Retail

Capital Calls: Kohl’s future, Aerojet fight

1 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. retailer walked away from a deal with Franchise Group, leaving it to weather a potential recession alone. Meanwhile, Aerojet CEO's victory against her executive chairman culminates in a board mess.

Tight bosses are counting on a looser jobs market

1 Jul 2022

BT, British Airways and Sainsbury’s are tussling with workers over pay. Given the Bank of England thinks tight labour markets should slacken, bosses have scope to hang tough. But if the BoE is wrong, which is possible, they will have lost valuable worker goodwill for nothing.

Kohl’s risks being left on a lonely retail shelf

30 Jun 2022

U.S. retail sales are falling, big store chains have overstocked, and inflation is spooking consumers. That raises pressure on the underperforming Kohl's, which is weighing a potential offer from Franchise Group. If a deal materializes, it will be hard to refuse.

E-commerce may be beauty behemoths’ next makeover

29 Jun 2022

L’Oréal and Estée Lauder like to plug small brands into their sprawling networks. That could plump up the sales and profitability of a trendy online makeup group like $1.5 bln e.l.f. Applying its skill in selling direct to consumers would add gloss to their own brands as well.

Mukesh Ambani lays groundwork to divide and rule

29 Jun 2022

The tycoon’s son Akash is taking over the telecom unit as a first step in transferring the $220 bln empire to his three children. Spinoffs will probably follow. Ensuring family interests align should help avoid a repeat of his own epic sibling feud and preserve the group’s power.

Drug sellers brave clinic on China’s tech habits

23 Jun 2022

Alibaba and JD.com's drug units fell nearly 15% on fears of a ban on marketplace operators from acting as vendors. In theory, companies could oust third party sellers without much self-harm but consumers may pay more. It’s a timely test of Beijing’s support for the platform economy.

Capital Calls: SoftBank Arm-twisting

22 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: The UK government may be eyeing desperate measures to keep SoftBank-owned chip group Arm's IPO in London.

China slowdown prompts healthy luxury rethink

21 Jun 2022

Brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton have made a killing in China's $63 bln market. Yet Beijing's Covid-19 policies and rising nationalism among young shoppers show the perils of being overdependent on one consumer group. A pivot into the United States and the Gulf offers a hedge.

Battered online retailers need new fashion model

16 Jun 2022

Shares in ASOS and Zalando are in full-on retreat as cash-strapped consumers send back unwanted clothes. Scrapping free returns, as 69 bln euro Inditex has done, will cut costs but also dent sales. But with inflation squeezing disposable spending, a radical rethink is required.

Plant-based food stocks lack sustainable finance

10 Jun 2022

Shares in faux-milk maker Oatly and plant-based burger purveyor Beyond Meat have tumbled this year. Despite flimsy gross margins, both still trade at a premium to bigger food rivals. Without a plan to cut costs, they will struggle to attract buyers or survive on their own.

Boots deal will add to Reliance’s retail black box

9 Jun 2022

The Indian conglomerate submitted a binding bid for Walgreens’ UK pharmacy chain in a consortium with Apollo. It’s a big pivot for Mukesh Ambani. Opacity around his retail expansion and a determination to win at all costs are a worry. Bulking up will make things worse.

Starbucks has talked itself into a China corner

8 Jun 2022

The $91 bln coffee maker’s “second home market” routinely disappoints, and lockdowns aren’t helping. At this point, it’s not obvious a spinoff would create value. The better path would be to slow expansion and focus on profit, but it’d be a tough move after overselling growth.

Target joins the growing bad forecasters’ club

7 Jun 2022

The U.S. retailer should be an expert in what shoppers want. Instead, it’s saddled with an excess of unsold goods, as is rival Walmart. They’re not alone: Banks also misjudged customers’ behavior. But it’s better to be stuck with too much cash than unwanted TVs and toasters.

Capital Calls: JetBlue makes winning Spirit hurt

6 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: The hostile bidder has offered cash up-front for Spirit shareholders, which could force current suitor Frontier to make costly concessions.

Capital Calls: Microsoft micromanages tech jitters

2 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: A 1% revenue shortfall because of a strong dollar normally isn’t that important. Microsoft’s warning reflects how nervous tech investors have become.

Capital Calls: Inflation-proof Dr Martens, Saipem

1 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: The UK bootmaker’s polished results offer glimmer of hope to embattled retailers; the Italian energy-services group reassures investors with $550 mln sale of its onshore drilling unit.

Capital Calls: Airbnb, Prudential, Glencore

25 May 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $68 bln vacation-booking platform will shut its Chinese business; the insurer appoints a new CEO – finally; the commodities giant has a $10 bln reason to keep its nose clean, after a $1.5 bln settlement for corruption allegations.

Capital Calls: Didi delists from the NYSE

24 May 2022

Concise views on global finance: Shareholders have voted to remove the beleaguered ride-hailing service from the Big Board. One way to play the company now is as a risky bet on which road Beijing’s regulators decide to take.

Capital Calls: Richemont’s China fears, THG offer

20 May 2022

Concise views on global finance: Shares in the Cartier owner shed 13% after caution about a rebound in the People’s Republic added to subpar full-year results and slow progress on the YOOX Net-a-Porter sale; the UK online retailer rejected one bid, yet higher ones look unlikely.

Investors pick old Walmarts over new Amazons

17 May 2022

The usually steady U.S. retailer cut its profit outlook after being hammered by inflation. Its shares fell 9%, but Amazon, which has similar problems, has done worse. Other old-versus-new pairs are following a similar path. In some cases punishment is being meted out unfairly.