Retail

Bloomberg After the strongest holiday-shopping season in more than a decade, investors have grown increasingly impatient with retailers that didn’t enjoy the good fortune. Shares of J.C. Penney Co. and Foot Locker Inc. tumbled in the wake of lukewarm results during the fourth quarter, which included the crucial Christmas season. The chains both posted weaker-than-expected comparable sales, a key benchmark. ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to buy connected-doorbell startup Ring Inc. for about $1 billion, a person familiar with the matter said. The move helps Amazon expand further into the consumer market, including providing security for package deliveries. JPMorgan Chase & Co. advised Ring on the sale, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is ...

Bloomberg HNA Group Co. is planning to cut 100,000 jobs, or about a quarter of its global workforce, this year amid a liquidity squeeze, Risk Event-Driven and Distressed Intelligence reported. The Chinese group plans to eliminate jobs in areas such as human resources, business operations and asset restructuring, REDD reported, citing the people. Job cuts will also target units that ...

Bloomberg Starbucks Corp. Chairman Howard Schultz sees a blessing in all the empty storefronts across the US. Facing a crush of vacancies—and the rise of e-commerce—retail landlords are beginning to cut rents, the executive said. That stands to benefit the world’s largest coffee chain, which has more than 14,000 US locations. “Over the last few weeks, I have been in ...

Bloomberg EBay Inc., operator of the namesake online marketplace, is close to a deal for the Japanese assets of e-commerce site Qoo10, a person familiar with the matter said. The San Jose, California-based company is buying the assets from its joint-venture partner Giosis Pte, the person said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. Under the proposed ...

Bloomberg Shoprite Holdings Ltd. said rising consumer confidence in South Africa could fuel higher sales growth as the continent’s biggest food retailer increased the dividend and reported market share gains in its home country. The half-year payout to shareholders will be raised by 14 percent, about in line with a year ago, Shoprite said. That followed a six-month period in ...

Bloomberg Dutch vitamin maker Royal DSM NV is finding direct-to-consumer sales good for its corporate health. After years of supplying ingredients to health-food companies, DSM began dabbling with its own range of supplements to sell at retail about six years ago. The growth of the business, called I-Health, far exceeded the company’s hopes, and it’s set to turn over about ...

Bloomberg Never mind being No. 1. Ed Sonshine is too busy trying to Amazon-proof his Canadian shopping-mall empire by turning them into hip urban oases. The chief executive officer of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has inked deals to sell 19 assets in the past four months, part of his drive to unload about C$2 billion ($1.6 billion) worth of ...

Bloomberg As China’s shoppers power growth for European luxury brands, Chinese companies want to bring home some of the profits along with their Prada loafers. Fosun International Ltd. acquired a majority stake in French fashion house Lanvin for an undisclosed sum, the Shanghai-based group said. It’s the latest in a series of moves by Chinese companies to snap up iconic ...

Bloomberg Subway Restaurants, facing one of the biggest sales slumps in its five-decade history, is looking to win back customers with a new incentive: $2 discounts through a revamped loyalty program. The sandwich chain will let diners use their loyalty rewards on any menu items, lifting restrictions under the current programme. The new system, which will expand to 28,500 US ...