Same store sales in U.S. could grow for first time in six quarters
    Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke said he expects sales at U.S. stores open at least a year to be “positive” in the fourth quarter compared with last year’s fourth quarter, when same store sales fell 2 percent.
    The world's largest retailer's sales are closely watched as a barometer of freight demand. Wal-Mart imported an estimated 684,000 20-foot-equivalent units of containers last year, putting the company atop The Journal of Commerce Top 100 Importers list.
    “I feel good about our U.S. plans,” Duke said Wednesday during an investor conference in Rogers, Ark. The company has not released a specific forecast for sales during the quarter. Two months ago, Wal-Mart said same-store sales in the U.S. would range from a 2 percent decline to a 1 percent increase.
    Wal-Mart has added back thousands of stock-keeping units it removed during the last two years in an effort to simplify inventories. Company officials said the SKU reductions cut into sales. Wal-Mart’s same-store sales in the U.S. have declined for five consecutive quarters. 
    The company’s fastest growth in recent years has been in international markets. In the second quarter, Wal-Mart's international business rose almost 16 percent to $25.9 billion, while total Wal-Mart store revenue in the U.S. rose 0.6 percent to $64.6 billion. Revenue at the company’s warehouse stores, Sam's Club rose 3.4 percent to $12.46 billion in the second quarter.

Source: JOC