Page 12 - aruba-today-20230818

A12 BUSINESS
Friday 18 august 2023

Walmart’s hot sellers? Hand mixers and

kitchen tools

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO
AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart
racked up another strong
quarterly sales gain as its
low-prices continue to at-
tract budget conscious
consumers looking for
deals in a tough economic
environment.
The nation’s largest retailer
boosted its annual outlook
Thursday after reporting
better-than expected sec-
ond-quarter results sending The entrance to a Walmart store is shown on June 25, 2019 in
shares, already up 13% this Pittsburgh.
year, slightly higher at the Associated Press
opening bell.
Walmart is among the about a massive swath of sure, Walmart CEO Doug
first batch of major retail- U.S. consumers right now. McMillon told analysts on
ers to report results for A strong job market, rising Thursday. That has benefit-
the three-month period wages and pockets of eas- ed Walmart, which books
ended July and is consid- ing inflation have juiced more than half of its sales
ered a crucial barometer spending by Americans. each year from its grocery
of spending, given its size But rising energy prices, the aisle. Walmart also said
and the breadth of its cus- recent resumption of stu- that in recent quarters it
tomer base. And the per- dent loan payments put on has begun to attract high-
formance at the low-cost hold during the pandemic er-income shoppers, while
store compared with many and rising interest rates longtime customers trade
of its peers, where sales are mean that millions more down to private-label items
flagging under the weight people are starting to feel that are less expensive than
of inflation, reveals a lot increased economic pres- national brands.q

Airlines are adding new routes and

making a bold bet on continued strong

demand for travel

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)
— Building on strong book-
ings this summer, American
Airlines said Thursday it will
add three new European
destinations next summer
and revive another inter-
national route that it last
flew in 2019.
The announcement comes
one day after Delta Air
Lines said it will expand
service to China later this
An American Airlines plane lands at Logan International Airport, year.
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Boston. The news from two of the
Associated Press biggest U.S. carriers under-
scores the airline industry’s
confidence that its strong
recovery from the pan-
demic will continue and
that planes will remain
packed.
American said that next
summer it will add flights to
Copenhagen, Naples and
Nice, France all new desti-
nations for the airline from
Philadelphia. q