Top 10 Retail Tech of the World
Many investors buy retail stocks in order to acquire a piece of the companies that they shop at. Even if you like shopping at a certain store, it is not necessarily a sensible investment for your financial portfolio to do so.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has both beneficial and bad consequences for businesses. Consumers remained away from traditional brick-and-mortar stores, which helped to improve e-commerce sales and the sales of certain goods.
Instead of taking vacations or going on recreational activities, many choose to modify their homes or buy technological gadgets.
Vaccinations are being administered to an increasing number of Americans, which is having an influence on the country’s economy. Shopping has shifted back to shops that were open before to the epidemic, and consumer spending will shift as a result of the outbreak’s conclusion.
Check out our list of the finest retail companies to invest in and discover all you need to know about investing in retail stocks.
Ten publicly traded merchants have risen to the top of their respective industries, including the following names:
Amazon.com
The online retailer Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), which began as a book seller in 1994, has evolved into an online marketplace that allows for the purchase and sale of nearly everything. Amazon bought Whole Foods Market in 2017, giving it access to a broad network of brick-and-mortar retail outlets.
This is intended to further allure customers.
Amazon.com is an online retailer that sells a broad range of products and services to customers all over the globe, mostly via its websites.
In this category are items and content that the company purchases from merchants and third-party sellers for the purpose of reselling them.
Additionally, Amazon offers a range of subscription-based and web-based services to its consumers, including streaming entertainment and cloud computing, among other things.
Amazon also manufactures and distributes a number of electronic devices, such as Kindle e-readers and tablets, Fire TV set-top boxes, and Echo and Alexa voice-activated assistants, among other things. Groceries are provided by Whole Foods Market Inc., which is owned by Amazon.
Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, will stand away from his position in July 2021. If people continue to purchase online, Amazon stock is expected to do well despite the fact that the company’s leadership has changed.
Home Depot
It is a retailer that sells building materials.
Known for their large-format warehouse shops and extensive product lines, they have earned a reputation for excellence.
Sales and profitability at Home Depot (NYSE:HD) have been expanding consistently for many years, since the company caters to both do it yourself customers as well as professional builders and remodelers.
Despite the fact that it has been able to keep competitors at bay, the firm has established an amazing internet presence.
During the outbreak, Home Depot’s profits increased as a result of an increase in the number of individuals who performed home repair tasks. Despite the fact that the United States is experiencing a weakening recession, the demand for houses remains high.
However, although Home Depot’s comparable sales growth dropped to 4.5 percent in the second quarter, revenue improvements from the preceding period seem to have held stable.
Lululemon Athletica
It is an athletic wear company.
In its early years, Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU), a pioneer in athletic apparel, focused on manufacturing yoga gear. Customers who want to stay in shape while still looking attractive have become an increasingly important target demographic for the company.
The outbreak had a detrimental influence on Lululemon’s performance in the first quarter of 2020, but the company has since recovered and thrived again. Sales increased by 61 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2021, with revenue from stores growing by 142 percent. Lululemon’s direct-to-consumer business increased by 8% as customers returned to the company’s brick-and-mortar locations.
Workers are anticipated to spend less time at their jobs during the outbreak, which might result in a spike in demand for Lululemon’s products at the expense of more conventional clothes, according to industry experts.
Ulta Beauty
It is a cosmetics retailer.
By making in-store salon services available to customers, Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) is capitalising on the rising popularity of in-store salon services. Prior to the outbreak, the concept was well-liked, and its stores were packed with customers.
As the year 2020 came to a close, Ulta noticed a fall in sales as a consequence of a decrease in in-store transactions. This year seems to be building up to be a terrific year. The majority of Ulta’s 56 percent revenue increase in the second quarter was attributed to transactional sales. It seems as if customers are returning to the market with a fury.
Wal-Mart
As a result of its “always low price,” Walmart (NYSE:WMT), the world’s biggest retailer, established itself as a household brand. Regardless of how many physical shops Walmart has, the corporation understands the need of having a strong online presence as well, and it has made significant investments in this area. In response to the epidemic’s growth, the company’s online sales have increased, and its food pick-up and delivery services have grown more popular.
Retail and wholesale, Walmart offers a diverse assortment of products and services at low prices all over the world in its stores and on its website at any given moment, in both retail and wholesale. Walmart offers a diverse selection of products ranging from fashion to home goods to small appliances to electronic goods to home remodelling to jewellery to games to household requirements. Walmart provides a variety of services, including warranties, automotive maintenance, registration services, and pharmacy services, to name a few.
Customers who join up for the Walmart+ programme will be able to have their groceries delivered for free, according to the retailer. Walmart, on the other hand, continues to gain market share in the food business while also expanding its e-commerce operations at a quick pace.
Wayfair
As a result of the epidemic, it is anticipated that sales at online furniture retailer Wayfair (NYSE:W) would climb by 55 percent in 2020. Previously, Wayfair’s bottom line has been unable to break into the black owing to a lack of revenue expansion.
In the second quarter of 2021, sales at Wayfair declined by more than 10% year on year. Having said that, Wayfair has maintained a solid profit margin, and the trend toward online furniture sales could benefit the company in the long term.
Costco
Membership retail warehouses operated by Costco are located mainly in North America, with a few facilities in Asia and Latin America. Its product line includes packaged meals and other grocery items, automotive supplies, toys, building materials and tools for home and garden projects; sports goods; jewellery; electronics; clothes, and health and beauty products. Additional services provided by the corporation include a gas station and drugstore operations.
Target
Target is a retailer that offers general products online and in stores mostly in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Among the things available are perishables, dry groceries, dairy, and frozen food assortments, as well as curated and general merchandise. All of these items are available at reduced costs. Archer Farmers, Pillowfort, Wine Cube, and Simply Balanced are just a few of the companies’ brands.
Walgreens
Walgreens Boots Alliance is a drugstore chain mainly in the United States and Europe. Throughout the United States, the corporation conducts pharmacy-led retail enterprises under the brand names Walgreens and Duane Reade, among other titles. On a global scale, the corporation maintains retail locations that offer items under various brand names, including No7, Boots Pharmaceuticals, Botanics, Liz Earle, and Soap & Glory, among others. As well as retail stores, Walgreens has a wholesale division that distributes drugs, other healthcare items, and associated services to physicians, health centres, and hospitals.
Carrefour
Carrefour is a French grocery and retail shop chain with a presence in more than 100 countries. The corporation also manages and operates food and non-food e-commerce websites, as are hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience shops, cash and carry stores, and other similar businesses. Its products comprise a diverse range of consumer goods, including food and non-food items, household supplies, textiles, electronics, home appliances, and regionally produced goods, among other things.
How to choose the best retail stocks to buy
Finding high-quality retail organisations requires a thorough examination of many critical components of the company’s retail operations. Based on the following important indicators, the most successful merchants outperform their competitors:
A sales increase is expected.
The most successful retail businesses constantly increase the amount of money they make from the things they sell. Increasing the number of shops in new locations and increasing sales at existing stores are two ways retailers may grow their revenues.
Sales growth in the same shop, also known as comparable-store sales, is a retail-specific revenue statistic that measures revenue growth in stores that have been in operation for at least a year. The most successful merchants achieve tremendous same-store sales growth and good overall sales growth.
Earnings growth is on the rise.
Although a shop generates income, it is not profitable. However, if a retailer’s prices are too low, they will lose money on every transaction. Most merchants may cut their prices or give discounts to convince consumers to purchase more items.
High-volume retailers have long-term relationships with clients who are prepared to pay premium pricing, and these businesses are also adept at reducing expenses to maximise earnings. Investors should exercise caution when purchasing stock in merchants who are having difficulty increasing their profits, as assessed by both the absolute value of their earnings and the earnings per share.
Performance throughout the most critical moments of the year
A considerable portion of the retail industry is seasonal, and many shops do a significant amount of their annual business during the Christmas shopping season in November and December. According to the National Retail Federation, strong Christmas sales may more than make up for poor economic circumstances at other times of the year. Several retailers also offer Christmas specials to boost sales throughout the holiday season.
In The end of the calendar year is often the busiest time for merchants. It is not the only time of year to do so. For example, stores that cater to children and teenagers often see significant increases in sales during the back-to-school season.
Examining sales patterns might assist you in determining the extent to which a retail firm is subject to seasonal fluctuations. A store’s substantial success during a critical season might indicate that the shop is outperforming its competitors.
The size of the company’s shop network and its real estate holdings
Apart from being aware of the number of shops and locations owned by a retailer, investors should be mindful of the real estate assets owned by the retailer. Retailers who operate a large number of physical storefronts may have substantial real estate assets on their hands.
Although maintaining and upgrading businesses might be expensive, the retail floor, back rooms, and other areas that merchants own or lease are valuable assets. In the absence of exceptionally successful retail activities, the value of a company’s underlying real estate might account for a significant chunk of the company’s total worth.
Investors may also assess the efficiency with which a retail firm utilises its real estate assets. A retailer’s ability to maximise profit by using its physical space to sell its items may be determined by computing sales per square foot.
The volume of e-commerce sales is intense.
Before the internet, retail enterprises either had physical storefronts or offered their products online, but seldom both. Many businesses now operate online and offline, with e-commerce platforms and physical stores.
As e-commerce has grown in popularity, many merchants’ online sales are expanding at a much faster rate than their real sales growth. The most successful retailers use their extensive network of outlets by providing services such as in-store pickup and local delivery to their customers. Retail enterprises that do not have a robust online presence will undoubtedly find it more challenging to compete with their competitors in the future.
Strength on the balance sheet
When contemplating an investment in a store, look for a company with a lot of cash on hand and a reasonable amount of debt on its balance sheet.
The pandemic resulted in dramatic sales decreases and significant losses for sectors of the retail industry, and retail enterprises that were already financially vulnerable before the crisis have fared poorly due to the epidemic.
According to the New York Times, JCPenney and Neiman Marcus were forced to file for bankruptcy because they couldn’t keep up with the rapid reduction in demand for in-person shopping.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
