Retail

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 ...

  Bloomberg Adidas AG halted sales in Russia, following other athletic-wear makers like Puma SE and Nike Inc in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The German sports company said it was suspending the operations of its stores and e-commerce site in Russia and stands “in solidarity with those calling for peace.” Adidas, in a separate move, replaced the ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s retail sales grew at the slowest pace since July, with the government warning of further pressure ahead amid a surge in Covid cases. The value of retail sales grew 4.1% in January from a year earlier, compared with the median estimate of 0.4% in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The volume of sales rose 1.7%. The Lunar ...

  Bloomberg Spanish fashion retailer Inditex SA is temporarily closing all its shops in Russia and halting online sales in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The retailer “cannot guarantee the continuity of operations and trading conditions” in Russia, it said in a statement. Inditex has 502 stores in the country, of which 86 are its Zara brand. While ...

Bloomberg Gap Inc gave an optimistic projection for the current year, saying its strategic moves are starting to pay off, even though the apparel maker’s fourth-quarter results missed estimates on several key measures. The shares rose in late trading. For the current fiscal year, which ends in January, the retailer is projecting earnings per share in the range of $1.95 ...