Retail

  Bloomberg Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB said sales growth accelerated as the Swedish retailer reduced the level of markdowns on its garments. Revenue rose 23% excluding currency shifts in the three months through February. Sales amounted to 49.2 billion kronor ($5.1 billion). Analysts expected 49.1 billion. Like other retailers, H&M decided to temporarily pause sales in Russia, its sixth-biggest …

  Bloomberg Navi Technologies Ltd, the fintech startup founded by technology billionaire Sachin Bansal, has filed initial documents for a 33.5 billion-rupee ($440 million) initial share sale, a sign India’s technology startup industry hasn’t fully lost IPO momentum. Navi’s IPO will consist entirely of new shares, according to its draft prospectus, meaning that all proceeds will be plowed directly back …

Bloomberg Prada SpA reported a rebound in full-year earnings but said the war in Ukraine makes it difficult to predict results this year. Operating profit rose to 489 million euros ($535 million) in 2021, the company said. That beat the average analyst estimate of 419 million euros and was back above pre-pandemic levels. The luxury-goods industry is bracing for a …

  Bloomberg It has survived 150 years of changing fashion, seen off the hippies and spared many men the dilemma of deciding what to wear, but the pandemic proved the final nail in the coffin. The men’s suit has officially been retired from the male wardrobe. That’s the sartorial verdict of the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), which has …

Bloomberg Fast Retailing Co’s Uniqlo apparel chain said it will temporarily suspend operations in Russia, joining a growing list of global companies in curtailing their activities in the country after its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. The move is a reversal after Fast Retailing founder Tadashi Yanai said clothing is a “necessity of life” and that Russians have “the same right …

  Bloomberg John Lewis Partnership Plc said it will once again pay employee bonuses as the UK retailer’s turnaround efforts start to show small signs of progress. The department store group, which also owns the Waitrose supermarket chain, said that a return to profit on an underlying basis means it will reinstate the payout, which was suspended last year for …

  Bloomberg Prices of groceries bought online soared by a record 7.6% last month in the US, according to data compiled by software company Adobe Inc. And that’s even before accounting for the delivery costs. Overall, Adobe’s digital price index rose 3.6% in February from a year earlier, the highest rate in data going back to 2014. Clothing jumped 16.7%, …

  Bloomberg Brazil’s Natura &Co delivered an unexpected margin expansion in the fourth quarter, dealing a blow to skeptics who question whether the cosmetics maker can become a global beauty powerhouse. The firm, which acquired Avon Products Inc less than three years ago and is also the owner of the Natura, Body Shop and Aesop brands, saw its adjusted Ebitda …

Bloomberg Add Amazon.com Inc to the list of companies that have been outmaneuvered by Mukesh Ambani’s juggernaut. Not only has he jolted the US giant in the fight to dominate India’s retail sector, he now holds all the cards in a $3.4 billion dogfight to buy a local cash-strapped retailer. Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd in late-February quietly began poaching employees …

Bloomberg PatPat, a clothing and maternal products online marketplace, is exploring an initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. The SoftBank Vision Fund 2-backed firm has held early discussions with potential advisers, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. A share sale could happen as soon as this year and could …