Victims of Amazon

How the coronavirus outbreak has changed life for Sam's Club, and its shoppers

Sam's Club has seen a marked shift in customer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, including rising demand for contactless shopping and varying phases of product needs.

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  Westport business set to open during COVID-19 pandemic

  41 Action News
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  Study shows boys have fallen behind girls at reading

  The Press Association

Brooks Brothers Is the Latest Apparel Company to File for Bankruptcy -- Is Macy's Next?

Storied menswear retailer Brooks Brothers announced this week that it is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, while it reorganizes and looks for a buyer. Many other companies that were struggling even before the COVID-19 crisis might be on their way toward a similar outcome -- and in this industry, Macy's (NYSE: M) could be next. Macy's was once one of the biggest names in retail, given its huge footprint with hundreds of department stores, most of them mall anchors.

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  Brooks Brothers Proceeds With New DIP Offer

  WWD
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  Brooks Brothers Gets Bankruptcy Loan With Zero Interest Rate

  Bloomberg

Walmart's New Subscription Service Has a Key Advantage Over Amazon Prime

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is preparing to launch its latest assault on Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). According to an article on Recode this week, the retail giant is about to unveil a new subscription service called Walmart+ that will offer similar benefits to Amazon Prime. Costing $98 a year, Walmart+ will be a significant step up from Delivery Unlimited, its existing same-day grocery delivery service.

Where Will Target Be in 1 Year?

Like most retailers, Target (NYSE: TGT) has suffered during the coronavirus crisis. As long as the COVID-19 crisis doesn't lead to more lockdowns, Target's better days may begin as early as a year from now. What are these key areas that are helping Target score a win with customers?

Did Hedge Funds Make The Right Call On Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) ?

At the end of February we announced the arrival of the first US recession since 2009 and we predicted that the market will decline by at least 20% in (see why hell is coming). In these volatile markets we scrutinize hedge fund filings to get a reading on which direction each stock might be going. […]

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  Did Hedge Funds Make The Right Call On MGM Growth Properties LLC (MGP) ?

  Insider Monkey
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  Were Hedge Funds Right About Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (CNK)?

  Insider Monkey

Will Walmart's (WMT) Foray in Health Insurance be a Bane?

Walmart's (WMT) penetration in the health insurance industry may intensify competition in the profitable MA market.

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  CB Walmarts Not Accepting Cash

  vs KMTV Action 3 Videos
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  Joe Biden Talks with Ady Barkan About Medicare for All

  NowThis

Why the Outlook for Kohl’s Stock Isn’t Pretty

Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) and Kohl's stock don't look like winners in the short term or the long term. The retailer just doesn't appear to have what it takes to succeed during the novel coronavirus crisis in particular or the e-commerce revolution in general.Source: Sundry Photography/Shutterstock.com For retailers with hundreds of brick-and-mortar stores to thrive in this era, I think they need a very strong brand or a powerful e-commerce business or they need to be the best in their category. Kohl's appears to have none of those characteristics.I've never heard anyone say, "I really like shopping at Kohl's." In the handful of times I've been in its stores in the past ten years, they've never been crowded.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Losing Ground Before Covid-19Even before the pandemic, when the economy was growing rapidly, the chain was losing ground. Its comparable sales sank 1.3% in 2019, and its net income fell to $691 million last year from $801 million in 2018. The retailer's top line declined to $19.97 billion in 2019 from $20.23 billion in 2018.The company has not become an e-commerce giant. For much of its first quarter, which ended on May 2, e-commerce was booming. But its Q1 top line came in at just $2.4 billion, down 43.5% year-over-year, and it reported a large per-share loss of $3.52.Finally, Kohl's is clearly not the strongest department store chain. Based on multiple metrics, TJX (NYSE:TJX) and Macy's (NYSE:M) are stronger than Kohl's. In TJX's fiscal 2020, its net sales surged to $41.7 billion from $38.97 billion in FY18, and its earnings per share climbed to $2.67 from $2.43.Macy's net sales slipped just 0.8% in 2019, meaningfully less than Kohl's 1.3% decline. Further, Macy's bottom line, excluding certain items, tumbled 30% year-over-year. But its adjusted net income came in at $906 million, well above Kohl's $691 million. And Macy's 2019 operating income actually rose 3.9% YOY to $970 million, while Kohl's operating income fell to $401 million from $441 million. What Keeps Kohl's Stock From the Top?Kohl's isn't viewed as selling quality items at affordable prices like TJX's stores or Gap's (NYSE:GPS) Old Navy, but it's not seen as having high-quality clothing like Macy's or Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN). As a result, nothing about Kohl's strongly entices consumers to shop there.I'm also not too thrilled about Kohl's main strategic initiatives. Accepting returns from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) will mostly attract consumers who like shopping online and are looking for affordable items. Kohl's doesn't excel in either area. * The 7 Best Stocks to Invest in Right NowKohl's decision to allow Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) to open gyms nears Kohl's stores also, in my opinion, isn't likely to greatly boost Kohl's results. When I go to the gym, I'm usually pressed for time, and I want to get my workout done and go home immediately afterward. I'm sure many if not most people feel similarly.Macy's strategy of launching discount stores, known as Backstage, that will likely employ the successful strategies of Old Navy and TJX, is much more likely to be successful than Kohl's deals with Amazon and Planet Fitness.As I noted in 2018, Macy's has multiple other positive catalysts, including the strong loyalty of its customers and its efforts to make 150 of its stores more exciting and technologically advanced.Finally, some on the Street are bullish on Kohl's and Kohl's stock largely because most of the retailer's stores are not located in malls. But that won't prevent Kohl's from having major problems. Plenty of retailers whose stores are primarily located in strip malls have gone bankrupt; think Toys R Us, Circuit City, and Pier 1 (OTC:PIRRQ). The Bottom Line on Kohl's StockKohl's attributes leave it poorly positioned to compete effectively in today's world, and its strategies are not going to improve its situation much going forward. Given these points, investors should sell Kohl's stock.Those who want to bet on a retail comeback story should buy the shares of TJX or Macy's instead.Larry Ramer has conducted research and written articles on U.S. stocks for 13 years. He has been employed by The Fly and Israel's largest business newspaper, Globes. Larry began writing columns for InvestorPlace in 2015. Among his highly successful, contrarian picks have been GE, solar stocks, and Snap. You can reach him on StockTwits at @larryramer. As of this writing, Larry Ramer owned shares of TJX. More From InvestorPlace * Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company * Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post Why the Outlook for Kohl's Stock Isn't Pretty appeared first on InvestorPlace.

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amazon, Walmart, Big Lots, Kroger, Costco and Shopify

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amazon, Walmart, Big Lots, Kroger, Costco and Shopify

Zacks.com featured highlights include: Office Depot, Korea Electric Power, Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize, AZZ and Oasis Midstream Partners

Zacks.com featured highlights include: Office Depot, Korea Electric Power, Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize, AZZ and Oasis Midstream Partners

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  Zacks.com featured highlights include: Oasis Midstream Partners, Big Lots, Office Depot, B&G Foods and Mr. Cooper Group

  Zacks
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  5 Value Stocks With Enticing EV-to-EBITDA Ratios to Own Now

  Zacks

Where Will Macy's Be in 5 Years?

As was expected, Macy's (NYSE: M) didn't have a great go of it during the first quarter of fiscal 2020, which ended on May 2. It would be easy to chalk up Macy's latest struggles to COVID-19, but the chain's woes predate this latest crisis. The department store business model can't break out of the long and slow death spiral it's been stuck in, especially as the world pivots to digital sales and renders many real estate-heavy operations redundant.

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  Here's Why We're Watching CytomX Therapeutics's (NASDAQ:CTMX) Cash Burn Situation

  Simply Wall St.
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  Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) Is In A Strong Position To Grow Its Business

  Simply Wall St.

Macy’s Stock Won’t Have a V-Shaped Recovery

Macy's (NYSE:M) was already struggling before the novel coronavirus. And it's safe to say the retailer will continue to struggle. Macy's stock may have bounced back a bit from its March selloff lows. But, it's hard to see shares rallying even higher from here.Source: Joe Tabacca / Shutterstock.com First, it was big-box stores that captured a great deal of its legacy market share. But now, with the rise of e-commerce, the department store giant faces another major competitive threat. Add in high debt, lease liabilities and a bloated cost structure. Put it all together, and it looks like tough times will continue.The recent outlook looks bad, but a post-lockdown rebound could help the company's performance in the short term. Yet, as a long-term opportunity, look elsewhere.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsGranted, the situation may not be as dire as seen with J.C. Penney (OTCMKTS:JCPNQ). However, it's tough to see shares retracing past highs (above $20 per share) anytime soon. It'll be a surprise if shares could bounce back to the double-digits realm (shares trade for around $6.60 today).With this in mind, there are better ways to play a post-pandemic retail recovery. Why There's No Magic With Macy's StockIt's not fair to judge Macy's stock on its first-quarter results. With Q1 falling in the midst of the pandemic, it's no surprise the company saw sales plummet to $3.03 billion from $5.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. Earnings plummeted from 44 cents per share in Q1 2019, to an adjusted loss of $2.03.These massive top and bottom-line declines were in line with analyst expectations. But, the latest bit of bad news isn't the recent results. It's the near-term guidance.Retail overall may be recovering, as seen with the 18% boost in retail sales in the month of May. However, with this company, don't expect similar results. * The 7 Best Stocks to Invest in Right Now Last week, the company released its current outlook. For the second half of 2020, it expects brick-and-mortar sales to be 35% below prior year results. The company's e-commerce growth somewhat softens the blow. But, overall sales from July to December are set to fall between 20% and 25% from 2019 levels.So, when will Macy's return to normal? That is to say, when will it retrace prior sales levels? The company expects that won't happen until late 2021 or early 2022.Simply put, forget about the weak long-term prospects (more below) for this legacy retailer. Even a short-term rebound is out of the question.With high fixed costs and overhead, a big sales drop doesn't bode well for earnings in the upcoming quarters. And with the company's troubles continuing to accelerate, it remains possible a "game over" scenario could play out in the years to come. Things Look Even Bleaker Long TermIf you bought Macy's stock at the height of the pandemic, you probably had a winning trade. Even after the aforementioned bad news, shares are up more than 56% from their lows. Yet, there's likely no more upside left on the table.Why? If you thought the short-term prospects for Macy's look bad, consider the long-term prospects. In short, the company's business model is not sustainable. Firstly, its stores are too big. Its largely mall-based locations were built for another era, before big-box stores and e-commerce started to dominate retail.Secondly, its cost structure doesn't work in today's retail landscape. It needs much higher levels of sales to cover its existing overhead. Without it, expect losses to continue. Thirdly, the company is saddled with an excess of long-term obligations.Outstanding long-term debt totals $5 billion. Long-term lease liabilities add up to another $3 billion in obligations. For comparison, Macy's stock only has a market capitalization of $2.1 billion.Granted, you can point to its large real estate portfolio, and claim the company has sufficient "margin of safety." Yet, this illiquid portfolio of mall anchors and downtown properties may be less of a lifeline than you think. Especially with the pandemic depressing commercial real estate demand.Remember, J.C. Penney and Sears (OTCMKTS:SHLDQ), both owned significant amounts of retail real estate. But that wasn't enough to keep either one out of Chapter 11. The Bottom Line: Avoid Macy's StockSure, not all brick-and-mortar retail is struggling. Names like Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) will continue to thrive no matter what lies ahead. But for retail dinosaurs like Macy's? It's a bleaker picture. That's true both in the short term, and the long term.With sales not expected to bounce back until more than a year from now, expect losses to continue. And, saddled with a bloated cost structure and large long-term liabilities, the company may not recover.That's not to say Macy's is the next J. C. Penney. But, Macy's stock is by no means a great long-term investment. Look elsewhere for opportunity, and avoid M shares completely.Matthew McCall left Wall Street to actually help investors -- by getting them into the world's biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. Click here to see what Matt has up his sleeve now. As of this writing, Matt did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company * Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets More From InvestorPlace * Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company * Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post Macy's Stock Won't Have a V-Shaped Recovery appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Healthcare Could Be Silver Bullet for Walmart in Long Term; Target $140: Morgan Stanley

“We believe Healthcare could be a ‘silver bullet’ for Walmart over the long-term. As the lines between Retail, Healthcare and Tech blur, Walmart’s growing suite of initiatives make it a sleeping giant to watch,” according to Morgan Stanley.

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  Will Walmart's (WMT) Foray in Health Insurance be a Bane?

  Zacks
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  CB Walmarts Not Accepting Cash

  vs KMTV Action 3 Videos

COVID-19 Response: Nordstrom Consolidates Merchant Team

General and divisional merchandise managers are now responsible for all of Nordstrom's channels in North America.

Online Grocery Sales jump amid pandemic

Online grocery sales rose 9% in June to an estimated $7.2 billion, according to a recent survey by Bricks Meet Clicks/Mercatus. Yahoo Finance's Heidi Chung and the On the Move panel break down the details of the survey.

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  W.H.O.: Only Aggressive Action, Unity Can Combat Pandemic

  Newsy
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  Presidential advisers, confidants claim Trump has made himself into a victim amid the pandemic, according to report

  Business Insider