Retail

Bloomberg Ocado Group Plc’s retail revenue rose more than 40% in the second quarter as the UK online grocer’s sales were boosted by home shopping during the Covid-19 lockdown. The company suspended financial guidance for the year, saying uncertainty around the pandemic made it impossible to predict near-term sales trends. The second-quarter’s gain was up from a 10% increase in …

Bloomberg Neiman Marcus Group Inc is closing in on a deal with lenders led by Pacific Investment Management Co that would slash the department-store chain’s debt load by more than half in exchange for control of the company, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The plan would be part of a bankruptcy court filing that could come as …

Bloomberg Blue Bell Creameries Inc, a Texas-based ice cream maker, agreed to plead guilty and pay $19.35 million in fines for shipping frozen treats tainted with listeria in 2015 and deliberately failing to disclose the contamination to the public, the US Department of Justice said. The company’s former president, Paul Kruse, was charged with seven felony counts related to the …

Bloomberg High-end cookware chain Sur La Table Inc is preparing for a potential bankruptcy filing after the pandemic forced it to close stores and cancel cooking classes, according to people familiar with the matter. The chain, with about 125 stores, is also pursuing a sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process isn’t public. For …

Bloomberg J Sainsbury Plc, Britain’s second-largest grocer, said the Covid-19 pandemic will disrupt business until September, and then the economic fallout will set in. Costs will rise by 500 million pounds ($623 million) this year because of safety measures and lower fuel sales. That will be offset by 450 million pounds of property tax relief from the UK government, leading …

Bloomberg Consumer giant Unilever Plc and the Spanish company behind Paco Rabanne perfumes are among beauty heavyweights competing to buy celebrity makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury. L’Oreal SA of France, Estée Lauder Cos in New York and Japanese beauty company Shiseido Co also made bids for the London-based brand, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is …

Bloomberg The luxury brand Burberry is famed for plaid scarves and $1,800 trench coats. But for employees at its only warehouse in the US — operating as an “essential business” during the pandemic — daily standard issue in the time of Covid-19 is this: one surgical mask, one disinfectant wipe. For weeks, employees have been growing increasingly anxious about working …

Bloomberg The top two trade groups representing major retailers such as Walmart Inc, Target Corp and Best Buy Co are calling on governors to adopt uniform reopening standards as the pandemic subsides, including allowing warehouses and distribution centers nationwide to reopen all at once, rather than state-by-state. As states, cities, and companies big and small struggle over when and how …

Bloomberg Adidas AG Chief Executive Officer Kasper Rorsted tried to present a silver lining as he predicted the German shoemaker’s first quarterly loss in four years: that cooped-up consumers might need more sportswear once countries lift stay-at-home orders. More than two-thirds of Adidas’s stores are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led the company to forecast an unprofitable quarter …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc is asking warehouse employees who have stayed away from work during the pandemic to return for scheduled shifts beginning from May 1, or request a leave of absence. The move sets up a critical choice for employees at a company that has become a lifeline for Americans locked down to contain outbreaks of Covid-19. After the coronavirus …