Retail

Bloomberg Procter & Gamble Co. agreed to buy Merck KGaA’s consumer-health business for 3.4 billion euros ($4.2 billion) to bolster growth, betting that vitamins and decongestants can hasten its comeback. The deal gives the maker of Crest toothpaste a stable of products with sales growth of 6 percent in the past two years, double the pace of traditional consumer goods …

Bloomberg A year after its break with Nordstrom Inc., Ivanka Trump’s brand is going to rely more on its own website to get its apparel in the hands of consumers. Starting from Wednesday, shoppers can order merchandise directly — with a 15 percent discount — from the brand’s website, the retailer announced in an email to customers. Since the site’s …

Bloomberg Kraft Heinz Co., struggling with sliding sales and a falling stock price, is partnering with celebrity chef David Chang to generate some buzz. The ketchup maker will use its expertise in food production and distribution to help Chang take his Momofuku Ssam sauce national for the first time. The condiment, which has been served across the chef’s restaurant group …

Bloomberg Hammerson Plc withdrew its 3.2 billion-pound ($4.6 billion) offer to buy Intu Properties Plc after a growing number of its shareholders opposed a deal that would have created the UK’s biggest shopping-mall owner. Hammerson’s initial all-share offer had come as mall owners try to combine to cut costs and focus on premium properties while UK consumers endure a year-long …

Bloomberg Ikea Group, the world’s largest furniture retailer, is getting ready for a future where people have little to spare: both in their wallets and in terms of space. The Swedish furniture giant is now abandoning its custom of planning five to 10 years ahead, setting a new three-year approach to keep pace with a rapidly transforming society. The strategy …

Bloomberg Billionaire Isaac Larian, the toy marketer whose lineup includes Little Tikes and Bratz dolls, offered to save part of Toys ‘R’ Us from liquidation with an almost $900 million bid for stores in the US and Canada. Larian would pay $675 million and $215 million for outlets in Canada, he said. The funds will come from Larian himself and …

Bloomberg Tax cuts have given a boost to Americans’ take-home pay this year. The question hanging over the US economy is whether they are putting the extra cash towards savings and debt, or using it to go shopping. Retail-sales data due on Monday from the Commerce Department will help provide an answer, and economists are betting that consumers finally opened …

Bloomberg Temasek Holdings Pte is studying potential investments in Swissport Group and Gategroup Holding AG, both owned by HNA Group Co., as it considers deals with the indebted Chinese conglomerate, people with knowledge of the matter said. Temasek, which inked a partnership with the Chinese group, is exploring buying stakes in a number of HNA affiliates that are complementary to …

Bloomberg Steinhoff International Holdings NV raised 3.75 billion rand ($313 million) from the sale of shares in the embattled retailer’s African operations to further shore up its balance sheet following an accounting scandal late last year. The move follows similar disposals of stock in South Africa’s KAP Industrial Holdings Ltd. and investment holdings company PSG Group Ltd. The total generated …

LONDON / Reuters Struggling British flooring retailer Carpetright said it would seek creditor approval for a restructuring plan to close 92 stores and reduce rents at 113 of its sites, resulting in about 300 job losses. Shares in Carpetright, which has in recent months issued a series of profit warnings because of weak UK retail spending and what it calls …