Retail

Bloomberg It took more than a decade, but California has a new law requiring extensive labelling of ingredients in cleaning products, and it got support from what might seem the unlikeliest of advocates: product manufacturers themselves. Companies like Procter & Gamble Co. and Easy-Off maker Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, after years of arguing the need to preserve their proprietary formulas …

Bloomberg Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., Ralph Lauren Corp. and other fashion brands are locked in a high-stakes contest this Christmas. But the winner won’t be the company that sells the most—it’ll be the one that winds up with the least amount of unwanted merchandise. After years of struggling to manage their inventory, brands are using increasingly sophisticated tools to track …

Bloomberg Louis Vuitton is bringing in some robotic help for the holidays. The maker of $1,370 canvas duffle bags and $575 monogram belts has launched a “virtual adviser” on Facebook Messenger for US clients, Palo Alto, California-based AI startup Mode.ai said in a statement. The chatbot will answer queries for all things Louis Vuitton: searching the brand’s online catalog, pulling …

Bloomberg Brick-and-mortar retailers hoping to fend off Amazon.com Inc. need to deploy the one weapon that could set them apart: top-notch customer service, provided by actual humans. But making that goal a reality relies on something they’ve not really invested in—well-trained employees with the kinds of wages and regular hours that make them want to stick around. This illustrates traditional …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. will offer last-minute delivery of pottery, necklaces, candles and other handmade products ordered as late as Christmas Eve in nine US cities, looking to win orders from competing arts-and-crafts marketplace Etsy Inc. The online retailer will offer Amazon Handmade products through its two-hour delivery service Prime Now, which normally carries household convenience items found in drugstores. It’s …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. completed its takeover of Whole Foods with a bang in August, announcing a price-cutting push that generated headlines and boosted store traffic. But in the following months, Amazon hasn’t ushered in a new era of low prices, according to Chuck Grom, an analyst at Gordon Haskett Research Advisors. He found that a basket of 110 items at …

Bloomberg UK retail sales rebounded last month, fuelled by higher food spending as Black Friday sales failed to tempt enough British shoppers to open their wallets for other things. The British Retail Consortium said sales rose 0.6 percent on a like-for-like basis after slumping the most in seven months in October. They climbed 1.5 percent in total terms. Yet the …

Bloomberg FamilyMart Uny Holdings Co., Japan’s second-largest convenience store operator, is considering a sale of its Hong Kong retail business, people with knowledge of the matter said. FamilyMart Uny is working with a financial adviser to gauge potential buyer interest in its three stores in the Chinese territory, according to the people. It is seeking to fetch close to $100 …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is now up and running in Australia, offering millions of products and one-day delivery in some areas, seeking to seize a share of the nation’s growing online retail market. The e-commerce giant will offer products across more than 20 categories, including consumer electronics, clothing and sports equipment, and offer free delivery on some orders, the Seattle-based company …

Bloomberg Express Scripts Holding Co.’s chief executive said he’s open to a deal with a health insurer or partnering with Amazon.com Inc. CEO Tim Wentworth’s pharmacy benefits company has been battered by departing clients and the vague specter of Amazon’s entry into the drug business. If a major insurer was interested in a deal, “I would be open to it,” …