MONTPELIER / AP General Mills’ announcement that it will start labeling products that contain genetically modified ingredients to comply with a Vermont law shows food retail companies might be throwing in the towel, even as they hold out hope Congress will find a national solution. Tiny Vermont is the first state to require such labeling, effective July 1. Its fellow …
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Ousted Fastjet CEO says currency slide to blame for Africa woes
Bloomberg Fastjet Plc Chief Executive Officer Ed Winter, who is poised to leave the African discount airline after clashing with investor Stelios Haji-Ioannou over mounting losses, said he still thinks the continent is on the cusp of a transformation into a viable aviation market. Without an unexpected slump in currencies spanning the South African rand to the Kenyan schilling, Fastjet …
Read More »French retailer Conforama wins Darty approval for bid
Paris / AFP A bid by French household goods group Conforama, majority-owned by South Africa’s Steinhoff, for rival Darty has won the backing of Darty’s board, both companies said, derailing a planned Darty tie-up with retail giant Fnac. Conforama earlier this month launched a conditional all-cash offer for Darty at 125 pence ($1.75, 1.61 euros) per share, aiming to create …
Read More »UK supermarket Sainsbury’s offers £1.4 bn for catalogue chain
Bloomberg British supermarket group Sainsbury’s said it had made a formal offer worth £1.4 billion for Home Retail Group, owner of catalogue chain Argos. The cash-and-stock takeover is worth the equivalent of $2.0 billion or 1.8 billion euros. Argos sells household items, including televisions, furniture and gardening tools. With South African household goods group Steinhoff having walked away from the …
Read More »Victoria Beckham launches first store outside Britain
HONG KONG / AFP Fashion designer Victoria Beckham launched her first shop outside Britain in Hong Kong as she seeks to tap the Asia market despite a downturn in luxury spending. Beckham’s store in Hong Kong’s Landmark building lies at the heart of the upmarket Central district, a cluster of high-end brands and five-star hotels. The British designer did a final …
Read More »Bang & Olufsen outsources TV manufacturing to LG
Copenhagen / AFP Bang & Olufsen, the Danish maker of upmarket sound systems and televisions, said on it had entered a partnership with LG Electronics to outsource its production of televisions. The struggling Danish firm, which said in November it was in talks with a potential buyer, said the deal “will address Bang & Olufsen’s key challenges related to scale …
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