The Financial Times headline I took my cue from was: ‘US consumers, tired of inflation, queue up for toilet paper and cheap Bordeaux wine’:
“… inflation… has left consumer prices in the US 26% higher than in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consumer surveys show continued concern about inflation as the US imposes tariffs on trading partners.
“In good times we do well, and in bad times we do even better,” said Chris Nicholas, CEO of Sam’s Club US… who reported that like-for-like sales rose 6.7 per cent in the first quarter, excluding fuel, outpacing the growth of his parent company’s US namesake shops …” .
It is a division of the Walmart Group, which had sales of USD 92.6 billion in 2025 . “Sam’s’ is named after its founder, Sam Walton, and only buys large packages (‘bulk’) there.
Compiled on 30 May , updated on 3 June 2025
