Retail

  Frankfurt/ AFP German sportswear group Adidas on Thursday reported a jump in third-quarter profits, lifted by a surge in sales of its own-brand trainers and apparel. The Bavarian company, which sponsors English Premier League giants Manchester United, also confirmed its improved outlook for the year, bolstered by high-profile sponsorships during the Euro 2016 football tournament and the Rio Olympics, as …

  Bloomberg Shoprite Holdings Ltd. said Whitey Basson will retire as chief executive officer, ending a 37-year tenure that saw the company grow to become Africa’s biggest food retailer. Basson, 70, will step down at the end of December and be succeeded by Pieter Engelbrecht, the company’s 47-year-old former chief operations officer, Cape Town-based Shoprite said in a statement on …

  Bloomberg Global consumer companies trying to find a business model for China’s burgeoning domestic market will be watching closely as one of the oldest Western brands in the country starts a new strategy. Yum! Brands Inc., which opened its first KFC restaurant in China in 1987 and also operates Pizza Hut outlets, has been losing market share thanks to …

  Helsinki / AFP Finnish telecom equipment giant Nokia said it has managed to reduce losses but remained in the red in the third quarter after acquiring its former rival, French-American Alcatel-Lucent. The world’s former number one in handsets, which turned into a telecom equipment maker, reported a net loss of 125 million euros ($135 million) in the third quarter …

  Bloomberg Nakumatt Holdings Ltd., Kenya’s biggest retail chain, is in talks to sell as much as 25 percent of the business to reduce debt that more than tripled over the past five years as it expanded. The company, based in the capital, Nairobi, is in discussions with foreign and domestic investors that are expected to be concluded within weeks, …

  Bloomberg GKN Plc said it’s preparing to take an earnings hit as Airbus Group SE halves the build rate for the A380 superjumbo, and it may cut 230 jobs at a United Kingdom helicopter-parts plant as the aerospace industry wrestles with ebbing demand for older models and production glitches afflicting new aircraft. Airbus’s decision to slash A380 output to …

  Bloomberg Kering SA shares rose to the highest in more than 15 years after strong demand for new Gucci handbags and sandals contributed to the fastest quarterly sales growth since 2012, boding well for luxury-goods makers as Christmas approaches. The stock jumped as much as 8.3 percent to 204.10 euros in Paris, the highest since June 6, 2001, when …

  Bloomberg British regulators fined Vodafone Group Plc 4.63 million pounds ($5.63 million) for failing to credit customers who bought mobile-phone minutes and data, and then mishandling complaints that came in afterward. Over 17 months, more than 10,000 customers lost 150,000 pounds, one investigation found, the regulator Ofcom said in a statement. The mistakes resulted from a new billing system, …

  Bloomberg Line Corp. reported third-quarter profit and revenue that missed analyst estimates as the company pushes into advertising to offset slowing growth in the user base. Operating profit was 4.9 billion yen ($47 million) in the period ended Sept. 30, according to calculations based on nine-month numbers released by Line on Wednesday. That’s less than the 5.1 billion yen …

  Bloomberg Orange SA reported a 1.6 percent increase in third-quarter earnings, helped by rising wireless sales in Spain and Africa and demand for faster broadband in its home market of France. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 3.6 billion euros ($3.9 billion), Orange said in a statement Tuesday. That compared with the average analyst estimate …