Retail

  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 ...

  Bloomberg Target Corp’s top executive said US consumers will drive less and consolidate their shopping into fewer trips as they adjust to pricier gasoline and the highest inflation rate in almost four decades. Shoppers are also likely to eat more at home and seek cheaper generic-brand goods in an effort to ease the blow from rising prices, Chief Executive ...

  Bloomberg PT Social Bella Indonesia, a beauty-products startup backed by Temasek Holdings Pte, is in talks with investors to raise $150 million to $200 million for a growth push, according to people familiar with the matter. The Jakarta-based company is negotiating for a funding round that would propel its valuation past $1 billion, said the people who asked not ...

  Bloomberg Andrew Robb, former chief operating officer of New York-listed fashion company Farfetch Ltd, is among the candidates being considered to lead Asos Plc, Sky News reported. Former Asos CEO Nick Beighton stepped down in October. Asos declined to comment to Sky, and Robb couldn’t be reached by Sky for comment. Last week, Asos announced a plan to move ...

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc is preparing to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of non-fungible tokens, filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office show, setting the stage for meeting its customers in the emerging metaverse. The retailer sought several new trademarks in December that show it intends to make and sell virtual goods such as electronics, decor, toys, sporting ...