Quick Take — US: inflation-fatigued consumers stock up on discount stores (the ‘box stores’ where you enter with a subscription and membership card)

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.

Read the long version here.

Compiled on 30 May , updated on 3 June 2025

Aldi takes over from Bennet in Viale Monza in Milan: what does it mean?

What is happening in retail? It turns out that “In the last year, 20% of households have changed their opinion on the store with the best price/quality ratio… the local competitive scenario counts, as does the quality of the products and departments. Of the latter, fruit and vegetables remains the most important (57% of households) …

Quick Take — Walmart will increase prices due to Donald Trump’s trade war

despite this week’s agreement between the US and China to reduce punitive tariffs… Walmart will try to keep food prices in check after years of food inflation, McMillon said. But he said there are new tariff pressures for products it has to import, such as bananas from Costa Rica and coffee from Colombia…

McMillon’s warning on Thursday came as Walmart reported a 4.5 per cent annual increase in comparable sales in its eponymous US business in the three months to the end of April, surpassing the 3.7 per cent increase expected by Wall Street analysts, according to Visible Alpha… Mexico, Canada, Vietnam and India are Walmart’s main sources of imports, along with China…

Walmart reported that its e-commerce business – which includes sales from its own inventory and from third-party merchants using its platform – grew 22% year-on-year and was profitable both in the US and globally for the first time. Trade war jitters prompted shoppers to accelerate purchases of certain items in an effort to beat tariffs, potentially distorting the picture of consumer demand

Quick Take — From Uniqlo to Temu: Japanese buyers make a generational change

Chinese platforms have broken through barriers once considered impenetrable Temu and Shein because they offer products at prices as much as 90% lower than Japanese retailers.

Japan has long been known as a retail graveyard, where even global giants like Tesco, Walmart and Carrefour have failed.

The rise of Chinese platforms signals a fundamental shift in one of the world’s most closed consumer markets. Historically, the retail and e-commerce sector in Japan has been defined by its insularity.

Local groups such as Aeon, Uniqlo and Rakuten have long dominated, thanks to intricate supply chains, loyal customer bases and favourable regulatory environments. Cultural factors add another layer of difficulty for foreign players, from the long-standing preference for domestically manufactured products to geopolitical tensions, particularly among the older generation.

Yet a surprising reversal of this trend has been taking place in recent years. Chinese companies, including PDD Holdings’ Temu and Shein, have broken through barriers once considered impenetrable, offering products at prices as much as 90% lower to local retailers.

Chinese-ownedTikTok is preparing to enter the Japanese online shopping market in the coming months, signalling a further deepening of the Chinese retail push in the country…

Quick Take — Shein: Price rise up to 377% and IPO stalls in London

Shein is exploring ways to restructure its US business in case the Trump administration sticks to punitive tariffs on Chinese imports, which has jeopardised its plans for a London stock market listing.

The fast fashion company’s US business – which accounts for about a third of its $38 billion in annual revenue – will be put to the test when a tax exemption known as the “de minimis”…

…The US is replacing the ‘de minimis’ exemption – which applied to shipments valued at less than $800 – with a 120% tariff or a flat rate of $200, depending on how the goods are delivered. The changes will apply to shipments from China and Hong Kong…

About Shein read here