Retail

  Bloomberg New York is appealing a ruling by a Long Island judge that its mask mandate for schools and other public places is an illegal end run around the state constitution. The mask-wearing rule was issued December 10 by the state’s health commissioner at the urging of Governor Kathy Hochul, around the start of the omicron surge of the …

Bloomberg Starbucks Corp. is asking the US labor board to overturn a ruling allowing store-by-store unionization in Arizona, where ballots were already mailed to employees last week. In a Monday filing with the National Labor Relations Board, the coffee chain sought to overturn a regional director’s ruling that deemed the employees of a single store in Mesa an appropriate potential …

  Bloomberg UK retailers embraced the government’s move to ease restrictions after Omicron hijacked footfall over the holiday season, saying they hope customers will swiftly return to their stores. The government will no longer ask people to work from home or wear face masks in shops or public transport from Jan. 27, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. Covid passes proving …

  Bloomberg Unilever Plc’s Indian unit reported quarterly profit that met analyst expectations as price hikes helped Asia’s largest consumer goods maker by market value manage persistent inflation that has hit the pockets of consumers in the country’s vast and largely impoverished hinterland. The Mumbai-listed Hindustan Unilever Ltd. posted a 17% rise in net income to 22.4 billion rupees ($300.6 …

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. said it plans to open a clothing store called Amazon Style this year in the Los Angeles area, the company’s latest foray into physical retail. The boutique will use artificial intelligence to recommend purchases as customers shop and carry a selection of women’s and men’s apparel, shoes and accessories, the company said. Using an app, shoppers …

  Bloomberg UK retail sales plummeted in December as the spread of the Omicron variant kept shoppers at home. The volume of goods sold in stores and online fell 3.7% from November, the biggest drop since January 2021’s lockdown, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Economists had expected a decrease of 0.6%. Sales excluding auto fuel declined 3.6%. The …

  Bloomberg Burberry Group Plc said sales accelerated and operating profit will probably surge about 35% this year as the British maker of trench coats and other luxury fashions sells more products at full prices. The company issued the earnings forecast as it reported better-than-expected revenue for the last three months of the year. Comparable store sales grew 7% in …

  Bloomberg A coalition of trade associations representing some of the world’s largest retailers called on US antitrust regulators to examine the fees charged by credit-card companies after Amazon.com Inc threatened to ban Visa Inc cards in the UK. The group said it was concerned about the “excessively high” fees Visa and rival Mastercard Inc. charge retailers. Amazon this week …

  Bloomberg Canadian border agents began refusing entry to unvaccinated American truckers just days ago, and it’s already causing chaos— particularly in fruit and vegetable markets. A mandate starting January 15 requires truck drivers crossing into Canada to be vaccinated. However, only about half of American truck drivers have gotten their shots. Meanwhile, as much as 90% of Canada’s fruits …

  Bloomberg Unilever Plc has held talks with banks about additional financing for a potential sweetened offer for GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s consumer products division, according to people familiar with the matter. Some financial firms have discussed lending enough for a bid higher than 50 billion pounds ($68 billion) — the latest of three offers Glaxo has rejected for a bundle of …