“I don’t think we have anything to add to that other than I think that that customer is challenged economically and finding this environment difficult,” Michael B. O’Sullivan, president and chief operating officer of Ross Store (NYSE: ROST), said.
Looking at XRT’s holdings, GES makes up 0.9% of the portfolio, DG is 1.0% and ROSt accounts for 1.1%.
Additionally, the consumer staples sector has not been immune to the changing consumer habits.
“The North American consumer picture continues to be weak, with retail sales among the top 30 food and beverage manufacturers roughly flat in the quarter,” PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) CEO Indra Nooyi said.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLP), which has a 4.8% weight toward PEP, is up 6.2% year-to-date. [Defensive Posturing Seen Amid Big Buying of Staples ETF]
For more information on the retail sector, visit our retail category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.