Retail

  Bloomberg China issued a stern warning to Walmart Inc. following allegations that the company’s warehouse stores in the country stopped selling items from Xinjiang, ramping up pressure on the retail giant amid rising tensions with the US over the western province. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog, rejected suggestions that inventory management was ...

    Bloomberg Americans flocked to off-price retailers during the holiday period, with visits rising above pre-pandemic levels, according to new data. Foot traffic at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, both owned by TJX Cos., rose 14.7% and 16.2%, respectively, from December 1 to Christmas Day compared with a year earlier, data from analytics firm Placer.ai show. Burlington Stores Inc.’s foot ...

  Bloomberg Apple Inc put Foxconn Technology Group’s factory in southern India on probation following worker protests and an investigation that revealed substandard living conditions. Foxconn, which uses the facility to assemble iPhones among other gadgets, apologized for the lapses in health standards and pledged to revamp its management and operations in the country. The factory, located in Sriperumbudur on ...

  Bloomberg US freight forwarder Flexport Inc will help fly three planes loaded with potatoes to Japan, where a shortage of spuds has caused McDonald’s in the country to ration french fries. “Flexport just contracted to fly three 747 loads of potatoes to Japan to help with the French fry shortage,” Chief Executive Officer Ryan Petersen said in a tweet, ...

  Bloomberg The US merchandise-trade deficit widened to a record in November as imports surged to an all-time high. The gap increased to $97.8 billion last month from a revised $83.2 billion in October, according to Commerce Department data released on Wednesday. The figure exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The data aren’t adjusted for inflation. The ...

  Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is in talks with a state-owned conglomerate about a potential deal involving its stake in Weibo Corp, as Beijing moves to curb the influence of China’s tech giants in the sensitive media sphere. China’s e-commerce leader is exploring options for its roughly 30% slice of the Twitter-like social media service, according to people familiar ...

  Bloomberg Crocs Inc tumbled the most in more than a year after agreeing to buy casual-shoe brand Heydude for $2.5 billion in an effort to bolster its fast-growing business of offbeat footwear. The purchase will be funded by $2.05 billion in cash and $450 million in Crocs shares issued to Heydude founder Alessandro Rosano, according to a statement. Crocs ...

  Bloomberg US holiday sales jumped 8.5% from last year as consumers spent more money on clothes, jewelry and electronics, a report from Mastercard SpendingPulse showed. Sales grew across the board, both in stores and online, for the holiday season defined as November 1 to December 24. Consumers started searching for gifts earlier than usual with supply chains roiling retailers ...

  Bloomberg Japan’s retail sales increased for a third straight month, as easing virus concerns fueled spending by consumers before the emergence of the Omicron variant. Sales advanced 1.2% in November from the previous month, as shoppers spent more on clothing and motor vehicles, the industry ministry reported Monday. Economists had expected a 1.3% overall gain. While Japan’s consumption hasn’t ...

  Bloomberg The C-suite is a bundle of nerves this winter. A new survey shows that 72% of chief executive officers are worried about losing their jobs in 2022 because of business disruptions, tracking closely with the 94% of bosses who say their corporate models need to be overhauled within three years. “That’s eye-poppingly high,” says Simon Freakley, the CEO ...