Retail

Bloomberg Hermes International has become the latest fashion industry victim of men’s casual dress, signalling weakness in its silk business as neckties lose their allure. Revenue from silk and textiles rose 3 percent in 2018, the slowest growth of the French luxury-goods maker’s business units. CEO Axel Dumas said on Wednesday the company has been shifting production to adjust to ...

Bloomberg Prada SpA shares fell to the lowest close since 2016 as slower Chinese spending contributed to an unexpected drop in the Italian fashion house’s annual profit. The Hong Kong-listed luxury group attributed a slump in Asia mostly to Chinese tourists reining in spending in Hong Kong and Macau because of the weakness in the yuan. Other luxury brands, including ...

Bloomberg Steinhoff International Holdings NV identified eight people, including former Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste, as those allegedly behind questionable transactions that brought the global retailer to near collapse. The company’s executives were compelled by a South African parliamentary committee to release the names even as Chairwoman Heather Sonn and Chief Executive Officer Louis du Preez warned it could jeopardise ...

Bloomberg PT Matahari Department Store was downgraded by at least four analysts and led declines among Lippo Group stocks after a slump in the retailer’s net income prompted a cut in its dividend payout. Matahari plunged as much as 22 percent in Jakarta trading, the most since December 2011, while PT Lippo Cikarang, PT Lippo Karawaci and PT Siloam International ...

Bloomberg Battered minibus taxis snake the perimeter of Ivory Coast’s latest shopping hotspot, a brand new mall in a sprawling Abidjan suburb that shows how grocers like France’s Carrefour SA are turning their attention to lower-income African customers. The parking lot reserved for car owners lies empty, contrasting with the throng of shoppers inside the crowded $30 million Cosmos Mall, ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is ending its experiment with electronics-focussed pop-up stores, shuttering 87 kiosks located inside shopping malls, Whole Foods Market locations and Kohl’s stores around the US. “After much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program,” an Amazon spokeswoman said. The closings are expected to be completed by the end of April, the Wall ...

Bloomberg Steinhoff International Holdings NV plans to dig deeper into the accounting misdeeds that brought the retailing giant to its knees as it seeks to get to the bottom of some $7.4 billion in fictitious or improper deals. A forensic probe by PwC found that a small group of former executives — with the help of others outside the company ...

Bloomberg Debenhams Plc cracked open the door to billionaire Mike Ashley for the first time, saying it’s considering his bid to increase control over the UK retailer and install himself as chief executive officer. The billionaire’s Sports Direct International Plc offered a loan of 150 million pounds ($199 million) to the troubled department-store chain in a deal that would boost ...

Bloomberg Inditex SA fell the most in 2019 after the Spanish owner of the Zara apparel chain reported the weakest earnings growth in five years, showing it’s not immune to the retail malaise that has burdened rival Hennes & Mauritz AB. Even a more generous dividend policy unveiled on Wednesday failed to stem the decline. The shares fell as much ...

Bloomberg US retail sales stabilised in January after a plunge the prior month that was larger than first reported, indicating consumers may still be able to help support economic growth after a dismal end to 2018. The value of overall sales rose 0.2 percent after a 1.6 percent drop in the prior month that was the steepest since 2009, Commerce ...