Reuters French retailer Groupe Fnac on Tuesday urged shareholders of takeover target Darty to take no action after South African retail conglomerate Steinhoff launched a rival $975 bid through its Conforama unit. “Fnac is currently considering its options and urges Darty shareholders to take no further action at this time,” Fnac said in a statement issued by Darty, noting the …

PARIS / AFP A slowdown in the Chinese market pushed Prada’s profits sharply lower last year, the Italian luxury company said. Net profit dropped nearly 27 percent to just under 331 million euros ($378 million) in the 12 months to end-January, Prada’s financial year. Group sales stagnated at 3.5 billion euros, while the contribution from Asia dropped because of Chinese weakness, …

Bangkok / DPA Belgium-based diamond-jewellery maker Roos is eyeing Asia and North America as the next potential markets for its business, after successfully reaching a high level in Europe, especially Belgium and the Netherlands. Thailand would be a hub to support and facilitate the growth of Roos’ business in Asia. “We started selling our Roos jewellery ornaments last week in …