Supply chains are being blamed for poor earnings but some of the problem is likely to be weakening consumer demand.
The 3% decrease in Amazon’s Q1 online retail sales to $51 billion, strongly indicates that, in an increasingly uncertain economy, consumers are buying less.
FINANCE
Next (UK) said that in the thirteen weeks to April 30 full price sales were up 21.3% year-on-year.
- Full year profit before tax is estimated at £850 million ($1,049 million), which would be up 3.3% year-on-year.
Shopify (Canada) reported a net loss of $1.5 billion in the first quarter, compared to a $1.3 billion profit last year. Adjusted operating income fell 85% year-over-year to $32 million.
Under Armour (USA) posted a net loss of $59.6 million for the quarter ended March 31. A year ago it reported net income of $77.8 million. The loss was attributed to higher freight rates.
- Revenue rose 3% to $1.301 billion. Apparel revenue was up 8% to $877 million. Footwear revenue fell 4% to $297 million. Accessories revenue was down 18% to $97 million.
G-III Apparel Group (USA) is acquiring the remaining 81% interest in Karl Lagerfeld for €200 million (US$210 million) in cash. G-III first invested in Karl Lagerfeld in 2015.
PODCAST
A New Organizational Model for Speed and Agility
It’s not just remote working or employee resignations or digitization – companies are also realising that their entire corporate structure might no longer serve them as well as it used to.
With this in mind, what might the new organisational best practices look like?
Jay Goldman is CEO of Sensei Labs and New York Times bestselling author of The Decoded Company. He is a recognised expert on the future of work and on ‘enterprise orchestration’ and has spoken at TEDx, Harvard, Google, Twitter and NASA.
In this episode, Jay talks about:
- Why most digital transformations fail.
- How ‘enterprise orchestration’ can help companies align people, processes and technology.
- Why you need to know your own employees better than you know your customers.
MARKETS
While the U.S. economic outlook looks even more uncertain in May than it has in previous months, the drivers of the economy and the risks to growth have not materially changed from last month, according to Morning Consult.
- Employment growth remains robust, inflation and rising interest rates pose significant risks. The war in Ukraine and lockdowns across China continue to contribute to supply chain disruptions.
In Europe the easing of pandemic-related restrictions in the region will provide an important source of momentum in the coming months (especially for the services sector), per the European Central Bank.
- The pandemic is still contributing to global bottlenecks, while the energy shock and the Russia-Ukraine war will continue to exert an adverse impact on domestic consumption.
- There’s an overall improvement in the labour market.
- There is an expectation of a slowdown in growth but not a recession.
