Retail

  Bloomberg J Sainsbury Plc shares surged the most in more than a year after better-than-expected holiday sales provided a positive cap to an otherwise disappoin- ting year, continuing the supermarket sector’s strong Christmas run. The stock rose as much as 7.1 percent — the steepest intraday gain since Jan. 5 last year — after same-store sales at Sainsbury supermarkets ...

  Bloomberg Marks & Spencer Group Plc (M&S) reported its best clothing sales in more than five years, delivering a confidence boost to the embattled British retailer after a tumultuous year marred by management overhauls, store closures and plunging shares. Same-store sales in its clothing and home division rose 2.3 percent in the third quarter ended Dec. 31, the London-based ...

  Bloomberg McDonald’s Corp. agreed to sell a controlling stake in its China and Hong Kong operations to a group of financial investors in the latest effort by the world’s largest fast-food chain to catch up with Western rivals by opening new stores in smaller Chinese cities. A consortium including Citic Ltd. and Carlyle Group LP will buy an 80 ...

  Bloomberg Barnes & Noble Inc. posted its first decline in holiday sales in three years, hurt by a downturn in the coloring-book category, bringing another sign that the Christmas season wasn’t kind to retailers. Same-store sales sank 9.1 percent for the nine-week holiday period, the New York-based company said. Coloring books and other art supplies — products that had ...

  Emirates Business Oris, one of Switzerland’s few remaining independent watch companies, announces the opening of ‘Maison Oris’ at 22 Barfusserplatz in the Swiss city of Basel. The new boutique will be operated in cooperation with renowned jeweller Seiler, and will offer Oris customers an unrivalled experience of the company and its watches. The two-storey boutique has been designed as ...

  Bloomberg Xiaomi Corp. surpassed $1 billion in annual India revenue two years after selling its first smartphone in the country, as Chinese names begin to dominate the world’s fastest-growing major market at the expense of local players. Xiaomi said it grew shipments by almost 150% in 2016, selling two million smartphones in the third quarter alone. The company had ...

  Bloomberg Coca-Cola Co. was sued by activists who compare the beverage giant’s advertising tactics to the tobacco industry’s past efforts in minimizing the health effects of its products and targeting children to replenish the ranks of its customers. The nonprofit Praxis Project seeks to stop Coke and the Washington-based American Beverage Association (ABA) from deceptive advertising of sugary drinks, ...

  Bloomberg Fundraising from Malaysian initial public offerings is poised to rebound from the lowest in 16 years, led by a planned relisting of the local KFC operator, as receding uncertainty and commodity price gains help rekindle demand for riskier assets. First-time share sales in Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s top destination for new listings less than five years ago, fell to ...

  Bloomberg UK clothing retailer Next Plc forecast another tough year after a disappointing Christmas, sending its shares plummeting and dealing a blow to the industry at the start of the holiday reporting season. Pretax profit for the year through January 2018 will be in a range of 680 million pounds ($834 million) to 780 million pounds, the company said ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The Guest Services Department at The Dubai Mall has been awarded two prestigious citations including a five-star accreditation by The International Standard for Service Excellence (TISSE2012) – making it the first mall in the world to receive the certification; and the ISO 10002:2014 quality management system for customer satisfaction. The accreditations were awarded following a ...