The import duties of US President Donald Trump are more and more difficult for the supermarket giant Walmart. When filling up the inventory, the costs for Walmart “every week” increased, said CEO Doug McMillon in a conference call after submission of quarterly figures. He expects that it will continue in the current quarter of the year and the final quarter of the year. In the past quarter, prices at Walmart in the USA were one percent higher than a year ago, the group said.
Supermarket giant controls against
The supermarkets of the retail giant are the place where many Americans would feel price increases as a result of the tariffs. Walmart had announced that the prices would be kept low as possible. Instead of always passing on the costs of the tariffs to customers, Walmart takes over part of it himself. At the same time, the group tries to get the money back in for price increases in products that are not actually affected.
Trump insists that the tariffs would not lead to higher prices for US consumers because the companies concerned would “swallow” them. Many economic experts: Inside, doubts that.
Walmart has so far seen a changed buying behavior, especially in households with low and medium -sized incomes, said McMillon. The group also increased the forecast for sales growth this year. The Walmart share went out of the US trade with a minus of 4.5 percent on Thursday.