By George Anderson
Delhaize has cut its forecast for the second time in two months, because of slower sales in its U.S. operations, says the Bloomberg news service. A weakening economy and Wal-Mart are given as the reasons for the company’s lower profit projections.
“It’s a nightmare come true,’ said Julien Picard, an analyst at Fideuram Wargny Societe in Paris. “The U.S. economy is bad, their same-store sales are dropping, and they are the weak neighbor to strong players like Wal-Mart. The outlook looks very bad.”
Delhaize expects total sales to be approximately two percent lower than last year. Same-store sales will be down as much as one percent from 2001.
Moderator’s Comment: Is there room for two or more
operators of low-price, self-service grocery stores selling national brands
when one of them is Wal-Mart?
Yes, there is. The room (excluding Wal-Mart’s share) just
happens to be appreciably more cramped than it has in the past. [George
Anderson – Moderator]