DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ What key retail reports this week signal about inflation and the consumer
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhat key retail reports this week signal about inflation and the consumerBill Simon, Former Walmart U.S. CEO, and Jessica Ramirez, Retail Research Analyst at Jane Hali & Associates, discuss the busy week for retail earnings.

Persons: Bill Simon, Jessica Ramirez, Jane Hali Organizations: Walmart U.S, Retail, Associates

☆ Who gets to buy a Birkin bag?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Joan Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

(CNN) — It’s so hard to get your hands on an Hermès Birkin bag that it should be illegal. Hermès’ ultra-exclusive positioning has meant Birkin sales have continued to overperform in the market even as most other luxury brands see demand slowing from post-pandemic highs. A scarcity-driven distribution model has helped drive desire for Birkins, as well as more broadly fuel Hermès’ business. Saroyan Humphrey/WWD/Getty ImagesThe lawsuit alleges shoppers are required to buy ancillary products (items like scarves, pillows or shoes) before being allowed to purchase a Birkin handbag. Presumably, the plaintiffs could buy a Birkin from The RealReal even if they can’t from Hermès directly.

Persons: —, Birkin, Hermès, Kelly, aren’t, Alex Tai, ”, snagging, Erwan, Haffner, Saroyan Humphrey, WWD, ’ ”, Susan Scafidi, “ It’s, Sebastien Bozon Organizations: The, Fashion, CNN, HSBC, Law, Microsoft, Fashion Law, Fordham University, Getty Locations: Northern California, waitlists, Paris, China, California, Hermès, Allenjoie, France, AFP

☆ Empty Bed Bath & Beyond stores are hot real estate. Here’s who’s moving in
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

(Overstock.com bought Bed Bed & Beyond’s brand out of bankruptcy and has relaunched it online, complete with the 20% coupons.) Burlington, Michaels, Barnes & Noble, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, Macy’s, HomeGoods and other chains have replaced old Bed Bath & Beyond stores. The majority of Bed Bath & Beyond’s stores are in the suburbs of mid-size and large cities, and are under 50,000 square feet. Bed Bath & Beyond spaces have been grabbed up swiftly at rents of up to 50% what Bed Bath & Beyond was paying, according to commercial real estate investment firm CBRE. Kimco Realty, a real estate owner with 26 former Bed Bath & Beyond leases, said that new leases were 38% higher than Bed Bath & Beyond rents.

Persons: Michael O’Sullivan, Barnes, Noble, hasn’t, Warby Parker, Brandon Isner, CBRE’s, ”, TJ Maxx, REI Organizations: New, New York CNN, Sears, Circuit, Kmart, Burlington, Bed, Kimco, Sports Authority Locations: New York, Burlington, . Burlington, Michaels, Kimco, HomeGoods

☆ As the holidays approach, shoppers are in a mood to spend – on their homes and themselves
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Spending on the holiday season is expected to rebound to – and even surpass – pre-pandemic levels this year for the first time. The year-end months of November and December typically are dominated by shoppers scouring stores for deals and discounts on seasonal merchandise, including gifts. “As many as 82% of shoppers said they plan to spend on non-gift purchases such as decorations. While gift spending is still expected to grow 9% over last year, the report said people plan to buy one fewer gift versus last year. “In terms of the allocation of holiday dollars, the biggest increase that we saw is in the non-gift group,” said Skelly.

Persons: –, it’s, Skelly, It’s, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Deloitte, Retail Survey, CNN Locations: New York

☆ India shares close at two-week low as hawkish Fed spooks investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Sethuraman N R | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The new logo of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building is seen in Mumbai, India, July 12, 2023. Both the indexes fell for a third straight session on Thursday, losing as much as 1%. The Fed on Wednesday held key interest rates unchanged as widely expected, but warned that the battle against inflation was far from over. Higher interest rates dry up liquidity from the markets, increasing the cost of capital. The small-cap and mid-cap stocks fell 1.3% and 0.9% on Thursday, respectively.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Siddhartha Khemka, Janane Organizations: Bombay Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Federal Reserve, BSE, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Fed, . Banking, Sethuraman NR, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, Bengaluru

☆ Retail park bounce adds nail to high street coffin
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Retail parks are a beacon of hope in a gloomy UK property market. Since their 2015 peak, average retail rents have come down by a third, analysts estimate. Retail parks are also good for e-commerce as they allow customers to drop off and pick up orders. That’s not the case on the high street, where business rates and high rents have driven tenants out. Today’s 2.5% rise in its shares suggests investors need more than growing retail parks to be convinced of its prospects.

Persons: That’s, Aimee Donnellan, Francesco Guerrera, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Sports, Land, Centre for Retail Research, X, Thomson

☆ The US mall is making a comeback as retailers leverage digital marketing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The mall as a retail concept is alive and well, with retailers pivoting to fit the demands of a digital age. A shopper carries retail bags while walking through a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio, U.S., on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. A socially conscious generation acutely aware of climate change, Gen Z is also more likely to support brands prioritizing sustainability. That in-store experience is so critical.”People stroll through a shopping mall in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on May 18, 2023. “There has been a rise in ‘experience-focused’ tenants in shopping malls that offer experiences like go-karting, trampolining, virtual reality, and arcades,” said ICSC vice president Stephanie Cegielski.

Persons: Coresight, ”, Deborah Weinswig, Brandon Isner, CBRE’s, Kirsten Lee, ” It’s, ” Coresight, Tal Yellin, Isner, Luke Sharrett, Stephen Yalof, Warby Parker, Allbirds, Al Drago, Lee, Gen, Gen Zers, Erin Clark, it’s, Stephanie Cegielski, Covid, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN — Retail, Coresight Research, Retail Research, Brookfield Properties, “, Simon Property Group, Taubman Centers “, Tanger Outlets, CNN, Bloomberg, Getty, Tanger, Washington , D.C, International Council of Shopping Centers, “ Social, Boston Globe Locations: New York, Americas, Brookfield, Nashville , Tennessee, Chelsea , New York, Columbus , Ohio, U.S, Georgetown, Washington ,, ’, Foxborough , Massachusetts

☆ 'Ho hum holiday' expected as shoppers deal with economic cross currents
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Even though it’s still August, eyes are already on how the upcoming holiday shopping season will pan out. Coresight expects the 2023 year-end holiday sales for October through December to be up by just low single digits from a year ago. Harmon said this year’s forecast rests on the shoulders of “a couple of good years of strong holiday sales growth, making comparisons more difficult, and takes into account holiday spending is occurring sooner.”“The patterns of holiday spending have changed. The same pattern was repeated last year, effectively elongating the holiday sales season. At the same time, Harmon said US retail sales are slowing.

Persons: it’s, ”, John Harmon, Coresight, Harmon, Marshal Cohen, Cohen, ” Cohen Organizations: New, New York CNN, Coresight Research, National Retail Federation, Amazon, Walmart, Home, CNN, Federal Reserve Bank of New, P Global Market Intelligence Locations: New York, Santa, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

☆ Struggling US downtowns could take a cue from a small town in England that gave businesses rent-free space
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK is experimenting with offering small businesses free rent to revitalize downtown districts. Several small towns in the UK have experimented with giving small businesses rent-free shop space over the last few years. Now it's vibrant, upbeat, colourful," Hope Dean, the owner of a plant shop that was one of the 10 businesses given free rent, told The Guardian. Some US cities have pursued similar downtown revitalization initiatives. Denver offered free rent and services valued at $20,000 to businesses willing to use empty space in the city's downtown, and San Francisco has offered free rent and grant money to pop-up businesses in its downtown.

Persons: Hope Dean, We're, Matt Soffair Organizations: Service, Legal, General Investment Management, Guardian, Times, Westminster City Council, Oxford, BBC, Denver Locations: Poole, Wall, Silicon, American, Westminster, London, San Francisco

☆ IT, auto stocks help Indian shares hit new highs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, June 30 (Reuters) - Information technology (IT) and auto stocks helped India's benchmark indexes hit fresh record highs on Friday, after robust economic data from the United States eased fears of a slowdown and improved broader sentiment. Reuters GraphicsThe Nifty 50 (.NSEI) rose as much as 1.21% to hit an all-time high of 19,201.70, before closing at 19,189.05. The S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) also gained 1.26% to settle at a fresh record of 64,718.56. The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) has risen over 10.5% in the three months ended June 30, its best performance since the September quarter of 2021. Midcaps (.NIFMDCP100) also hit a fresh record while smallcaps (.NIFSMCP100) hovered around their 52-week high.

Persons: Deepak Jasani, MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, Bharath Rajeswaran, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Reuters, BSE, HDFC Securities, Auto, Mahindra, Maruti, Infosys, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, United States, Bengaluru

☆ India's TCS, Transamerica end $2 bln contract due to macro environment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, June 16 (Reuters) - Indian information technology (IT) company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS) said on Friday it has mutually agreed with insurance provider Transamerica to end a $2 billion contract, citing reasons including a challenging macro environment. The 10-year contract, signed in early 2018, involved TCS working with U.S.-based Transameria to enable the digitization of more than 10 million policies into a single integrated platform. Administration of those policies, including life insurance and retirement and investment solutions, will be moved to a new servicing model, which will take about 30 months, TCS said. "It's more of a sentimental negative rather than a big impact on the financials of TCS," said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. "We don't see a big impact because of this.

Persons: Siddhartha Khemka, Khemka, Navamya Ganesh, Rashmi Aich, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Tata Consultancy Services, U.S, Administration, TCS, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Indian, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, United States, Europe, Bengaluru

☆ Premarket stocks: The uber-wealthy are doing just fine and Wall Street is cashing in
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But that’s not the case for everyone: The ultra-wealthy are doing just fine, and Wall Street firms are taking advantage of that. Germany, the largest economy in Europe, has slipped into recession as energy price shocks took their toll on consumer spending. In the past 10 weeks, JPMorgan Global Wealth Management opened 40,000 new accounts. Last year, it added around one new client with assets of $100 million or more per day, Mary Erdoes, head of asset and wealth management at the bank, told investors last week. Dollar General customers turn to food banksDollar General (DG) stock had one of its worst days ever on Thursday.

Persons: New York CNN —, that’s, JPMorgan Chase, Andy Cohen, Mary Erdoes, It’s, Goldman Sachs, Louis Vuitton, Dom Pérignon, Dior, Huw Roberts, Hermes —, Roberts, ”, Erwan, “, Gregory Daco, Allison Morrow, Jeff Owen, Owen, Cash, They’re, Elisabeth Buchwald, Treasury hasn’t, Biden Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Wall, JPMorgan, Bloomberg, JPMorgan Global Wealth Management, Citigroup, International Monetary Fund, Lamborghini, HSBC, EY, Dollar, Treasury, US Treasury Locations: New York, China, United States, Germany, Europe, BlackRock

☆ Indian shares rise ahead of Fed rate decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, May 2 (Reuters) - Indian shares advanced on Tuesday, aided by broad-based gains across sectors, driven by March-quarter earnings, as investors await the interest rate decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday. The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) was up 0.49% to 18,153.10 as of 9:51 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) gained 0.45%. Twelve of the 13 major sectoral indexes advanced, with the high-weightage financials (.NIFTYFIN) and information technology stocks (.NIFTYIT) rising 0.5% and 1%, respectively. The benchmark Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) rose over 4% in April, its best month since November 2022. Among individual stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd (MMFS.NS) surged 5% after reporting a year-on-year rise in consolidated profit in the March quarter.

☆ Target rolls out curbside returns as retailers hope convenience will boost sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Melissa Repko | In Melissa-Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The company hopes convenient perks like curbside returns will boost customer loyalty and jolt sales. Neither company would quantify the use of curbside pickup or returns, but Walmart said it has seen nearly double the volume of customers using curbside returns from its launch across the chain last fall compared with this month. At Target's investor day in late February, Citibank analyst Paul Lejuez asked if the retailer would ultimately miss out on purchases by adding curbside returns. He said allowing curbside returns also helps the retailer get unwanted items back on the sales floor faster and lowers the cost of mail-in returns. For Target, curbside returns could serve as a differentiator and a complement to the merchandise mix it sells, Hoyler said.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores. But they won’t be empty for long
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Bed Bath & Beyond is stripping down its big blue signs, clearing out aisles of linens and closing 400 stores as it tries to stave off bankruptcy. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY)’s real estate is a precious, scarce resource for retailers, gyms and anyone else who needs ample space. “A lot of great real estate is going to come available into a market where there’s been no vacancies. “Bed Bath and Beyond sites are interesting to us, and we are exploring available opportunities with our franchisees,” a spokesperson told CNN. He also believes Bed Bath & Beyond may not be able to avoid bankruptcy or liquidation, which would lead to more vacancies.

☆ Nearly 60% of institutional investors said they have used Reddit for investment decisions, survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Brunswick Group survey found 58% of institutional investors have used Reddit for investment decisions. "Institutional investors look for ways to keep their pulse on the conversation among retail investors." The investment advisory firm surveyed 257 US and European institutional investors – professionals who trade for banks, hedge funds and pensions – and found that 58% have used Reddit. "Institutional investors look for ways to keep their pulse on the conversation among retail investors. What's more, institutional investors are likely to be retail investors in their personal lives and may find their retail research habits helpful in their professional roles," the report said.

☆ Indian shares fall on rate-hike worries ahead of Fed, RBI minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was down 0.86% at 17,674.50, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.85% at 60,150.93 as of 10:34 a.m. IST. Both the Fed and the Reserve Bank of India were due to release minutes of their latest policy meetings, giving investors a glimpse of their thinking on future rate-hike trajectories. "Fear of a hawkish Fed has gripped markets and kept investors on tenterhooks." Global markets fell after an unexpectedly strong reading of S&P Global's composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed that the U.S. economy was not cooling. ($1 = 82.8330 Indian rupees)Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Instant View: Adani's $2.5 billion offer rides out share storm with investor backing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

COMMENTARYAMBAREESH BALIGA, INDEPENDENT MARKET ANALYST, MUMBAI"The FPO did get subscribed, thanks to a few institutional as well as large family offices. DEEPAK JASANI, HEAD OF RETAIL RESEARCH, HDFC SECURITIES, MUMBAI"For Indian markets, one of the concern areas is out of the way for the time being as this was weighing on investor sentiment. Since the current market price is below the offer price, the retail subscription was low as investors can rather buy it from the market." That was their focus area considering the fact that there was a difference between the market price and the floor price of the FPO. It seems that retail investors did not consider the fact that there is more to rates than just the price."

☆ Stores say shoplifting is a national crisis. The numbers don’t back it up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Videos of brazen shoplifting incidents, like this one posted to social media in 2021, have turned retail theft into a national issue. The metric incorporates inventory losses caused by external theft, including organized retail crime, employee theft, human errors, vendor fraud, damaged or mismarked items and other losses. Whatever the numbers say, though, retailers maintain that organized retail crime has gotten worse. Organized retail crime typically refers to large-scale retail theft and fraud by groups of professional shoplifters who conspire to steal and resell stolen merchandise. The NRF estimates that organized retail crime costs companies an average of just 7 cents for every $100 in sales.

☆ Indian shares slip on COVID-19, inflation worries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Indian shares slipped on Thursday, with declines seen across most sectors after monetary policy minutes revealed strong concerns about elevated inflation, while fears about rising COVID-19 cases in China weighed on sentiment. India's health minister on Wednesday said the pandemic was "not over yet" given "the rising cases of COVID-19 in some countries". Asian markets also advanced after the bounce in U.S. shares, with the MSCI Asia ex Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rising 1.49%. India's retail inflation eased below the RBI's upper tolerance limit of 6% for the first time in 2022 in November, but core inflation stayed above 6%. Khemka also said the remarks from the RBI minutes were "consistent with the central bank's adherence to tackling inflation".

U.S. shoppers spent $35.27 billion online overall during Cyber Week, the period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. But the modest pickup trounced the paltry 2.9% increase in sales during China's Singles Day, an 11-day shopping festival ending November 11, hosted by Alibaba and other Chinese e-commerce firms. Originally, Singles Day was an unofficial Chinese holiday on Nov. 11 (11/11) to celebrate people who were not in relationships. These days, brands use Singles Day to clear inventory and experiment with new products. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging in China, "it wont be fair to can compare" Singles Day with Cyber Week, Chernev said, as Americans are shopping with fewer restrictions.

☆ Stocks and bonds are struggling. Give these strategies a shot instead, say Goldman and others
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Both stocks and bonds have struggled this year, leaving investors with few alternatives. Stocks and bonds usually move in opposite directions, but that hasn't been the case this year. Trend-following strategy Adopting the so-called trend-following strategy this year would pay off for investors, according to Goldman and Wells Fargo in recent notes. Portfolio diversification can, and often should, include more than stocks and bonds," said Hazlitt Gill, retail investment research senior manager. Alternative investments UBS in an Oct. 21 note said investors can use structured investments to "tilt the odds favorably."

Adidas shutting down its partnership with Kanye West is just the latest shoe to drop surrounding the artist's recent run of controversial public behavior. To Adidas, the reputational cost of maintaining ties with Ye ultimately outweighed those considerations, said Neil Saunders, managing director at the GlobalData Retail research group and consultancy. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect." Instead, it was likely the growing threat of an international boycott that pushed Adidas to sever ties, said Kenneth Anand, Goldstein's co-author of "Sneaker Law." "So they had to act very fast to sever ties given what had transpired," Anand said of Adidas.

☆ 'There are a lot of miserable women in corporate America': Women leaders have been leaving their jobs and companies in unprecedented numbers, a new report suggests
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A new report suggests female executives ditched their jobs in unprecedented numbers in 2021. The report suggests women leaders experience a range of microaggressions that undercut their authority and stymie their career progression. For instance, the report indicated that 37% of female leaders had had a coworker get credit for their idea, compared with 27% of male leaders. It also suggested that women leaders were twice as likely as men to be mistaken for someone more junior. Wade Hinton, an inclusion consultant, told Insider he's not surprised by the large numbers of women leaders leaving their employers.

☆ Nike is clamping down on resellers botting its apps, but insiders and analysts say new policies don't go far enough
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported on a recent change to Nike's terms of sale. A Nike insider, as well as analysts, said it's a good move, but it won't solve the problem. But Nike's revised terms of sale, while applauded by many, still comes up short of a full solution to its reselling problem, insiders and analysts said. Nike also has policies that prohibit reselling in Europe and South Korea, but they don't specifically state any repercussions. In September, Nike reported a 44% increase in inventory.

Search resuls for: "Retail Research"

25 mentions found