the court decision, Coles said it was progressing work to understand and quantify the potential implications of t

Retail
Macy's soars after earnings beat and raised guidance
Despite incurring the full brunt of the tariff impact in the second quarter, Macy’s (NYSE: M) shares were up 13% in overnight trading after the department chain delivered the biggest same-store sales jump in 12 quarters (up 1.9%) on the back of ambitious turnaround plans. Underscoring the company’s turnaround is the closure of unprofitable stores while investing heavily in modernising Macy’s locations, and there are signs this is working. The reversal in same-store sales, up 0.8%, underpins the department chain’s efforts to entice shoppers to buy in the face of consumer anxiety over President Donald Trump’s trade wars. However, despite the better-than-expected turnaround, management warned the market that customers remain choosy about what they are buying, while executives remain unsure how tariffs will affect spending for the remainder of the year. “We’re celebrating the second quarter but we’re being prudent in our guidance for the third quarter and the remainder of the year because we want to see how the tariff environment plays out in totality,” said Spring. Around 20% of the department store’s products came from China at the end of its last financial year, while private brands sourced around 27% from China, do
Retail
Harvey Norman hits record high on profit jump
Shares in Harvey Norman Holdings climbed to a new peak on Friday after the Australian retailer announced a 47% increase in net profit after tax (NPAT) for the 2025 financial year (FY25) with strong growth reported from all business segments. The company said profit after tax rose to A$525.58 million (US$324.36 million) in the year ended 30 June 2025 from $357.628 million in FY24 on sale revenue which increased 4% to $2.919 billion. At the time of writing, Harvey Norman (ASX: HVN) shares were trading 73 cents (11.81%) higher at $6.91, capitalising the company at $8.70 billion, after earlier reaching a record peak of $7.09. Profit before tax for the year increased 39% to $753.10 million as the group reported continued momentum across its integrated retail, franchise, property and digital operations. The profit included a $150.39 million gain from revaluing property, compared with a reduction of $116.5 million in FY24. Directors announced a fully franked dividend of 14 cents per share to be paid on 3 November to shareholders registered on 7 October, making 26.5 cents for the full year, up from 22 cents in FY24. Source: Harvey Norman "The FY25 result is a testament to the strength of our diversified business model and t
Retail
Amazon expands benefits to Whole Foods employees
Amazon will continue its corporate staff programs, including pay structure and benefits, to United States corporate employees at its Whole Foods chain of supermarkets. This is a bid to integrate its grocery business more closely and would see the alignment of benefits for all corporate employees across grocery units by December 2026, with Whole Foods corporate employees retaining their in-store discount perks until that time. “As shared with employees in June, Whole Foods Market corporate employees will move to the same programs and offerings as the rest of Amazon corporate employees, including compensation structure and benefits, creating one consistent experience across teams,” Lauren Snyder, an Amazon spokesperson, told Supermarket News. “We’re excited to bring our grocery teams closer together to make it even easier to collaborate and innovate on behalf of our customers.” The employees will also receive a discount code for 10% off Amazon merchandise and gain access to the Amazon online portal that offers U.S. employees deals on items like phone plans, car insurance and travel and entertainment. The move will help the e-commerce giant gain momentum in its grocery efforts through collaboration between Whole Foods
Retail
Kohl’s shares rally 24% as earnings top forecasts
Despite delivering an underwhelming second quarter FY25 result, with net sales down 5.1%, shares in Kohl’s were up 24% in overnight trading after the Wisconsin-based department store’s result managed to beat Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations. Earnings per share were 56 cents adjusted versus 29 cents expected, while revenue of US$3.35 billion beat analysts’ expected US$3.32 billion. Kohl’s second-quarter net income was US$153 million, or US$1.35 per share, compared with US$66 million, or 59 cents per share last year. Adjusting for one-time items, including the costs of store closures and gains from a legal settlement, earnings per share were 56 cents. Interim CEO Michael Bender attributed the department store’s slower sales to the economy, with lower- and middle-income customers trading down to less-expensive brands. But despite what was overall a disappointing result, analysts clearly took some comfort in the company’s decision to narrow its full-year sales guidance to reflect the higher part of its previous range. Kohl’s now expects net sales to decline by between 5% and 6% after previously anticipated sales would fall 5% to 7%, while full-year earnings per share guidance has been adjusted to a