Retail

Bloomberg JC Penney Co, its stores shut and revenue all but extinguished by the pandemic, is continuing to huddle with creditors about how to avert a default after it skipped an interest payment. The struggling chain is seeking their agreement for a deal that would keep it out of bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Management is using …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc is hitting back at activists within its own ranks, terminating three employees who had criticised working conditions in its warehouses. The retailer confirmed that it had fired Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa for violating company policy. The two employees, who worked at Seattle headquarters, had taken to Twitter recently to voice concerns about the treatment of workers …

Bloomberg A Swiss retailer is crying foul after a truckload of hand sanitiser it had ordered was commandeered by Italian customs officers. The shipment of disinfectant gel, purchased by Victory Switzerland GmbH for 32,000 euros ($34,800), was stopped by officials on March 30, according to Daniel Gerber, the company’s managing director. “I am not aware of any compensation for us,” …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc was handed a French ban on sales of non-essential items after losing the first round of a court fight with labour unions who said the company wasn’t doing enough to protect staff from the Covid-19 pandemic. Amazon said in a statement it’s appealing the ruling, a move that suspends the court’s decision. The world’s biggest online retailer …

Bloomberg Universal Robina Corp’s instant coffee and noodles are flying off grocery shelves in the Philippines, but the lockdown in the main Luzon island is disrupting supply chains and limiting its ability to meet orders. The company’s CEO Irwin Lee described the last few weeks as “frenetic” for the JG Summit Holdings Inc’s unit, which has had to adapt to …

Bloomberg True Religion Apparel Inc, once a fast-growing premium jeans brand, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware, its second Chapter 11 since 2017. The company, acquired by New York- and London-based investment management firm TowerBrook Capital Partners in 2013 for $824 million, lists assets and liabilities of as much as $500 million each in the petition. Founded in 2002 and headquartered …

Bloomberg Swiss chocolate makers are offering price cuts in an attempt to stem weak demand during the key Easter season, as shoppers scoop up toilet paper and soup rather than tinfoil bunnies. Lindt & Spruengli is offering online price cuts of 30% on its entire Easter assortment. Laederach, another high-end chocolate chain, abandoned its practice of avoiding discounts this year. …

Bloomberg Each day, before the 350 employees at Fresh N’ Lean enter the company’s food preparation center in Anaheim, California, they fill out a health questionnaire and have their temperature taken. Anyone with symptoms, even if they seem like seasonal allergies, is asked to take paid emergency sick leave. Inside, workers are spaced widely apart and wear gloves and masks …

Bloomberg Early looks from Starbucks and Costco Wholesale into their coronavirus-era businesses suggest that US consumers may not be ready to turn back to their old spending ways as soon as governments give the all-clear sign. Starbucks sales cratered at the end of March. Its experience in China, which is now emerging from forced social distancing, showed that customers were …

Bloomberg Now that Japan’s government is urging consumers and businesses to step up efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak, shoppers may finally have no excuse but to embrace e-commerce and wean themselves from brick-and-mortar stores. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and six other areas last week. In response, Uniqlo clothing owner Fast Retailing Co, …