Wal-Mart ascended to its place atop U.S. retail by focusing on big supercenters in rural and suburban markets. But today, it is counting on something entirely different — growth in its small but surging small-scale grocery store and e-commerce businesses.
It is starting to pay off, according to the company’s second quarter earnings released Thursday. The company has hoped these efforts would help revive its U.S. business, which has taken a hit along with the rest of the retail industry as consumers keep their wallets close.
On Thursday, the Bentonville, Ark.,-based retailer reported that its U.S. division, its most important market, had seen its seventh straight quarter of declining traffic and its sixth straight quarter without sales growth at stores open at least a year. The company also downgraded its full-year profit outlook, pointing to increased health-care costs and investments in its e-commerce business.
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