Retail

British consumers to cut back in 2024, adding to recession risk

BLOOMBERG UK consumers are increasingly worried about their financial security and holding tighter to their purse-strings heading into 2024, reviving concerns that the economy could tip into a recession. While inflation has now fallen or remained steady for nine consecutive months, 41% of consumers say they’re feeling less financially secure than at the end of 2022, according to a survey ...

Read More »

Party City, its bankrupt balloon unit Anagram near settlement

BLOOMBERG Party City Holdco Inc’s bankrupt balloon-manufacturing affiliate, Anagram Holdings, is close to striking an agreement with the retail chain and won court permission to sell the unit to lenders. Anagram lawyer Nicholas Baker said during a court hearing that the firm is optimistic it will be able to finalise the settlement with its parent company in the coming days. ...

Read More »

General Mills cuts outlook as shoppers hold back

BLOOMBERG General Mills Inc cut its organic-sales-growth outlook after slower-than-expected volume recovery and cautious consumer behaviour lowered expectations for the full year. “We’re seeing consumers continue to display stronger-than-anticipated value-seeking behaviors across our key markets, and this dynamic is delaying volume recovery in our categories,” Chief Executive Officer Jeff Harmening said in prepared remarks. The company has also faced stiffer ...

Read More »

Canadian consumers slow their spending as rates bite

BLOOMBERG Canadian consumers likely slowed down their spending in November after splurging the previous month, as high interest rates restrict household budgets. Receipts for retailers were flat last month, according to an advance estimate from Statistics Canada released. That followed a 0.7% increase a month earlier, slightly below a median estimate of 0.8% in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Still, ...

Read More »

Alibaba ousts commerce chief, splits assets in shakeup

BLOOMBERG Alibaba Group Holding Ltd replaced one of its most experienced executives at the helm of e-commerce and plans to create a firm to oversee its investment assets around the world, the latest in a series of sweeping changes to roil the once-dominant Chinese online juggernaut. Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu will replace Trudy Dai, one of an inner circle ...

Read More »

Amazon wins top European Union court clash over $272 million tax bill

BLOOMBERG Amazon.com won its legal battle with European Union (EU) competition watchdogs over a €250 million ($272 million) tax bill as the bloc’s top court cast more doubt on an EU crackdown on nations accused of giving some firms special treatment. The EU’s Court of Justice said the European Commission failed to establish that a tax arrangement between Amazon and ...

Read More »

H&M sales drop as consumer demand for fast fashion wavers

BLOOMBERG Hennes & Mauritz AB’s revenue fell as consumers pulled back on spending at H&M clothing stores and after the chain closed stores in Russia. Sales fell 4% in the three months through November at constant currencies, the company said, in line with analysts’ expectations. The company has lost the sales growth momentum it last demonstrated in the first half ...

Read More »

Kroger, Albertsons bracing for FTC decision on deal in January

BLOOMBERG Kroger Co and Albertsons Cos are bracing for a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit over their proposed $24.6 billion tie-up as soon as January as opposition builds against the supermarket mega-deal. Progressive lawmakers and the Teamsters union both urged the antitrust agency to veto the deal after its yearlong probe. The FTC has until January 17 to decide ...

Read More »

TikTok to spend $1.5 billion taking over GoTo’s Indonesia shop

BLOOMBERG ByteDance Ltd’s TikTok agreed to invest $1.5 billion in a joint venture with Indonesia’s GoTo Group that it will control, part of a pact that lets the Chinese company restart its shopping app in its biggest online-retail market. The social media giant will combine its Indonesian TikTok Shop business with GoTo’s e-commerce unit Tokopedia, the companies said. TikTok gets ...

Read More »

Zara owner poised for record close as earnings optimism grows

BLOOMBERG Inditex SA shares are headed for the highest close since the retailer’s 2001 initial public offering as analysts turn increasingly optimistic ahead of third-quarter results. The Zara owner gained as much as 1.3% to €36.81 in Madrid trading last week, the highest intraday price since June 2017. The retailer’s fast-fashion business model and online presence have helped the shares ...

Read More »
Send this to a friend