Topic: How To Invest

Power Growth Investor Hotline – Friday, April 9, 2021

Article Excerpt

NORTH WEST COMPANY, $36.17, is a buy. The retailer (symbol NWC on Toronto) sells food, and everyday products and services through 244 stores. Those locations are mainly in northern communities across Canada and Alaska. Through your shares, you also tap the company’s operations in remote regions of Hawaii, the wider South Pacific and the Caribbean. In the quarter ended January 31, 2021, overall sales rose 2.2%, to $565.2 million from $553.1 million a year earlier. Strong gains in same-store sales—representing a 16.8% rise—were largely offset by lower sales in Giant Tiger outlets because of the sale of 36 stores. That deal was completed on July 5, 2020, and saw the closure of five other stores. The sharp rise in same-store sales was due to higher spending by customers in the wake of COVID-19. As well, the company lowered prices for the food it sells in northern Canada. This was aimed at capturing more local spending dollars and reducing the impact of COVID-19…