Retail

Bloomberg Australian retail sales suffered the biggest drop in 12 months and imports slumped by the most in almost seven years, raising doubts about the resilience of household spending. Sales fell 0.4 percent in December, compared with estimates for an unchanged reading, statistics bureau data showed on Tuesday. Imports dropped 6 percent in the month, the worst result since February ...

Bloomberg Ocado Group Plc said it is talking to retailers about potential deals, renewing speculation about a possible partnership with Marks & Spencer Group Plc. The UK online grocer signed a number of technology licensing agreements in 2018, including a mammoth partnership with Kroger Co. in which the US supermarket chain agreed to buy a stake. Talk that Ocado might ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Since the announcement of visa free travel for Emiratis to Ireland in early 2018, dnata Travel, the UAE’s longest-standing travel provider, has experienced a 63.5% overall increase in year on year travel from the UAE to Ireland. The report showed a dramatic 55% increase in travel arrangements made within 14 days in advance of travelling, including ...

Dubai / Emirates Business A pioneering sustainability initiative introduced by leading retail brand, Splash, which encouraged householders to recycle their old clothes, resulted in over 11 tonnes of clothes being collected. Some of the collected items were distributed amongst underprivileged communities in Africa. The ‘Life After Fashion” campaign saw Splash working closely with UAE-based laundry firms to communicate message of ...

Bloomberg Gone are the days when the only goal of a company was to persuade you to buy its product. Now, making you feel kinship with a brand—even love—takes precedence. At least, that’s what a group of influential startups believe. Eyewear maker Warby Parker, makeup seller Glossier, mattress retailer Casper—all of these companies are “direct-to-consumer” brands largely born on the ...

Bloomberg The US retail apocalypse is far from over. While the collapse of storied merchants like Sears Holdings Corp. and Toys “R” Us Inc. has left stores shuttered across America, retailers still make up about a fifth of the universe of distressed borrowers. Consumer confidence is slumping. The head of the biggest mall owner in the US cautioned that more ...

Bloomberg McDonald’s Corp. climbed after reporting an acceleration in global sales in the fourth quarter, offsetting US growth that was shy of estimates. The company’s overall same-store sales rose 4.4 percent, topping the 4 percent average of analysts’ estimates, according to Consensus Metrix. In the US, the increase of 2.3 percent was just short of projections. Sara Senatore, an analyst ...

Bloomberg Avon Products Inc. will cut 10 percent of its global headcount as it looks for new ways to save money and simplify its structure. Most of the job cuts will take place this year, saving the makeup company about $97 million by the end of 2019. These aren’t Avon’s first round of recent layoffs. The staffing cuts come on ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.’s grand plans for India were thrown into chaos after the country implemented new e-commerce regulations, which could cut their growth in the market by as much as half this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government tightened rules for the retail giants after strident complaints from small shops and domestic sellers. Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart ...

Bloomberg FedEx Corp, looking beyond Amazon.com Inc for growth in e-commerce, is introducing a new late-night shipping option for retailers who want to speedily send orders directly to online customers. The program will offer retailers the option to deliver items the next day when they are purchased online as late as midnight, said Brie Carere, FedEx’s chief marketing officer. Less ...