Reply #16: Lots of things contributed to this "loss". [View All]

[napi21]

Cosing down their operation in Germany is a BIG one time hit in one qtr., and there was another country they also pulled out of (Japan I think) which also affected profits. A bigger effect though, is the high cost of gas. THAT impacts WM shoppers more than it does almost any other group of people. When you a specific amount of $$ to spend, and one necessity (gas) doubles in cost, there's kist mo $$ left to spend on anything else.

What many people don't realize isthat stores like WM make almost ZERO profit on groceries, and take a loss on some items. Their business model is to use the "Groceries" which are a necessity for everyone, to bring people into the stores where they will spend $$ on many of the other profitable items in the other part of the store. Many people are still buying their groceries at WM because they really are cheaper on most items, but there's no $$ left for anything else, thus WM "Profits" are down.