Walmart on cotton

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 12/8/2011 12:33:42 PM

New York - While discussing price inflation during this morning's presentation at the 2nd Annual Credit Suisse Consumer Conference here, Walmart's chief merchant indicated the company is not expecting any further drop in cotton prices.
"Obviously, cotton was significantly up in the summer as merchandise began arriving. There's been some moderation, but we don't see any significant change going forward," said Duncan Mac Naughton, evp and chief merchandising officer for the U.S.
He did not discuss how much of the increase Walmart passed along to consumers in cotton goods. In food, Walmart took at 4% increase in prices but raised retails in the category by only 700 basis points, Mac Naughton said. Overall, in categories hit by higher costs suppliers saw a reduction in sales volume, he said. Most are working to remove more cost from the process to boost turnover, he added.