Wal-Mart's Raises to $10 an Hour May Cost Retailers $4 Billion
- Retailer's profit woes raise concern for chains that match pay
- Reaching $10 threshold seen as more painful than jump to $9
Wal-Mart's $10 Wage, Will It Hurt Other Retailers?
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When Wal-Mart Stores Inc. raises its minimum wage to $10 an hour next year, Target Corp. and other competitors are going to face a dilemma: follow along and jeopardize profits or risk losing their best workers.
Matching Wal-Mart’s $10 wage would cost some of the retail industry’s largest companies an extra $4 billion over what they paid workers in 2014, according to an analysis by the Hay Group of 100 chains employing 5 million sales people. About 10 percent of companies are currently considering an increase to $10 an hour, with more likely to follow, said Craig Rowley, who runs the consulting firm’s retail practice.