Retail

Bloomberg J Sainsbury Plc pledged to reduce costs and close stores as Chief Executive Officer Mike Coupe seeks to move on from a failed bid to take over rival grocer Asda. The UK supermarket operator plans to reduce expenditures by around $623 million over the next five years as it integrates dozens of Argos home-goods outlets, acquired in 2016, into ...

Bloomberg Kering SA’s Gucci faces a possible backlash for showing straitjackets, meant to make a statement about self-expression and not to be sold in stores, at Milan Fashion Week. Model Ayesha Tan Jones held up “Mental Health Is Not Fashion” on her hands on her way down the runway. She then posted on Instagram that straitjackets symbolise “a cruel time ...

Bloomberg Impossible Foods Inc started to finally offer its eponymous plant-based burger in US grocery aisles. The Impossible Burger will make its retail debut at 27 Gelson’s Markets locations in Southern California before expanding its retail presence in the fourth quarter and in early 2020, the company said in a statement. The product will arrive in additional unnamed stores, including ...

Bloomberg JC Penney Co is preparing for talks with its creditors on possible transactions to ease its debt burden and give the company’s new chief executive more breathing room ahead of the critical holiday season. Advisers for the department-store chain and some of its bondholders are close to signing non-disclosure agreements, and expect to do so by the end of ...

Bloomberg Walmart Inc’s Doug McMillon just took over as the chief spokesman for Corporate America, and he’s not wasting any time taking action. The Walmart chief executive said the retailer will stop selling e-cigarettes in its more than 5,300 US locations, displaying a tendency towards action that the company has typically lacked. The announcement supports the emerging narrative that Walmart’s ...

Bloomberg US prosecutors ridiculed celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti’s claim that he was charged with trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike Inc as payback for his feud with President Donald Trump, calling the allegation a “fantastic notion” based on hyperbole and insinuation. Avenatti asked a judge in August to throw out the case, claiming it was a vindictive prosecution ...

Bloomberg Shares of Thomas Cook Group Plc tanked after the UK tourism operator said it needs more emergency financing. Thomas Cook said it will require another $251 million for a “seasonal standby facility,” sending the shares down as much as 28 percent. The company already increased the size of a bailout plan in August by 20 percent to 900 million ...

Bloomberg Retails sales increased 0.4 percent in July, the first advance in three months, as consumers spent more on new cars, Statistics Canada said from Ottawa. The gain trailed economist expectations for a 0.6 percent increase. Excluding motor vehicles and gasoline, retail sales fell 0.1 percent on the month. The report falls short of economist expectations for a larger rebound ...

Bloomberg Marks and Spencer Group Plc Chief Financial Officer Humphrey Singer plans to leave his post and the UK retailer is searching for his successor. Singer’s departure date hasn’t yet been decided and he’s working with Chief Executive Officer Steve Rowe to ensure a smooth transition, the company said in a statement. “After 18 months of working with Steve to ...

Bloomberg Billionaire Mike Ashley lost out to Debenhams Plc again as a court challenge to the embattled UK department-store chain’s restructuring plan failed. In a blow to Ashley’s Sports Direct International Plc, a judge in the High Court in London ruled that Debenhams’s deal with landlords to accept lower rents should be allowed to go ahead. Ashley, who failed in ...