Retail

Bloomberg For at least a decade, experts have been predicting the demise of the big box supermarket as online rivals like Ocado Group Plc muscled in. Giant warehouse-style grocery stores with thousands of products seemed anachronistic in an era when consumers increasingly wanted to shop for fresh, locally produced food, or from the comfort of their living rooms. Now the …

Bloomberg Yum! Brands Inc said it’s suspending its share repurchase program and working to assist some franchisees as the coronavirus outbreak erodes sales. The owner of the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands said in a filing that comparable-store sales — a key measure for restaurant companies — will likely decline in a range of mid to high single …

Bloomberg Amazon, Walmart, EBay and other large online sellers were urged by state law enforcement officials to crack down on price gouging that preys on panic over the coronavirus pandemic amid surging complaints by consumers. The attorneys general of New York and California called on the companies to take action as 6,000 complaints have poured in to authorities across the …

Bloomberg Neiman Marcus Group Inc, the luxury retailer that’s been struggling to ease its $4.3 billion debt load, is talking with lenders about filing for bankruptcy, according to people with knowledge of the matter. No formal decisions have been made, but Neiman Marcus has held initial talks with lenders about a potential bankruptcy loan that would keep the company running …

Bloomberg Modell’s Sporting Goods halted its going-out-of-business sales as customers shelter at home and states order most merchants to close. The bankrupt retailer stopped liquidation sales and closed all stores as of March 21, CEO Mitchell Modell said. It plans to resume once the bans are lifted, he said. Retailers are pausing store-closing sales as a growing number of states and …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc’s delivery delays of non-essential goods will extend for at least another month for many customers in the US and Europe, stirring panic among online merchants who rely on the web retailer for business. The lengthening delivery times come on top of confusion over how the company identifies essential products, a task that appears to be performed by …

Bloomberg Primark, the budget fashion chain owned by Associated British (AB) Foods Plc, has closed every store it operates due to the spread of the coronavirus, which will lead to a loss of 650 million pounds ($760 million) for each month the shops are shut. Primark had closed 20% of its selling space as of March 16, and on March …

Bloomberg Simon Wolfson, chief executive officer of clothing chain Next Plc, said that the coronavirus pandemic presents the global retail industry with its biggest threat in nearly half a century. The oil price shock of 1973 — when Wolfson was five years old — triggered a stock market crash, soaring inflation and high unemployment. The viral contagion could become just …

Bloomberg As most Britons were clearing the shops of pasta, toilet paper and painkillers to weather the coronavirus outbreak, Jenny Yeo’s thoughts were elsewhere: her daughter’s room, which she’d been planning to decorate. The barrister from Penarth, south Wales, headed to her local branch of home improvement store B&Q and spent 200 pounds ($240) on paint, wallpaper and wood paneling. …

Bloomberg Walmart Inc is hiring 150,000 temporary workers to meet surging demand for everyday goods, as the US retail giant prepares to start coronavirus tests in store parking lots over the weekend. The new employees will largely work in distribution centres and many will become permanent staff over time, Walmart said in a statement. The company is also slated to …