Retail

Bloomberg England’s third lockdown hit non-essential retailers harder than the previous one in November, with the new variant of the coronavirus hampering spending and confidence last month, according to the British Retail Consortium. Clothing and footwear stores fared particularly badly as retailers on the whole saw the value of sales decline from a year earlier, the business lobby said. A ...

Bloomberg Ocado Group Plc is counting on three new automated warehouses in the UK to improve its ability to meet demand for online grocery shopping that’s thriving during the pandemic. The company’s retail revenue jumped by 35% in 2020, as the UK delivery arm that’s jointly owned with Marks & Spencer Group Plc gained popularity among Covid-wary customers favoring e-commerce ...

Bloomberg Tesco Plc is leading calls for an online sales tax to be imposed on digital retailers such as Amazon, as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak weighs up reforms to business levies ahead of next month’s budget. The bosses of supermarkets, retail property owners and other store chains are pushing for action to ease their tax burden with ...

Bloomberg Boohoo Group Plc snapped up remaining brands from Philip Green’s failed Arcadia Group Ltd after the UK online retailer’s rival Asos Plc acquired the flagship Topshop and other labels. In a fresh sign of the growing dominance of online fashion retailers amid the pandemic, Boohoo agreed to buy the Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Wallis brands for just over 25 ...

Bloomberg Kohl’s Corp’s sales fell in the past quarter as the pandemic continues to roil the retail world, but Chief Executive Officer Michelle Gass sees plenty of reason for optimism. The retail chain’s digital revenue remains elevated and profitability is improving, Gass said in an interview. And while the company’s preliminary fourth-quarter results showed an 11% decline in same-store sales ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc breached the $1 billion-a-day revenue mark in 2020, in another example of how the company’s massive growth and market dominance has made its stock a near-unanimous favorite on Wall Street. The e-commerce giant’s fourth-quarter results brought full-year revenue to $386 billion. According to an analysis of Bloomberg data, Walmart Inc is the only other US company with ...

Bloomberg That chocolate Santa will cost a bit more this Christmas. Hershey Co plans to raise prices on bags of kisses, miniature chocolate bars and other seasonal treats shaped like snowmen and Santas starting in the 2021 holiday season, Chief Executive Officer Michele Buck said in an interview. Prices for these items had not been increased since the 2014 holiday ...

Bloomberg Future Retail Ltd’s dollar bonds plunged on an Indian court temporarily restraining parent Future Group from selling its retail assets to Reliance Industries Ltd, after Future’s partner Amazon.com Inc had sought the suspension. The Delhi High Court ordered the Future Group and Indian authorities to ensure the status of the indebted Indian retailer’s assets are maintained as is, putting ...

Bloomberg Ulta Beauty Inc, US’s biggest cosmetics retailer, plans to increase spending on inclusion and antidiscrimination training programs and will boost the number of products for sale by Black-owned businesses as the industry tries to address racial inequality. Included in the commitment is $2 million for staff training this year to “ensure equality in guest experiences.” In 2019, several Ulta ...

Bloomberg Hormel Foods Corp is nearing a deal to buy the Planters snack business from Kraft Heinz Co in a deal valuing the peanut brand at about $3 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. A deal could be reached as soon as next week, according to the person, who did not want to be identified discussing the ...