Retail

Bloomberg J Sainsbury’s sales fell in the first quarter since its planned acquisition of Walmart’s Asda collapsed, underlining the need for a revamp of its UK supermarkets. Comparable retail sales excluding fuel dropped 1.6 percent, with general merchandise, clothing and groceries all declining, the retailer said. The shares rose as much as 2.4 percent in London after an early dip, ...

Bloomberg Procter & Gamble Co, facing an industrywide backlash against consumer waste, is seeking a patent that would help it develop recyclable versions of absorbent products including diapers, sanitary products and potentially even Swiffer pads. Because many absorbent products today use multiple kinds of plastic and other materials, they’re hard to separate during trash sorting and nearly always end up ...

Bloomberg Poland’s biggest retailers fall as the government pulls forward plans to restore a controversial sales tax to September. The Polish cabinet updated its legislation agenda on Tuesday, which includes fast-tracking a levy that was suspended for three years amid a European Union probe on whether it constituted illegal state aid. In May, Poland won a challenge against the European ...

Bloomberg Cosmetics maker Coty Inc will take a $3 billion writedown — about a third of its market capitalisation — as its aging mass-market brands face new competition from savvy upstarts in the booming beauty industry. The company, under pressure to turn its business around as revenues stagnate, laid out the first steps of a turnaround plan intended to revive ...

Bloomberg The world’s richest can’t give away their money fast enough — but that’s not stopping them from trying. Warren Buffett said he plans to donate $3.6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc stock to five charities — one of his largest gifts ever — while Walmart Inc heir Jim Walton gave away $1.2 billion of the retailer’s shares. And Home ...

Bloomberg Shiseido Co is making it easier for customers to benefit from — and pay for — perfect skin. For 10,000 yen ($92) a month, subscribers will be able to access the Japanese cosmetics maker’s custom-designed skincare service, called Optune. Using a smartphone app that analyses skin and a dispenser with five serum-and-lotion cartridges, Shiseido says its product will deliver ...

Bloomberg Online luxury reseller The RealReal Inc rose 45 percent in its first day of trading after a $300 million initial public offering. The RealReal’s shares, after rising as much as 50percent, closed up at $28.90 in New York trading, giving the company a market value of about $2.39 billion. The RealReal sold 15 million shares for $20 each after ...

Bloomberg A small faction of officials at Forever 21 Inc has asked its biggest landlords if they’d consider taking a stake in the clothing retailer, as the company’s leadership battles internally about how to turn around the struggling store chain. The group, which didn’t have the backing of the company’s co-founder, talked to Simon Property Group Inc and Brookfield Property ...

Bloomberg PepsiCo Inc, facing an industry wide backlash against plastic, will experiment with putting its Aquafina water in cans. The beverage giant will begin selling the cans next year, offering them to partners such as stadiums and restaurants, PepsiCo said. The company also will try out the repackaged product at some retail stores. If the new packaging catches on, it ...

Bloomberg Steinhoff International Holdings NV is seeking more than 850 million rand ($59 million) from former Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste for his role in the accounting crisis that triggered the global retailer’s near-collapse. The owner of Poundland in the UK and Pep stores throughout Africa is looking to claw back base salaries, bonuses and other incentives paid to Jooste ...