Retail

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is ready to commit to Brazil. Kind of, sort of. After five years of just selling books in the country, Amazon is now launching an electronics and appliances marketplace. The official announcement came recently, but locals have been talking about it for a week after Bloomberg News was first to report that a significant number of Amazon …

Bloomberg Sears Canada Inc. received court approval to begin liquidating its stores as the insolvent retailer moves to wind up 65 years of business after failing to adapt to changing consumer tastes. The Toronto-based chain’s plan to begin selling off its inventory on October 19 was approved by Justice Glenn Hainey in Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Gordon Brothers Canada …

Bloomberg The man who helped put Skinny Pop in lunch boxes all over America is embracing Amazon.com Inc., the scourge of the grocery business. The biggest food companies, notoriously slow to respond to consumer whims and losing market share to nimbler upstarts, desperately crave innovation to keep ahead of Amazon’s threat. And Jason Cohen, the Skinny Pop guy, has been …

Bloomberg Toys “R” Us Inc., the retailer that filed for bankruptcy in North America, has been exploring options for its growing Asian business including a potential initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said. The US chain and its local joint venture partner, the billionaire Fung brothers, have been speaking with investment banks to study the feasibility of …

Bloomberg When it comes to UK retailing, investors and consumers have one thing in common: Both are putting an emphasis on value. Stocks from budget homewares seller B&M European Value Retail SA to sausage-roll purveyor Greggs Plc are having a stellar year, with gains being driven by shoppers’ desire for a bargain or an affordable treat. Their advance contrasts with …

Bloomberg Vincom Retail JSC, the Vietnamese mall operator backed by Warburg Pincus, has started taking investor orders for a domestic initial public offering that could raise as much as $680 million. Existing shareholders including Warburg Pincus and Credit Suisse Group AG are offering a combined 380.2 million shares at 37,000 dong to 40,600 dong apiece, according to terms for the …

Bloomberg Taco Bell took over the fashion district in Los Angeles. Yes, the same Taco Bell that serves up double-decker taco supremes and chicken chalupas held a full-fledged runway show. The show was put on to promote Taco Bell’s new fashion collaboration with Forever 21. Quirkiness is a signature of the fast-food chain, which often uses odd marketing to stay …

Bloomberg Italian fashion house Gucci plans to drop animal fur from its collections, showing how concerns about responsible business practices that originated with the Birkenstock brigade have galvanised an industry known for its celebration of excess. The Milan-based maker of $1,000 fur-lined slippers, part of French luxury conglomerate Kering, will sell its remaining fur items in a charity auction, the …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is tapping some of the biggest athletic-apparel suppliers to make a foray into private-label sportswear, according to people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for further upheaval in an already-tumultuous industry. Makalot Industrial Co., a Taiwanese vendor that produces clothing for Gap Inc., Uniqlo and Kohl’s Corp., is making apparel for the Amazon line, a person …

Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sold bonds to refinance debt as it girds for an online battle against Amazon.com Inc. The world’s largest retailer issued $6 billion of unsecured bonds in six parts, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, after cutting a three-year floating rate note from the offering. The longest portion, a 30-year security, yields 75 basis …