Retail

  Seoul / Bloomberg Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-largest family-run conglomerate, has shelved plans to list its Malaysian petrochemicals business amid widening investigations at the parent, people familiar with the matter said. The group will postpone the planned share sale of Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Sdn. until after the probes are resolved, according to the people, who asked not to ...

  MADRID / AP Spanish clothes retailer Inditex, owner of the Zara store chain, posted Wednesday a 6.0-percent rise in its first-quarter net profit due to higher sales around the globe. The world’s largest fashion retailer by sales said profit for the quarter ending April 30 rose to 554 million euros ($621 million) from 521 million euros a year earlier. ...

  Shanghai / Bloomberg Walt Disney Co. has hosted over 600,000 visitors at its first theme park in mainland China since trial operations started early May, and its “enormous potential” has already prompted Disney to expand the resort, said Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger. “After we broke ground we paused to really recognize the growth of China’s tourism and Shanghai ...

  Shanghai / AFP The Magic Kingdom comes to the Middle Kingdom this week when Disney opens its first theme park in mainland China, betting the growing middle class will spend big on leisure despite a slowing economy. The $5.5 billion resort, which opens on Thursday, features the world’s biggest Disney castle, its blue-topped spires rising above land once occupied by ...

  New Delhi / Bloomberg India is seeking a commitment from Apple Inc. to bring manufacturing facilities to the country before the government will approve the iPhone maker’s request to open its own retail stores, according to a senior government official with direct knowledge of the matter. The government may loosen existing policies that require local sourcing for companies that ...

  Seoul / AFP South Korea’s Lotte Group said on Monday it was scrapping an initial public offering worth almost four billion dollars amid a widening investigation into alleged embezzlement by its founding family. Hotel Lotte — the group’s key unit — had planned to list shares worth at least 4.6 trillion won ($3.9 billion) on Seoul’s main stock market ...

  New York / Bloomberg It’s time for Urban Outfitters to re-think its thing for physical stores. Shares in the hipster-chic retailer dropped by as much as 9 percent after it warned investors, in a quarterly results filing, of falling sales in the current quarter. More than half a dozen Wall Street analysts subsequently cut their share-price targets. The consensus ...

  Shanghai / Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is preparing to name its China head, Sean Clarke, as the chief executive officer of the UK supermarket chain Asda, Sky News reported. Wal-Mart may make an announcement as soon as this week, although the timing of the change is unclear, according to the broadcaster, which cited unidentified people. Andy Clarke, CEO of ...

  New York / Tribune News Service Anne Hatfield, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, didn’t immediately respond to a Globe phone call and email messages. The Express stores that were closed were much smaller than what Wal-Mart calls a supercenter. The Express stores were 12,000-15,000 square feet compared with 180,000 square feet sported by the big stores. Noel Mayor John Lafley ...

  Washington / Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is discussing plans for a stand-alone music service, separate from its Prime subscription, with record labels, according to a person familiar with the matter. The technology giant hasn’t reached any deals yet, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The $9.99-a-month service may be introduced in the coming months, ...