Retail

Bloomberg The fortunes of the Walton family — the pioneers of American bargain shopping — have reached new heights during a pandemic that has otherwise obliterated trillions of dollars of value across global markets. The combined net worth of siblings Alice, Jim and Rob Walton has climbed 2.6% this year to $165.7 billion as recession-wary shoppers flock to Walmart Inc …

Bloomberg Costco Wholesale Corp’s sales soared in March, but not as much as expected: Curbs the retailer placed on its operations to cope with coronavirus-related demand slowed the pace in the back half of the month. The shares fell in extended trading. The retailer’s comparable US sales excluding fuel — a key metric watched by analysts — rose 12.1%, it …

Bloomberg South Africa’s property owners will provide relief to retail tenants hardest hit by a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19. The initiative, which focusses on small-, medium- and micro-sized enterprises, will be rolled out by landlords nationally, the Property Industry Group said in a statement published on the website of the South African Real Estate Investment Trusts …

Bloomberg Employee furloughs in the retail industry are now well over 1 million after the owner of TJ Maxx and Marshalls, one of America’s biggest clothing store chains, suspended its store workers. TJX Companies Inc said that it would furlough the majority of its US workforce at stores and distribution centres. It employs about 286,000 people worldwide, with most based …

Bloomberg Macy’s Inc, in the middle of navigating a broad US shutdown of nonessential businesses, said that Chief Financial Officer Paula Price is leaving her role. Price, who has been in the position for less than two years, “has made the decision to leave the company as of May 31,” the department-store operator said in a statement. She will remain …

Bloomberg Struggling UK retailer Debenhams Plc moved to protect itself from creditors after closing its stores because of the coronavirus. The department-store chain filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators under UK insolvency procedures. The company said the goal was to avoid being pushed into liquidation as it eyes reopening after virus-related restrictions are eased. Debenhams envisions what it …

Bloomberg Retailers have a new tool to use in the scuffle between landlords and tenants: a court ruling that could help them withhold rent. Pier 1 Imports Inc is the latest retailer to seize on the precedent, asking a judge to let it skip rent payments amid the coronavirus outbreak that has shuttered stores across the US. The judge overseeing …

Bloomberg DoorDash Inc, the biggest food delivery app in the US, will start delivering goods from 7-Eleven, Wawa and other convenience stores to Americans who are mostly stuck at home for the foreseeable future. The San Francisco-based startup said it began testing the sale of paper towels and other packaged goods this year and decided to accelerate the rollout due …

Bloomberg Stuck-at-home Americans are nowadays way more interested in buying toilet paper and hand soap than handbags and evening gowns. That’s forcing luxury retailers, like Neiman Marcus Group Inc and Nordstrom Inc, to resort to a tactic they rarely use: discounts. Neiman Marcus has Tom Ford glasses, which usually sell for about $400, at 50% off on its website. Customers …

Bloomberg Shoppers in Vermont hoping to wander the aisles of their local big-box store in search of an exercise mat or a video game are out of luck. The state ordered Walmart Inc and other big-box retailers to halt the sale of “non-essential” products in their brick-and-mortar locations to reduce the potential spread of the coronavirus. A spokesman for Vermont’s …