Retail

Bloomberg Long known for squeezing its vast network of suppliers, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is about to step up the pressure. The focus this time is delivery scheduling, and the company’s not messing around. Two days late? That’ll earn you a fine. One day early? That’s a fine, too. Right on-time but goods aren’t packed properly? You guessed it — fined. …

Bloomberg Tesco Plc faces an in-depth probe into its 3.7 billion-pound ($4.75 billion) bid for food wholesaler Booker Group Plc after regulators expressed concerns that the deal could leave shoppers worse off. The Competition and Markets Authority said that shoppers in more than 350 local areas could face worse terms when buying groceries where there is an overlap between Tesco …

Bloomberg Brazil’s long-suffering IPO bankers are headed toward their biggest payday in eight years. This month’s initial public offering for Carrefour SA’s Brazil unit will generate almost 140 million reais ($42 million) in fees for a group of local and international banks, based on a regulatory filing from the French grocery company. That tops the 119 million reais paid by …

Bloomberg Marks & Spencer Group Plc (M&S) reported a fresh drop in quarterly clothing revenue and missed estimates for food sales, dealing a blow to Chief Executive Officer Steve Rowe as he seeks to revive the U.K. retail bellwether. Same-store sales in the clothing and home division fell 1.2 percent in the 13 weeks ended July 1, London-based M&S said …

Dubai / Emirates Business Alcatel on Tuesday announced the launch of Alcatel A5 LED in the UAE. The world’s first interactive LED-covered smartphone, A5 LED delivers on Alcatel’s enjoy.now promise with innovations for energetic young consumers. “With the A5 LED, Alcatel is delivering new fun features, like light-up notifications and unique LED cover patterns and themes you create yourself, as …

Kuwait / Emirates Business Wendy’s, the third largest Burger chain in the world, is keeping the burger fans of Kuwait happy with a new restaurant opening in the Fahaheel area opposite Al Kout Mall. This stand-alone venue that can fit up to 32 seated diners is now open for all Kuwait foodies to enjoy. Owned by Alghanim Industries, one of …

Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sold yen bonds for the first time in seven years, taking advantage of falling fundraising costs and Japanese demand for securities issued by well-known US firms. The US retailer offered 170 billion yen ($1.5 billion) of five-year, seven-year and 10-year notes, in its first yen issuance since selling 100 billion yen of debt in July 2010. …

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etisalat on Sunday announced its commercial launch of NB-IoT and LTE-M technologies becoming the first operator in the MENA region to offer these new technologies enabling variety of solutions and services. Both NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) and LTE-M (Long Term Evolution for machines) technologies are 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) based standardized technologies using …

Bloomberg Early summer barbecues and higher prices proved a potent combination for UK supermarket chain J Sainsbury Plc in the first quarter of its financial year. As sweltering temperatures lifted demand for everything from burgers to paddling pools, like-for-like retail sales rose 2.3 percent, London-based Sainsbury said on Tuesday. That compared with the average estimate of nine analysts for a …

Bloomberg Pandora A/S, which has lost a third of its market value this year amid slowing US sales, is now betting on reviving its biggest market by replacing under-performing stores and hoping new products will be a bigger hit with consumers. “We’re not just waiting for the good times to return to the US retail market — we see things …