Retail

  Bloomberg It is setting up to be a very merry Christmas for Toys “R” Us. Two quarters of strong sales will likely be followed by the brightest holiday season in years for the struggling toy retailer, which has spent more than a decade under private equity ownership. During that time it has mostly been cutting costs, closing stores — …

  Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s increasing reliance on e-commerce to fuel sales comes at a time when Amazon.com Inc. is tightening its grip on the American consumer, making it a risky gambit. Wal-Mart told investors it would pull back on the number of new stores it was opening and instead invest some of that money into online operations. It’s a …

  Bloomberg Improvements in Old Navy’s product selection brought a sales surge to Gap Inc.’s biggest chain last month — and the stock’s biggest rally in almost eight years. The brand’s same-store sales gained 4 percent in September, Gap said. Analysts had projected growth of less than 1 percent, according to Retail Metrics. The results helped offset an overall sales …

  Bloomberg Future Group, which runs India’s largest chain of department stores, expects record growth in the current financial year as a favorable monsoon boosts agricultural output and rural incomes. The group, which controls four listed entities including Future Retail Ltd., is expecting to register 25 percent to 28 percent growth, Chief Executive Officer Kishore Biyani said in an interview …

  Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is pushing more aggressively onto Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s turf. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer boosted its stake in China’s second-largest e-commerce website JD.com Inc., strengthening an alliance to win more market share in the world’s largest online market. Wal-Mart lifted its holding to 10.8 percent from 5.9 percent, according to an amended 13-G filing on …

  Bloomberg Tesco Plc shares surged the most in almost two years as CEO Dave Lewis vowed to double the UK supermarket’s profit margins in the next three years, helped by an additional 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) in cost cuts and more premium items. The stock rose as much as 11 percent to 210.15 pence, the highest since August …

  Bloomberg Starbucks Corp. said its move to put stores in low-income areas such as Ferguson, Missouri, hasn’t been a money-losing endeavour. The three locations open so far as part of the project have been profitable, said Rodney Hines, director for community investments for Starbucks’ U.S. retail operations. And the company is unveiling a fourth cafe on Wednesday on the …

  Bloomberg Bombardier Inc. Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare said the marketing of the company’s marquee aircraft has been hurt by delays caused by engine supplier Pratt & Whitney. The planemaker reduced its forecast for deliveries of the C Series jetliner on Sept. 6, citing the issues at Pratt. Seven of the new aircraft are now slated to be handed …

  Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in advanced discussions to invest as much as $1 billion into India’s Flipkart Online Services Pvt. Ltd, as the two companies battle Amazon.com Inc. in e-commerce, according to a person familiar with the matter. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, would take a minority stake in Flipkart, the person said, asking not to be identified …

  AFP Australian carrier Qantas has warned of the danger of mobile phones being crushed in reclinable plane seats and catching fire after one ignited during a US flight, according to a safety report on Wednesday. The findings came just weeks after Qantas and domestic competitor Virgin Australia, as well as other international airlines, told customers not to use or …