How are retailers navigating an environment of slowing consumer demand, high interest rates, and rising prices?

In this special episode of exchanges at Goldman Sachs, my colleague Vichal Rana from our Investment Banking's Consumer Retail Group recently spoke with the CEOs of Best Buy,

IKEA and AutoZone at the Retail Industry Leaders Association CEO Forum in Palm Beach, Florida.

They shared their perspectives on the trends shaping the retail landscape

and how they're navigating economic uncertainties.

We hope you enjoy it.

Welcome to a... it.

Welcome to a special edition of Exchanges at Goldman Sachs.

I'm Vishal Rana, a managing director in the Cross Markets Consumer Retail Group

in Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs and your host for today's episode.

Today, I'm delighted to be speaking with the CEOs of three major retailers for their take on the retail landscape.

Bill Rhodes, CEO of AutoZone,

Corey Berry, CEO of Best Buy, and Harvey Kignoneone is CEO of IKEA.

And one quick programming note before we get started, I'd like to acknowledge that Best Buy and AutoZone are both in their quiet

period and we will be careful in our conversation to avoid the disclosure of any material

non-public information. Thank you all for being here. So let's start with a macro question.

2023 looks to be a challenging year,

given still high inflation and interest rates,

and a slowing economy that could tip into recession.

As the CEOs of three major retailers, how the macro headwind so far affected consumer demand

and behavior in each of your sectors?

I think during the last three years we have learned to really navigate in this uncertainty.

...