Retail

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 ...

Bloomberg Signet Jewelers Ltd, the owner of jewellery chains Jared and Kay, gave another sign the US jewellery industry is past the worst of it, with preliminary comparable sales turning positive in August following a challenging start to the summer. Shares rose. After reporting a 31.3% decline in same-store sales in the second quarter ended on August 1, the company ...

Bloomberg Neiman Marcus Group won court permission to leave behind the debts and drama that pushed it into bankruptcy, just a day after its harshest critic was arrested on federal charges stemming from the case. A bankruptcy judge in Houston approved a plan that hands ownership to creditors in return for forgiving about $4 billion of Neiman’s $5.5 billion in ...

Bloomberg Investors searching for any hints that a retail recovery is underway got a glimmer of hope, with struggling department-store operator Macy’s Inc inching back to normalcy. The department store chain is still losing money as sales remain well below pre-pandemic levels, but CEO Jeff Gennette said demand is picking up across all of its brands. Its adjusted net loss ...

Bloomberg Arla Foods amba, one of Europe’s top milk producers, reported a 34% jump in profit in the first half of the year as consumers stockpiled products including butter in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. The pandemic sparked increased dairy consumption in homes, which helped offset declines in the food service sector, according to Arla’s chief executive officer, Peder ...