Retail

Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is buying full control of the startup Ele.me as it steps up efforts to expand in China’s fast-growing market for local delivery of food and other services. The deal implies an enterprise valuation of $9.5 billion for Ele.me, Alibaba said in a statement, without saying how much it’s paying. Alibaba and affiliate Ant Small and ...

Bloomberg Under Armour Inc., joining a growing list of corporate victims of hacker attacks, said about 150 million user accounts tied to its MyFitnessPal nutrition-tracking app were breached earlier this year. An unauthorised party stole data from the accounts in late February, Under Armour said. It became aware of the breach earlier this week and took steps to alert users ...

Bloomberg Different threats from major shifts in two industries are pushing Walmart Inc. and health insurer Humana Inc. towards the same solution. Amazon.com Inc. has taken direct aim at the giant retailer by siphoning customers out of its stores. Humana’s rivals are striking deals to make them one-stop health superstores with insurance, drug coverage, pharmacies, clinics and doctors. A deal ...

Bloomberg The liquidation of Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. has stoked fears about how the US toy industry will absorb the blow. But the shutdown of the company’s sister chain, Babies “R” Us, is setting off its own wave of disruption in the market for infant products. One of the biggest questions: What happens to all the customers who had baby ...

Bloomberg Three years ago, Amazon.com Inc. launched a marketplace to connect its customers with handymen, landscapers and housekeepers in their neighbourhoods, a direct challenge to the likes of Angie’s List Inc. and Yelp Inc. The offering embraced the independent contractor model, using Amazon’s web store to create a new service from scratch without hiring a single person or buying any ...

Bloomberg Walmart Inc. is in talks with health insurer Humana Inc. for a closer partnership to provide health care to consumers at home and prevent illness, according to a person familiar with the matter. Health-care spending accounted for about 18 percent of the US economy in 2017, and continues to surge with an aging population, pricey medications, and a complex ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. cut ties with Washington’s biggest lobbying firm and brought on new advisers following passage of the tax overhaul bill in 2017 and in the face of new challenges in the age of President Donald Trump. The shakeup occurred a week before Trump briefly sent Amazon’s stock tumbling with a Twitter attack on the world’s largest online retailer. ...

Bloomberg Nestle SA plans to begin selling slimmed-down Milkybar chocolates in the UK and Ireland in the first implementation of a new technology that promises the same sweetness with 30 percent less sugar. The Swiss food giant said a new version of the candy bars will be available on store shelves next week. It’s introducing them in markets where government ...

Dubai / Emirates Business The growth of UAE’s retail industry continues to pick up the pace, drawing momentum from the impressive expansion of the local retail real estate landscape. Based on the latest A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index, an annual study that ranks the top-30 developing countries for expansion worldwide, UAE’s ranking improved by two notches in 2017 to ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is taking aim at France, securing a delivery deal with Casino Guichard Perrachon SA that shakes up one of Europe’s most competitive grocery markets. Groceries from Casino’s Monoprix stores will be sold via Amazon’s Prime Now service in Paris and the surrounding region, the companies said. The move comes as Amazon pushes further into food in Europe ...