Retail

AFP Singapore Telecom said on Thursday it will spend $1.8 billion to take a stake in Thailand’s Intouch and raise its share of India’s Bharti, boosting its access to fast-growing Asian and African mobile markets. SingTel, Southeast Asia’s biggest telecom group by revenue, will acquire 21 percent of Intouch and an additional 7.39 percent in Bharti Telecom from state-linked investment ...

  Bloomberg European grocery sales rose the least on record in the second quarter amid a U.K. price war and sluggish consumption in Germany and France, a study showed. The amount spent on household goods increased by 0.8 percent from a year earlier, researcher Nielsen said in a report on Wednesday. That’s about half the growth achieved in the first ...

  Bloomberg Target Corp. cut its annual forecast after sales slumped last quarter, hit by what Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell described as a “difficult retail environment.” The company now expects earnings of $4.80 to $5.20 a share, excluding some items, compared with an earlier forecast of as much as $5.40. In the face of a skittish retail economy and ...

  Bloomberg When US retail sales came in lower than expected last week, some began to worry that the average consumer wasn’t as strong financially as previously believed, but according to analysts at Macquarie Capital Markets Ltd., this is just a blip on the radar. While there are a number of reasons for consumers to be more cautious with political ...

  AP Macy’s plans to close about 100 stores next year and boost its online investments, the nation’s largest department store chain said, as it tries to become more nimble in an increasingly fierce market. The closures represent close to 14 percent of its stores under the Macy’s brand. The company, which operates Bloomingdale’s stores as well, said it would ...

  AP A sluggish month of retail spending has tempered expectations for the US economy’s growth in the coming months. Consumers pulled back on shopping and eating out in July after three straight solid monthly gains, the government said Friday. Those declines were offset by increases in auto sales and online and catalog sales. Many economists credited the surge in ...

  AP Wal-Mart opened a 12,000-square-foot culinary and innovation center at its headquarters in June as a place where the nation’s largest food retailer can work with major suppliers to come up with new food ideas, and develop ideas on its own to bolster its store-brand selection. HERE’S A PEEK AT THE FOOD LAB WHAT IT IS: The center has ...

  Bloomberg Checkout lines at most American retailers were noticeably shorter in July as sales stalled following one of the strongest quarters in years, indicating consumer spending will cool in the third quarter. The Commerce Department said purchases totaled $457.7 billion last month, little changed from the $457.9 billion in June. That reflected declining receipts at eight of 13 major ...

  Bloomberg Even as the initial craze for Pokemon Go wanes, companies that sell merchandise tied to the augmented-reality game are benefiting. U.S. online sales for Pokemon-branded merchandise rose 105 percent in July compared with the previous year, according to Adobe’s Digital Price Index, which tracks sales from two-thirds of the Fortune 50 companies. Branded items include toys, electronics such ...

  Bloomberg Mike Ashley, the British billionaire behind embattled retailer Sports Direct International Plc, has grappled with declining growth, a plunging share price and a parliamentary grilling this year. Now he’s got another problem: Disappearing employees. Turnover among Sports Direct’s salaried U.K. staff rose by more than three percentage points last year to 22 percent, the company disclosed in its ...