Retail

Bloomberg Will Smith is selling water. Kobe Bryant is pushing deodorant. Mark Wahlberg is peddling protein powder. Amazon.com is tapping high-profile actors, athletes and social-media sensations like never before to maintain buzz around its Prime Day summer sale, now in its fifth year and battling increasing competition from rivals. Discounted pressure cookers and gadgets just aren’t enough to stand out …

Bloomberg Sports Direct International Plc shares headed towards a seven-year low after the UK sports-apparel retailer delayed publishing its results as auditors increase their scrutiny of its accounting. The UK retailer said it needs more time to compile information as regulators review Grant Thornton’s audit of its fiscal 2018 results, and that the review may affect its financial guidance. The …

Bloomberg It hasn’t replaced Christmas, but Amazon’s Prime Day is becoming a holiday testing ground for toy companies. Toymakers including Mattel Inc and MGA Entertainment Inc are using the e-commerce giant’s annual sales event to roll out new products and learn more about customers ahead of the critical holiday season. For the first time, Mattel is gearing up for a …

Bloomberg Luxury department store Barneys New York is considering a bankruptcy filing, Reuters reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The retailer is working with Kirkland & Ellis LLP to prepare for a potential bankruptcy that could come in the coming weeks, Reuters cited one of the people as saying. Barneys has not yet made a final decision and …

Bloomberg Walmart Inc has a hole to fill at its online unit, and whoever assumes the role faces a big challenge ahead. The company is searching for a new chief revenue officer for its US e-commerce business, who would work under online leader Marc Lore to help map out its battle plan against Amazon.com Inc, Target Corp and other rivals. …

Bloomberg Walmart Inc is facing a strike by thousands of workers in South America amid the retail giant’s push to increase automation at its physical stores. About 17,000 Walmart workers in Chile went on an indefinite strike after labour talks between the company and the union failed. As many as 124 of the retailer’s 375 stores across the country closed …

Bloomberg Steinhoff International Holdings NV’s first-half sales gain gives the global retailer some wiggle room as it looks to finalise debt-restructuring talks. Still, there is plenty of uncertainty. Steinhoff said sales rose 3 percent in the six months through March to $7.7 billion. The owner of Poundland in the UK and Conforama in France reported its third set of earnings …

Bloomberg Levi Strauss & Co fell in late trading as profit in its second quarter as a public company tumbled from a year earlier. The denim maker said on its conference call that adjusted diluted earnings slipped 21 percent from the prior year to 17 cents. When including $29 million of expenses associated with its IPO, second-quarter profit was 7 …

Bloomberg Chinese supermarket operator Wumart Stores Inc and an investor group backed by rival Yonghui Superstores Co are among suitors that proceeded to the final round of bidding for German food wholesaler Metro AG’s China business, people with knowledge of the matter said. Yonghui has teamed up with Hillhouse Capital, according to the people, who asked not to be identified …

Bloomberg Amazon.com warehouse workers in Minnesota plan to strike during the online retailer’s summer sales extravaganza, a sign that labour unrest persists even after the company committed to paying all employees at least $15 an hour last year. Workers at a Shakopee, Minnesota, fulfillment centre plan a six-hour work stoppage from July 15, the first day of Prime Day. Amazon …