Leaked Walmart emails are causing a public relations nightmare for the store, Entraz.com reported Sunday.
The leaked emails were between Walmart executives and note that sales in the stores for February are “disastrous.”
The emails were dated Feb. 12 and detail bad sales figures in alarmist terms. The executives were clearly worried in their description of Walmart’s fiscal health.
Here’s a sampling of some of the emails that were first presented in USA Today:
Jerry Murray, Wal-Mart vice president of finance and logistics:
"In case you haven't seen a sales report these days, February MTD (month-to-date) sales are a total disaster," Jerry Murray, Wal- Mart's vice president of finance and logistics, said in a Feb. 12 e-mail to other executives, according to Bloomberg news service. "The worst start to a month I have seen in my seven years with the company."
Here’s another of the leaked emails published by Bloomberg, This one is by Cameron Geiger, senior vice president of Wal-Mart U.S. replenishment:
"Have you ever had one of those weeks where your best- prepared plans weren't good enough to accomplish everything you set out to do? Well, we just had one of those weeks here at Walmart U.S. Where are all the customers? And where's their money?"
ABC News reports that executive say the slow sales may be related to the payroll tax hike. Fewer dollars in consumer hands translate into fewer Walmart purchases.
What’s Walmart’s reaction? The giant retailer suggests the leaked emails were taken out of context.
A Walmart spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: "As with any organization, we often see internal communications that are not entirely accurate, that lack the proper context and represent individual opinions."
The leaked Walmart emails may have contributed to the stock’s recent drop of 2.2 percent on Friday, according to a number of published reports. Brian Sozzi, chief equities analyst at NBG Productions told the Business Insider:
"The bigger story is that these emails got out. This doesn't happen to Wal-Mart. they have pre-recorded earnings calls – very structured. This is just abnormal in Wal-Mart's world. It's more common in the tech industry."
If the leaked Walmart emails are accurate, why do you think sales at Walmart have dropped so drastically? Leave your opinion below in the Facebook comments section.
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