Retail

Bloomberg Americans last year bought about $200 billion worth of stuff from Amazon and its Whole Foods grocery stores. That figure is based on a Bloomberg Intelligence estimate that Amazon sold about $300 billion in merchandise in 2017 and the company’s report that two-thirds of its revenue comes from the US. If that’s accurate, Amazon.com Inc. captured about 5 percent …

Bloomberg Dad shoes are clunky, ugly — and the hottest trend in footwear, clomping down the runway at recent shows by luxury houses Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga. The bulked-up sneakers, which can retail for hundreds of dollars a pair, also represent a major challenge for athletic-shoe makers unaccustomed to the volatile world of high fashion. Until recently, companies such as …

Bloomberg UK billionaire Mike Ashley swooped in to rescue the House of Fraser Ltd. department-store chain for 90 million pounds ($115 million), staving off collapse for an anchor of the country’s troubled shopping districts. Ashley’s Sports Direct International Plc agreed to acquire the 169-year-old retailer’s UK stores, brand name and inventory. The move came after House of Fraser, which employs …

Bloomberg As the battle to land Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters comes down to the wire, one of the less glamorous contenders is poised to add as much as $1 billion in tax breaks to its pitch. Newark, New Jersey, is expected to approve the big bag of cash, part of a $7 billion package the state is dangling in front …

Bloomberg Pandora A/S plunged after the world’s biggest jewelry maker cut its profit and sales forecasts amid struggles in key markets such as the US and China. The shares fell more than 20 percent, the most in seven years, and were down 19.7 percent at 345.4 kroner in the Danish capital. Investors were battered by a similar slump just three …

Bloomberg Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) is still the king of diapers and shampoo, but an onslaught of new competition and tighter ordering from traditional retailers is tarnishing the consumer-goods giant’s crown. Investors were lukewarm to the company’s fourth-quarter results, leaving the shares little changed after sluggish organic sales growth. In addition to the new rival products — which range …

Bloomberg Burberry has changed its logo for the first time in 20 years, revealing the new look via an Instagram post. The British heritage brand’s new logo says “Burberry London England” in stark capital letters, replacing the softer, rounder font the company previously used. Riccardo Tisci, the star designer Burberry hired this year to revamp its brand image, posted screen …

Bloomberg The plan laid out by Walmart Inc. was bold and startling: One of the biggest private electricity users in the US promised to get half its power from solar and wind by 2025. If successful, Walmart would leap over Google to become the world’s top green-energy buyer. That was November 4, 2016. Days later, Donald Trump was elected president, …

Bloomberg House of Fraser Ltd. needs a new lifeline after a Chinese retailer pulled its plan to buy a majority stake, leaving the UK department-store chain on the brink of collapse and threatening about 17,000 jobs. Would-be rescuer C.banner International Holdings Ltd. shelved plans to raise funds for the purchase of a 51 percent stake in the British chain, citing …

Bloomberg BAE Systems Plc earnings fell almost 10 percent in the first half as Europe’s biggest defense company booked hits against its US operations, offsetting gains from major contract wins. Underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortisation dropped to $1.14 billion from 967 million pounds a year earlier, London-based BAE said in a statement. While BAE has won contracts to …