Retail

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business UK’s famous vitamin and supplement store – Holland & Barrett has opened retail operations at the ‘Town Square’, the vibrant retail destination within Al Forsan Village. The Town Square will now be home to several ‘community focussed’ brands. These outlets located at the community’s vibrant retail destination is spread across 15,000m. The brands at …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Joyalukkas, world’s favourite Jeweller, gives its customers more reasons to enjoy the world-famous Dubai Shopping Festival with up to 34 KG gold to be won by 100 winners across the UAE. Shoppers have the opportunity to win half a kilogram of gold first prize and quarter kilogram gold second & third prize in daily raffle …

  DUBAI / Emirates Business XTOUCH, the leading new age consumer electronics brand announced the launch of its 6-inches HD display screen smartphone, R3. The XTOUCH R3 is designed with sleek and smart look that is so premium with its full-metal body and the 2.5D diamond-cut glass perfectly meets 8.4mm slim edges at the corner. The new big screen smartphone …

  Bloomberg Consumer spending in the US rose less than forecast in November as after-tax incomes adjusted for inflation declined for the first time since October 2013. Purchases increased 0.2 percent after rising a revised 0.4 percent in October, Commerce Department figures show. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.3 percent advance. Real disposable income, or …

  New York / AFP Ikea will pay $50 million to settle with the families of three small children in the US who were killed by dressers that tipped over, attorneys representing the families said. Attorneys from Feldman Shepherd announced the settlement after a two-day mediiation overseen by a federal magistrate judge. The three families will share the $50 million, …

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Middle East has seen a tremendous rise in smartphone penetration rates and social media usage as the total number of Internet users has recently crossed a 100 million mark. Retailers are exploring ways to get more personal with their customers, through online offerings and social media interactions, to gain loyalty. A recent research by …

  Lagos / AFP Nigeria’s Arik airline has resumed flights following a deal to end a one-day strike that paralysed its operation, the company said on Wednesday. Aviation unions called the strike on Tuesday to protest non-payment of seven months of salaries to Arik workers, non-remittance of taxes and the sacking of five union leaders. Thousands of local and foreign …

  Brussels / AFP Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola has agreed to pay more than three billion dollars to recently-merged AB InBev for control of Africa’s biggest soft drinks bottling company, both companies said on Wednesday. On merging with SABMiller in September, Belgian-Brazilian giant AB InBev found itself with 54.5 percent in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) and Coca-Cola said in October …

  Bloomberg UK retail sales grew at their fastest annual pace in more than a year this month, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which also warned that pressure on shoppers’ budgets could increase over the coming year. The CBI’s monthly retail-sales index climbed to 35 in December, the highest since September 2015, from 26 in November. Clothing …

  Islamabad / AFP Pakistan’s embattled national carrier has been widely mocked for sacrificing a goat next to a plane to ward off bad luck, weeks after one of the country’s worst air disasters. A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) turboprop plane built by European manufacturer ATR plummeted into a mountain in a northern region on December 7, bursting into flames …