Walmart drops its Prime Days sale - Arkansas Online

Walmart Inc. is breaking with a tradition of the past few years and forgoing its annual sale coinciding with Amazon's Prime Days.

The Bentonville-based retailer said Friday that it won't hold a formal sale event this year because it's already offering discounts on thousands of products this summer in addition to its "everyday low prices."

And starting today, Walmart said, it will drop prices on hundreds more items. All discounts apply to merchandise in its stores and on Walmart.com.

Amazon's sale for Prime members will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, though it's already offering early discounts. Prime members pay $119 a year for benefits such as free two-day shipping and access to streaming and video content.

Big-box retailers, such as Walmart and Target Corp., typically schedule competing sales the same week as Prime Days.

This year, Target will hold its fourth annual online-only Deal Days from Monday through Wednesday, with discounts on hundreds of thousands of items. Christina Hennington, chief growth officer for the Minneapolis-based retailer, noted in a news release that anyone can shop the event through Target's e-commerce site or app.

And other retailers, such as Nordstrom, Best Buy, Macy's and Wayfair, are holding their annual summer sales this month.

Walmart usually holds its Deals for Days sale, also available to shoppers with no subscription or membership needed, during Prime Days week as well.

Like most other retailers, Walmart finds itself with excess inventory this year, but the company has chosen a slower approach to shedding that merchandise.

Doug McMillon, Walmart's chief executive officer, said at a meeting with investors in May that inventory increased 32% in the first quarter, "which is higher than we want." Walmart was trying to stay ahead of competitors stymied by holdups in the supply chain.

"We'll work through most or all of the excess inventory over the next couple of quarters," McMillon said.

Brett Biggs, who was Walmart's chief financial officer until recently leaving the company, said at the same meeting that most of the inventory increase stemmed from buying ahead to keep product in stock.

Unexpected markdowns on the extra inventory pressured Walmart U.S. gross profit by about $100 million, Biggs said.

Target said in June that it plans to move its excess inventory as quickly as possible in the second quarter, taking the financial hit upfront.

Target's action plan includes additional markdowns, removing excess inventory and canceling orders, among other adjustments to its business practices.

"While these decisions will result in additional costs ... we're confident this rapid response will pay off for our business and our shareholders over time," said Brian Cornell, Target's chairman and chief executive.

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