Retail

Bloomberg Debenhams Plc plunged as much as 20 percent after the British department-store owner, struggling to compete with online rivals, cut its profit forecast for the third time this year and reined in spending on turnaround efforts. The latest warning deepens a UK retail crisis that has claimed longtime fixtures of the country’s shopping streets such as BHS and prompted …

Bloomberg Google is investing $550 million in cash in China’s JD.com Inc. as the US search giant pushes deeper into online commerce. Alphabet Inc.’s Google will buy newly issued Class A shares at $20.29 per share, equivalent to $40.58 per ADS, the companies said in a joint statement. The pair plan to explore joint development of retail solutions in regions, …

Bloomberg The former boss of top French supermarket chain Carrefour SA walked away from a multi-million-euro payment after the country’s economy minister denounced his package as exorbitant. Former Chief Executive Officer Georges Plassat decided to waive his right to a non-compete fee valued at 4 million euros ($4.6 million) because of the “misunderstanding” surrounding the award, the company said in …

Bloomberg Geoffrey the Giraffe has gone from the morgue to the hospital. Toys ‘R’ Us, the toy retailer that’s liquidating in bankruptcy, found a New Jersey children’s hospital that was willing to take the 16-foot tall statue of the African mammal that stood in the lobby of its headquarters. The chain has held going-out-of business sales at its stores and …

Bloomberg CVC Capital Partners acquired Malaysian snack producer Munchy Food Industries Sdn., as the private equity firm deepens its exposure to the fast-growing consumer industry in Southeast Asia. The London-based investment firm’s Asia Fund IV completed the purchase of a 100 percent stake in Munchy Food on June 8, it said in an emailed statement, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. has long used robots to help humans move merchandise around its warehouses. Now automation is transforming Amazon’s white-collar workforce, too. The people who command six-figure salaries to negotiate multimillion-dollar deals with major brands are being replaced by software that predicts what shoppers want and how much to charge for it. Machines are beating people at the critical …

Bloomberg Landlords have malls they’d like to unload. But who’d want to buy them? As they battle the rise of e-commerce, US mall owners are trying to clear their books of fading centres so they can focus on the most-profitable ones. That’s proving difficult, with just a shallow pool of investors who are willing to take on a declining mall …

Bloomberg Mercari Inc. priced its initial public offering at the top of the range to sell $1.2 billion worth of shares, a valuation that’s set to make its 40-year-old founder a billionaire. The online marketplace plans to sell 43.5 million shares at 3,000 yen apiece, at the top of the targeted range, including the sale of additional shares via a …

Bloomberg In 1980, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan led dozens of countries to boycott the Summer Olympics in Moscow. An undaunted Adidas AG still sponsored the USSR’s Olympic team, becoming one of the first global brands well-known behind the Iron Curtain. This summer’s soccer World Cup should have had the German company cashing in big on its ensuing decades of …

Bloomberg V-Mart Retail Ltd., India’s most-profitable department store chain, is planning to sell apparel and other goods online in a bid to attract youth in villages and small towns. The retail store, which runs medium-sized stores that sell clothes, accessories, footwear and everyday staples, is also planning to add 30 to 40 stores every year to its current 177 stores, …