Retail

Bloomberg Kroger Co shares jumped the most in almost 30 years after the company unveiled a profit forecast that signaled new gains on top of a two-year surge in demand for groceries sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. Adjusted earnings in the current fiscal year will range between $3.75 and $3.85 a share, Kroger said. That handily exceeded the $3.44 average ...

  Bloomberg Fashion retailers Hennes & Mauritz AB, Burberry Group Plc and Boohoo Group Plc are curtailing operations in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, with the Swedish clothing chain expressing concern about “tragic developments” there. H&M is pausing all sales in Russia after shutting stores in Ukraine for safety reasons, it said. Burberry has halted shipments to the country ...

  Bloomberg Kohl’s, under pressure by activist investors, gave an optimistic outlook for the year while reporting weaker-than-expected sales in the fourth quarter. The company is expanding its venture with cosmetics chain Sephora after a shop-in-shop concept drove higher sales at participating locations. Kohl’s executives added on a call with analysts that Sephora is attracting new customers who are younger ...

Bloomberg Target Corp soared after unveiling a forecast for new profit gains on top of the pandemic-related boom that has already sparked robust growth. Operating profit will post a percentage increase in the low single digits this year, the retailer said, bucking Wall Street’s expectations that the closely watched number would decline. Target also predicted steady financial gains beyond 2022 ...

  Bloomberg Australian household spending recovered strongly, defying expectations that a renewed coronavirus outbreak would keep shoppers at home, as a shift to living with Covid prompted consumers to head out to shop. Retail sales jumped 1.8% in January to A$32.5 billion ($23.3 billion), compared with a forecast gain of just 0.3%, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed. Sales across ...

Bloomberg Associated British Foods Plc said sales at budget-clothing retailer Primark picked up during the first half but are still below pre-pandemic levels as omicron deterred some shoppers from leaving their homes. Primark’s sales are expected to rise more than 60% in the six months through March 5, AB Foods, which also owns grocery, agriculture and sugar businesses, said. The ...

  Bloomberg Lowe’s Cos beat Wall Street’s sales expectations and raised its full-year outlook as professional contractors increasingly turn to the home-improvement retailer for their materials. The company now predicts comparable sales will rise as much as 1% this year, according to a statement, compared with an earlier forecast calling for at best no change from the prior year. Gross ...

  Bloomberg Reliance Industries Ltd is taking over 200 stores from struggling Future Group and transferring 30,000 workers from the Future Retail and Future Lifestyle operations, Business Standard reported. Future Group’s financial problems have led landlords to terminate leases, with a number of them contacting Reliance to negotiate new agreements for the 200 outlets, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified ...

  Bloomberg Home Depot Inc shares fell the most in almost two years after fourth-quarter profitability missed Wall Street’s expectations amid supply-chain investments and higher costs. While sales remained robust for the home-improvement retailer, much of the growth appeared to be driven by higher prices as customer transactions declined and the cost of sales increased. Gross margin, a closely watched ...

Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd discussed raising at least $1 billion for Lazada before calling off negotiations with potential investors when talks bogged down over the Southeast Asian online mall’s valuation. The Chinese e-commerce giant had aimed to secure financing for Lazada as a precursor to a spinoff of the Singapore-based company and a potential initial public offering, people familiar ...