(AOF) – Walmart announced the closure of three of its technology centers in the United States (Austin, Carlsbad and Portland), asking hundreds of workers to relocate to keep their jobs, a spokesman for the company told Reuters on Monday. domestic retail giant. No fixed date has yet been set. Walmart currently has 11 technology centers in the United States and six overseas, according to its website.
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Two major challenges for the sector
The turnover of the retail brands increased by 6.6% in the third quarter of 2022 according to the panelist IRI. Such a performance had not been recorded since the 2020 confinements. However, since the end of September, volumes have been falling following the rise in prices. The results of the French players, rather spared until now, should therefore suffer. Moreover, in the United States, Walmart and Target issued warnings about their results.
Another challenge: logistical disruption. According to data from NielsenIQ, the stock-out rate rose further on the shelves to 5.8% at the end of October. This represents a shortfall of 3.5 billion euros since the start of the year. According to System U, these disorders have never been observed for more than fifty years. The reasons are multiple: both climatic, geopolitical, logistical, inflationary, and also linked to the behavior of consumers, who stock certain items. On the other hand, the strike in the refineries seems to have had little impact because the brands have managed to organize themselves.