Retail

Bloomberg Whole Foods Market’s lower-priced offshoot chain, whose future was questioned after Amazon.com Inc. took control of the company in 2017, is cautiously plowing ahead. The business, known as 365 by Whole Foods Market, opened its latest store this week in Brooklyn—its first location on the East Coast. And the division is still signing leases and plans to open at ...

Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd led a $300 million investment into India’s biggest online grocer Bigbasket, signaling that the region’s segment is firing up. Hari Menon, Bigbasket’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said the investment values the company at $950 million—just $50 million under the $1 billion valuation that would have earned it tech unicorn status. “We wanted a strategic ...

Bloomberg Back in the last century, Ralph Lauren built a business empire by sketching out a national fashion identity with each design. In recent years, though, the influence of his preppy styles has waned. Sales have fallen steadily as shoppers moved on to casual wear, fast-fashion or even upstart preppy brands. Now, the 78-year-old designer is trying to make a ...

Bloomberg Hennes & Mauritz AB reported its biggest drop in profit in six years, adding pressure on Chief Executive Officer Karl-Johan Persson, who is trying to right the ailing Swedish clothing chain after recent slipups. Operating profit fell 14 percent to 20.6 billion kronor ($2.6 billion) in the 12 months through November, H&M said in a statement. Analysts expected 20.4 ...

Bloomberg Swatch Group AG reported an increase in profit for the first time in four years as Switzerland’s largest watchmaker boosted its share in the intensely competitive low-end timepiece market thanks to growth at Tissot and its namesake plastic brand. Swatch said it has had a “massive gain” in market share in the basic and midrange segments. The company sells ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc.’s foray into health care won’t be the first time it has disrupted an entire industry by starting with an effort inside the company. Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is teaming up with fellow billionaires Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon to revamp health care for the 2.4 million workers and dependents of the companies they run. The ...

Bloomberg JAB Holding Co.’s audacious effort to build a food-and-beverage empire, which already includes Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Caribou Coffee, has taken a surprise turn into soft drinks. The investment firm’s Keurig Green Mountain Inc. business, known for its single-serve coffee brewers, agreed to take control of Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. The deal will pay $18.7 billion in cash ...

Bloomberg Steinhoff International Holdings NV said it has secured enough money to keep its businesses running in the immediate term and can now start talks with a broader group of creditors. The troubled South African retail group has arranged new credit lines for units in the UK, US and France as well as agreeing a restructuring of its Austrian division, ...

Bloomberg JD.com Inc. is preparing to make its US debut with a beachhead in Los Angeles, seeking to best arch-rival Alibaba and challenge Amazon.com Inc. on its home turf. The $68 billion company, which said in December 2017 it’ll start online sales in the US by the second half of 2018, is now seeking funds to bankroll a logistics build-up ...

Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has forged another alliance to counter Amazon.com Inc., partnering with Japan’s Rakuten Inc. to sell e-books in the US and improve its online grocery business in Asia’s second-largest economy. The collaboration will bring Rakuten’s Kobo device and e-book catalog to Walmart’s US stores later this year, the companies said in a statement. The partnership also includes ...