Retail

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc plans to open 1,000 small delivery hubs in cities and suburbs all over the US, according to people familiar with the plans. The facilities, which will eventually number about 1,500, will bring products closer to customers, making shopping online about as fast as a quick run to the store. It will also help the world’s largest e-commerce …

Bloomberg Kohl’s Corp is slashing its corporate workforce by about 15% in a bid to rein in expenses as retail sales fail to recover to pre-pandemic levels. The chain said the cuts will save it about $65 million a year. It will record a pretax charge of about $23 million, mostly in the third quarter, related to the layoffs and …

Bloomberg Polish e-commerce group Allegro plans to raise about 1 billion zloty ($266 million) in an initial public offering in Warsaw, becoming the latest web-based company to take advantage of a buoyant market for the tech sector. Allegro’s private equity owners Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa Partners also plan to sell shares in the IPO, the company said in a …

Bloomberg Authentic Brands Group LLC is in discussions to join a planned rescue of JC Penney Co, Business Insider reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. Mall landlords Simon Property Group Inc and Brookfield Property Partners LP agreed to buy the bankrupt department store in a deal valued at $1.75 billion. The people didn’t disclose whether Authentic Brands would …

Bloomberg Financing to back the potential buyout of UK grocery firm Asda Group Ltd by a private equity sponsor could total just under four billion pounds ($5 billion), according to people familiar with the information. Three bidders are still involved in the process after final bids were submitted on Monday, Apollo Global Management, Lone Star Global Acquisitions Ltd, and TDR …

Bloomberg Century 21 Stores, an iconic New York off-price department store chain, filed for bankruptcy with plans to shut down, becoming the latest victim of the retail industry carnage that’s accelerated during the pandemic. Nearly 1,400 jobs are at risk. The retailer will hold going out of business sales at its 13 stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and …

Bloomberg JC Penney Co sales plunged 45% in the second quarter as the department-store chain entered bankruptcy and struggled with an accelerated shift away from physical stores and the Covid-19 outbreak. Net sales fell to $1.39 billion in the period ended on August 1 from $2.51 billion a year earlier, the company reported in a regulatory filing. The retailer’s lenders …

Bloomberg Lululemon Athletica Inc reported a surge in its e-commerce business as quarantined consumers flocked to comfy apparel like yoga pants. Chief Executive Officer Calvin McDonald said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the second half of the year. In an echo of retailers including Gap Inc and Nike Inc, Lululemon’s comparable online sales excluding currency impacts rose 157% in the …

Bloomberg PizzaExpress’s creditors approved a company proposal to cut rents and shut 73 of its UK restaurants as part of the chain’s effort to fix its finances amid the economic slump. The plan will put 1,100 job at risk. Almost 90% of the firm creditors and a majority of landlords supported a so-called Company Voluntary Arrangement proposed by the company, …

Bloomberg Amazon.com contract drivers have noticed a sudden change in how the company assigns delivery routes, a sign that it has found a way to prevent rogue operators from gaming the system to snatch orders first. Bloomberg revealed that drivers were putting smartphones in trees outside Whole Foods and Amazon delivery stations in the Chicago area to get a jump …