Alibaba’s new brick-and-mortar bet looks pricey 10 Jan 2017 The Chinese e-commerce giant thinks it can save physical retail. It's offering to take Intime, a struggling operator of mainland malls and department stores, private for $2.6 bln. This is a pricey experiment trying to solve China's traditional shopping woes with tech.
Sports Direct undercuts exec pay ideals 6 Jan 2017 The retailer’s bosses receive an apparently model mix of low salaries and performance-based awards. The former CEO’s fixed pay was less than a twentieth of Martin Sorrell’s at WPP. Yet an exemplary pay mix has failed to deliver either shareholder returns or good governance.
Amazon may hold Trump card in retail mess 5 Jan 2017 The e-commerce giant is mulling a bid for bankrupt American Apparel as Macy's and others lose sales and staff. CEO Jeff Bezos would bag a clothing brand to help his fashion ambitions and show a president-elect suspicious of Silicon Valley that he's saving thousands of U.S. jobs.
$18 bln U.S. tool rollup crafts another smart deal 5 Jan 2017 Stanley Black & Decker is paying flailing retailer Sears $900 mln for the Craftsman brand. The serial acquirer is protecting itself by paying in stages and partly basing the price on new sales. Unlike, say, the discredited Valeant, it's building prudent additions to its platform.
Next’s retail crisis has distinctly British twist 4 Jan 2017 The clothing chain warned pre-tax profit may fall 14 percent this year. As well as Next's own problems, that's down to Brexit-related inflation, higher business rates and wage bills. British shoppers have also embraced online retail more readily than in some other markets.
Exec pay is crying out for a race to the bottom 3 Jan 2017 Battles against corporate excesses are worthy but come unstuck all too quickly. Bosses keep getting paid more than their predecessors. To save capitalism, some could tender their services more cheaply. The tradition of the $1 CEO serves as a template. Even better: work for free.
Wal-Mart’s tortoise-like digital pace may pay off 27 Dec 2016 The plodding $218 bln retailer is slowly making strides in e-commerce. August's $3 bln purchase of Jet.com will accelerate the push to compete with Amazon in 2017. Patchy customer service and a brick-and-mortar image are some of the biggest remaining hurdles to online success.
Grocery sector is ripe for big checkouts 22 Dec 2016 Pressure on traditional food retailers is relentless, and many-pronged. Customers are spending less of their budget on food and suppliers like Unilever are toying with selling direct to shoppers. Then there’s Amazon. The solution isn’t better retailers – it’s fewer of them.
Ackman and Chipotle are suited like rice and beans 16 Dec 2016 The activist and the burrito chain have both suffered reputational damage and given investors indigestion in the past year or so. Now Chipotle is taking Ackman's advice to shake up its board and management. It's no fast fix, but any success would make each more palatable again.
Heineken’s UK pub binge not as retro as it looks 14 Dec 2016 The Dutch group has offered 390 mln pounds for Punch Taverns in a bid to triple its holdings of British drinking houses. Though most brewers got out of the business long ago, pubs are a petri dish to try out new products. A rival bidder may force Heineken to pay more, though.
Russian retailer finds tolerable M&A escape hatch 14 Dec 2016 The majority owner of consumer electronics group M.video is selling out to billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev. Given the buyer has scope to drive synergies with similar assets, the 17 pct premium looks slim. Weak Russian growth and online competition make it more palatable.
Kering shows up luxury’s diversity problem 14 Dec 2016 Unlike peers, Gucci's owner now has a relatively progressive new global parental leave policy. Women also make up two-thirds of Kering's board. Beyond that, the sector is a relative underperformer on diversity - even though at some labels women drive 80 pct of sales.
Asahi pays frothy price for a flat beer market 13 Dec 2016 The Japanese brewer is paying 7.3 billion euros for AB InBev’s eastern European beer brands. At 15 times trailing EBITDA, the valuation is close to what it paid for Grolsch and Peroni in February. That’s an exuberant price for so-so brands in a difficult region for brewers.
Coach passes Burberry’s new CEO heavy baggage 5 Dec 2016 The UK trenchcoat maker has reportedly spurned takeover approaches from its U.S. rival. Burberry could fetch 8.1 bln pounds with a premium. New boss Marco Gobbetti doesn’t start until next year. His first task will now be to show why going it alone is the better option.
Starbucks brews a stronger succession plan 1 Dec 2016 CEO Howard Schultz is stepping back to serve as chairman and help roll out upscale coffee shops. Since returning to run Starbucks in 2008, the shares have gained 550 pct. New boss Kevin Johnson faces fresh challenges, but the company's mission and tech nous give him a hot start.
Cyber Monday confidence overshadows Black Friday 30 Nov 2016 Five days of U.S. holiday e-commerce totaled nearly $13 bln, up 15 pct from last year. That matches a surge in consumer optimism coinciding with Donald Trump's election win. It mostly didn't rub off on bricks-and-mortar sales, though. Traditional retailers need new ideas.
Tiffany’s new sparkle dulled by rising global risk 29 Nov 2016 The jewelry retailer eked out its first quarterly top-line increase since 2014. But forex rates distorted overseas sales. And Tiffany is worryingly exposed to the vagaries of a Trump presidency, from its flagship store's proximity to his NYC home to his trade policy with China.
Black Friday 2016 will be blacker for UK shops 25 Nov 2016 Retailers dislike today's orgy of spending, even though it could generate 2.9 bln pounds of sales. The effect could be exacerbated this year if consumers fear Brexit-related inflation in 2016. Amazon will be a big winner; other retailers will be left nursing lower margins.
Remy Cointreau can stay for another round in China 24 Nov 2016 The spirits group’s first-half operating profit grew 7 pct on strong U.S. and Chinese demand. Remy cut its Asian exposure after a 2012 corruption crackdown in the PRC, but now sales of posh drinks in China could beat other lines. The only catch is a recovery looks priced in.
Tesco returns to neglected retail basics 18 Nov 2016 The UK supermarket will plough most of its planned cost savings into shielding consumers from inflation, effectively continuing a price war. Yet Tesco also says it can double its operating margin. That hinges in part on a tricky strategy: persuading shoppers to buy pricier goods.