Amazon


AMZN

is likely to face challenges during the peak shopping hours of this holiday season in the form of a workers’ strike in Germany in the coming days.

Reportedly, the German labor union Verdi has asked the workers at Amazon’s seven German distribution centers to join the rolling strikes that would take place at alternate locations as a protest against poor pay hikes.

The union is of the opinion that the inflation factor has not been considered in the pay hikes for the workers.

Verdi has come up with the idea of alternating strikes this time, which would not give Amazon much time to prepare for the work stoppages.

Disruption at Amazon

The workers’ strike at the time of Christmas – the busiest shopping period, for an online retailer is a matter of grave concern. This is likely to affect the e-commerce giant’s pre-Christmas business.

Hence, such a broad strike by Amazon employees in Germany, the company’s second-largest market, is expected to jeopardize its holiday season prospects.

We note that the shipment and fulfillment centers aid AMZN in storing and shipping products and handling returns quickly. These are crucial for Amazon for providing a better shopping experience to its customers.

Consequently, the strike might impact Amazon’s holiday sales negatively. This might make investors more apprehensive about the stock.

AMZN has lost 47.3% on a year-to-date basis compared with the

industry

’s decline of 41.8%.

Amazon’s Stance

As per the past opinions given by Amazon, the workers are availing of safe, secured and favorable working conditions along with good career opportunities, robust benefits and excellent pay.

Additionally, Amazon’s strong strategies are primarily focused on providing an enhanced shopping experience with the help of its robust product offerings, deep discounts on various items, Prime program, expanding freight and fast delivery services.

Further, Amazon’s automation drive-through robots in its fulfillment centers are on a high and remain major positives.

These strategic endeavors are likely to continue driving its sales this season in many countries like the United States, the U.K., Canada and Australia, to name a few.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the retail-wholesale sector are

Ross Stores


ROST

,

Rush Enterprises


RUSHA

and

Expedia Group


EXPE

. While Ross Stores and Rush Enterprises sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Expedia carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see


the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ross Stores has lost 0.2% on a year-to-date basis. The long-term earnings growth rate for the ROST stock is currently projected at 10.5%.

Rush Enterprises has lost 10.2% on a year-to-date basis. The long-term earnings growth rate for the RUSHA stock is currently projected at 15%.

Expedia has lost 51.2% on a year-to-date basis. The long-term earnings growth rate for the EXPE stock is currently projected at 14%.

Special Report: The Top 5 IPOs for Your Portfolio

Today, you have a chance to get in on the ground floor of one of the best investment opportunities of the year. As the world continues to benefit from an ever-evolving internet, a handful of innovative tech companies are on the brink of reaping immense rewards – and you can put yourself in a position to cash in. One is set to disrupt the online communication industry. Brilliantly designed for creating online communities, this stock is poised to explode when made public. With the strength of our economy and record amounts of cash flooding into IPOs, you don’t want to miss this opportunity.

>>See Zacks’ Hottest IPOs Now

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.

Click to get this free report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research