Price increases to be expected at Walmart with Trump

Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January could rhyme with price increases on Walmart shelves, if we trust the words of his chief financial officer who fears the concrete effect of new tariffs.

“There will probably be cases where prices will increase for consumers,” Walmart CFO John David Rainey admitted in an interview with CNBC.

The senior executive explained that one of the products they have in store comes from the United States, so this minimizes the risks associated with customs duties.

Walmart says it has known how to manage the pricing environment well for seven years, but is on the lookout to avoid price increases as much as possible.

“The tariffs, however, are inflationary for customers, which is why we want to work with suppliers and with our own private label range to try to bring prices down,” John David Rainey told CNBC.

At the end of May, Canada’s ambassador to the United States warned that the arrival of Donald Trump could rhyme with “tariff rates on steel and aluminum.”

“If we have to have very difficult negotiations, once again, we are ready to do it,” said the Canadian ambassador to the United States, Kirsten Hillman.

Last July, to a question from JournalPrime Minister François Legault had described candidate Trump as a “slightly special Republican”.

“For many years, Democrats were more protectionist than Republicans. There, we have a somewhat special Republican,” he said.

Rising forecasts

Furthermore, last Tuesday, Walmart revised its forecasts upwards. She notices that people are ordering more online and are already doing their Christmas shopping.

The retailer estimates its sales will grow 4.8% to 5.1% this year, compared with expectations of a range of 3.75% to 4.75%.

At the start of the year, The Journal reported that Walmart is not ruling out one day offering 10-minute drone delivery for items ranging from baby wipes to birthday candles, as is the case in Dallas, Texas.

Last year the multinational gave up on its $100 million order processing center in Vaudreuil-Dorion that it planned to build, preferring instead to modernize eight stores on Quebec soil.