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☆ IKEA sticks with China despite slowing economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Helen Reid | Thomson Reuters | London-Based Reporter Covering The European Retail Sector Through A Global Lens. Focusing On Companies Including Adidas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Yves Herman Acquire Licensing RightsMALMÖ, Sweden, Oct 12 (Reuters) - China is still a key growth market for budget furniture retailer IKEA despite the world's second-largest economy showing signs of strain, executives at the biggest IKEA store owner said on Thursday. The company has 37 IKEA stores in China, out of a total of 537 locations worldwide. Ingka Group overall saw 697 million visits to its IKEA stores in the 2023 financial year, up 7.4% from the previous year. The rate of increase was much higher in China, Brodin said, as stores reopened and shoppers returned. China's sheer size makes it a key opportunity, said Tolga Oncu, head of IKEA Retail at Ingka Group.

Persons: Yves Herman Acquire, Jesper Brodin, Brodin, Ingka, Tolga Oncu, Oncu, Helen Reid, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, IKEA, Ingka Group, Ingka, Reuters, IKEA Retail, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Sweden, China

☆ What are global firms with presence in Israel doing after Hamas attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Following are the steps taken by the companies ranging from airlines to banks:TRAVELSeveral Asian, European and U.S. airlines have suspended direct flights to Tel Aviv. Delta Air Lines (DAL.N):The airline said it continues to monitor events in the region and has made the decision to cancel Delta-operated Tel Aviv flights through Oct. 31. Goldman Sachs (GS.N):The bank's employees at its office in Tel Aviv have been asked to work from home, a spokesperson said. TECHNvidia (NVDA.O):The world's largest maker of chips used for artificial intelligence and computer graphics said it had canceled an AI summit scheduled for Tel Aviv next week. CONSUMER AND RETAILH&M (HMb.ST):The clothing company said its local franchise partner has temporarily closed all stores in Israel.

Persons: Amir Cohen, El, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Gautam Adani's, Jensen Huang, PHARMA Eli Lilly, Lilly, Priyamvada C, Mehr Bedi, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Khushi, Jaiveer Singh, Samrhitha, Helen Reid, Sriraj Kalluvila, Shounak Dasgupta, Shinjini Organizations: Gaza, REUTERS, Palestinian, Hamas, Tel Aviv . Delta Air Lines, Royal, Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, Reuters, Bank of America, Bloomberg News, FedEx, TECH Nvidia, Tel, Inditex SA, PHARMA, Thomson Locations: Sderot, Israel, U.S, Tel Aviv, Royal Caribbean, Haifa Port, Zara, Bengaluru, London

"Matched with the NFL, which we all know is driving the biggest TV ratings and interest across the entire sports landscape... Swift's appearance also preceded a nearly three-fold increase in sales in a 24-hour window for Chiefs home games on StubHub. [1/2]Sep 24, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Taylor Swift reacts while watching the Kansas City Chiefs vs Chicago Bears game during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. "Taylor Swift being at NFL games is gold dust for the league," Scott said. But Swift, whose fame far eclipses that of Kelce's, brings a megawatt starpower that is virtually unprecedented - even in the NFL.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Swift, Travis Kelce's, Donna, Adam Budelli, Aaron Rodgers, Roku, Denny, Tom Scott, Scott, Joe Namath, Pro Bowler, Kelce, Amy Tennery, Helen Reid, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Super Bowl, Kansas City Chiefs, NFL, National Football League, Chicago Bears, Chiefs, Jets, Reuters, Bears, Arrowhead, Trippant, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, of Fame, Sports, Super, Apple, Thomson Locations: New York, East Rutherford , New Jersey, Kansas City, Kansas City , Missouri, USA, London, Frankfurt

☆ H&M blames warm weather for September sales slide
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Helen Reid | トムソンロイター | London-Based Reporter Covering The European Retail Sector Through A Global Lens. Focusing On Companies Including Adidas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

H&M, whose biggest rival is Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC), said September sales would be down 10% year-on-year measured in local currencies. That compares with Inditex reporting sales between Aug. 1 and Sept. 11 that were up 14%. Operating profit in the Swedish group's third quarter jumped to 4.74 billion crowns ($431 million) from a year-earlier 902 million. The year-ago figure included a one-off cost of 2.1 billion crowns for the group's exit from Russia, which also accounted for four percentage points of the 10% September sales decline. H&M announced a share buyback programme starting on Wednesday, planning to buy back up to 3 billion crowns of stock by March 31 next year.

Persons: サマリー, Inditex, Vera Diehl, Nicolas Champ, LSEG, Richard Chamberlain, Anna Ringstrom, Helen Reid, Jan Harvey, Mark Potter Organizations: Union Investment, Barclays, RBC, HK, Tmall Locations: STOCKHOLM, Zara, Swedish, Russia, JD.com, China's Xinjiang, Alibaba's

☆ Adidas tests upper limit of running market with $500 shoe
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Helen Reid | Thomson Reuters | London-Based Reporter Covering The European Retail Sector Through A Global Lens. Focusing On Companies Including Adidas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Adidas, its bigger rival Nike and other sports brands, have been locked in a "supershoe" war for years, since the first running shoes containing a thick, shock-absorbing foam and carbon fibre plate helping athletes run more efficiently, were released. At $500 a pair, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 cost $225 more than Nike's equivalent Alphafly 2, raising the question of how many amateur runners will swallow the extra cost. "The price tag is just insane," said Harry Swinhoe, founder of Grove Lane Runners, an amateur running club in southeast London. "This is a shoe optimized for speed, versus durability," Adidas said. Assefa broke the world record by more than 2 minutes to finish in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds.

Persons: Ethiopia's Tigist, Harry Swinhoe, Bjorn Gulden, Assefa, Helen Reid, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Adidas, Nike, Evo, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Lane, London

☆ Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos have topped a list of mega-billionaires enjoying an eye-watering wealth jump in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Joseph Wilkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos have topped a list of billionaires who saw the biggest wealth increases in 2023. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Musk saw the steepest jump in net worth with a $99 billion increase to $236 billion, cementing his position as the world's richest person. 2 on the list of wealth gainers, with a $61.9 billion increase in his riches to $108 billion. Nvidia CEO Huang's wealth surged by $22.2 billion in 2023 as the chipmaker's stock rocketed 187%, outperforming every other stock in the S&P 500 index.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Musk, Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Steve Ballmer, Michael Dell, Amancio Ortega, Ortega Organizations: Bloomberg, Google, Service, Meta, Nvidia Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ French supermarkets to demand food groups cut prices by up to 5%
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Helen Reid | Thomson Reuters | London-Based Reporter Covering The European Retail Sector Through A Global Lens. Focusing On Companies Including Adidas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

French retailers have criticised consumer goods giants like Unilever and Nestle for price hikes they say are unjustified. The government has also put pressure on the consumer goods makers to cut prices. "We should probably be able to demand that the big (consumer goods) groups cut prices by between 2% and 5%," he said. Consumer goods firms are likely to face increased pressure across Europe to cut prices, industry experts say. Lawmakers also asked about buying alliances, which some supermarkets use to negotiate prices jointly with peers at the European level, and whether they enable retailers to evade French regulations on pricing.

Persons: Sarah Meyssonnier, Les Mousquetaires, Thierry Cotillard, Cotillard, Mousquetaires, Jan, Alexandre Bompard, Lawmakers, Systeme, Dominique Schelcher, E Leclerc, Philippe Michaud, Miloud, Leclerc, Michaud, Helen Reid, Hugh Lawson Organizations: REUTERS, Unilever, Nestle, Carrefour, Senate, REWE, Thomson Locations: Carrefour, Montesson, Paris, France, Portugal, Spain, Europe, Greece, London

United Parcel Service's (UPS) newly launched electric delivery truck is seen in Compton, California, U.S., September 13, 2023. Collectively, zero-emission delivery startups have raised around $1 billion so far, according to Pitchbook and data collected by Reuters. H&M, the world's second-largest fashion retailer, said it is scaling up a number of zero-emission delivery initiatives "through a variety of partnerships like the one... with Liefergrun." "Some customers are pushing very, very hard for as many zero-emission deliveries as possible," Hoed said. DHL's Zou said zero-emission delivery startups are not a threat, but added "we are always keen to look at them either for a commercial partnership or working together."

Persons: Lisa Baertlein, Germany's Liefergrun, Niklas Tauch, Tauch, Yin Zou, Tristan Thomas, DutchX, Marcus Hoed, Hoed, DHL's Zou, Sven Etzelsberger, Thomas Goldsby, Goldsby, Rob King, Zedify, King, Nick Carey, Ben Klayman, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, LOS, Reuters, FedEx, Deutsche Post DHL Group, United Parcel Service, Mercedes, Benz, DHL, Deutsche Post DHL, Amazon, Foods, IKEA, University of Tennessee, UPS, Thomson Locations: Compton , California, U.S, New York, Berlin, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Europe, Manhattan, Philadelphia, California

☆ H&M looks out of sync with shoppers’ reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The H&M clothing store is seen in Times Square in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Sept 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - H&M (HMb.ST) CEO Helena Helmersson is feeling the heat. H&M has probably been operating under the illusion that it could maintain pricing power while consumers are being hit by inflation. Its $120 billion rival Inditex (ITX.MC), whose Zara brand is considered more upmarket than H&M, has started to pause price increases. Right now, H&M trades on the same 20 times forward earnings multiple than Inditex.

Persons: Mike Segar, Helena Helmersson, “, That’s, Shein, Inditex's, Lisa Jucca, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, RBC, X, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York, U.S, Swedish

Spanish farmer Miguel Moreno was an early adopter of so-called cover crops. Spain's drought-hit olive oil production slumped to 663,000 tonnes last year, less than half the average of 1.45 million tons recorded in the previous four harvests, according to the government. In January, it began subsidising farmers who use cover crops as part of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). She said the company was pushed both by customers such as Walmart in the U.S. and by regulation to buy olive oil from producers using sustainable practices. Ecology professor Manzaneda is also coordinator of EU-funded project SOIL O-LIVE and is testing methods for coaxing Albacete's degraded earth back to health.

Persons: Chiclana de Segura, Jon Nazca, Andrea Ronca, Miguel Moreno, Angel, Dcoop, Gonzalo Delacamara, Emilio Gonzalez, Antonio Manzaneda, Manzaneda, Olive, Syngenta, Luis Miranda, Domingo, Marco Trevisan, Dean, Simone Rech, Catalonia's Cava, Sebastiano Conti, Charlie Devereux, Antonella, Corina Pons, Keith Weir, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Southern, VILLANUEVA DEL ARZOBISPO, Farmers, European Union, of Nutrition, Plant Science, IE, Water, University of Cordoba, University of Jaen, European, Walmart, Swiss, Syngenta, EU, TECH, Smart, Milan Polytechnic, University of Brescia, of Agricultural Sciences, Catholic University of Piacenza, Thomson Locations: Olive, Chiclana, Jaen, Spain, ROME, Italy, Madrid, European, France, Germany, Mantua, Andalusia, European Union, U.S, ITALY, Treviso, Venice, Sicily

☆ Deliveroo lacks tasty recipe for takeover call
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Deliveroo’s (ROO.L) valuation makes it a plausible takeover target, but Chief Executive Will Shu has a weak hand in negotiating any deal. Activist investor Sachem Head Capital Management has built a stake in the London-listed food delivery company, Bloomberg reported late on Wednesday. Share prices of Deliveroo rose nearly 5% on Thursday morning. That’s below the 1.5 times average of rivals Delivery Hero (DHER.DE), Just Eat Takeaway.com (TKWY.AS), HelloFresh (HFGG.DE) and DoorDash (DASH.N). Lastly, Delivery Hero and Amazon’s 5% and 12.5% stakes could complicate any deal.

Persons: Will Shu, LSEG, Uber, Karen Kwok, BoE, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Head Capital Management, Bloomberg, X, Treasury, Thomson Locations: London

☆ Citi’s big restructuring has a familiar ring to it
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jane Fraser CEO, Citi, speaks at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Jane Fraser is trying to make history. Citigroup’s (C.N) boss said the shake-up she unveiled on Wednesday is the most “consequential changes” to the organization in 20 years. Citi shares gained less than 2% in a flat market following her presentation at the Barclays Global Financial Services conference. The bottom line is that an investor who put $10 into Citi 20 years ago would have just $1 today.

Persons: Jane Fraser, Mike Blake, Michael Corbat, Vikram Pandit, ballyhooed, Fraser, Corbat, BoE, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Citi, Milken, Global Conference, REUTERS, Reuters, Barclays Global Financial Services, JPMorgan, X, Unity, Treasury, UBS, Thomson Locations: Beverly Hills , California, U.S, Asia

☆ Inditex can afford to start sharing its cash pile
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An employee arranges clothes at one of the largest Zara stores in the world, in Madrid, Spain, April 7, 2022. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Marta Ortega is facing a test on Inditex’s (ITX.MC) bulging cash pile. In the same period, Inditex delivered 2.5 billion euros of net profit, up 40% year-on-year. Still, growing profits mean its cash pile will only get larger. Net cash is expected to balloon to 12 billion euros by year-end, LSEG data show.

Persons: Juan Medina, Marta Ortega, Massimo Dutti, Inditex, Ortega, Inditex’s, Aimee Donnellan, BoE, Lisa Jucca, Streisand Neto Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, X, Treasury, UBS, Warner Bros Discovery, Thomson Locations: Zara, Madrid, Spain, Asia

☆ Zara owner Inditex profit jumps 40% as price rises slow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Zara owner Inditex on Wednesday beat expectations with a 40% jump in half-year net profit despite the world's biggest fast fashion company slowing the pace of its price increases. The company posted a net profit of 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) for the six months to July 31, outpacing a 2.38 billion euro market forecast according to data from LSEG. Inditex sales rose 13.5% to 16.9 billion euros and a gross margin of 58.2%. With a big share of its costs in euros, Inditex said it expects currencies to have a -3.5% impact on sales this year, worse than the -2.5% impact it expected previously. Inditex was among the first fashion retailers to raise prices in response to surging inflation early last year.

Persons: Inditex, Bernstein, William Woods, Richard Chamberlain, Steven Meisel, Linda Evangelista Organizations: Zara, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada, Reuters Locations: Zara, New York, LSEG, Madrid, United States, Spain

☆ Unity discovers how real the revenue struggle is
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Edgar Su Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Unity Software (U.N) is finding out just how hard the revenue game will be. The $14 billion company’s new plan to climb out of an unprofitable hole makes sense, but also faces considerable pushback. The strategy seeks to impose fees on video-game developers after certain revenue and install thresholds are met, eliciting a harsh response on social media on Tuesday. Unity may retain its customers, as switching suppliers can be a pain, but deeper-pocketed rivals such as Epic Games may see an opportunity to pounce. Silicon Valley’s revenue struggle is real.

Persons: Edgar Su, Robert Cyran, BoE, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Unity Software, Apple, Unity, X, Treasury, UBS, Thomson Locations: Pico, Singapore, Asia

☆ Rising US gas prices are both good news and bad
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ignore the glowing signs at U.S. gas stations, and the country's inflation fight is going well. The bad news about costlier refueling is also the good news. Transportation costs jumped 2%, but that was likely linked to the price of energy. He said in July that tumbling gas prices weren’t enough to declare victory over inflation, and that the core gauge was still worryingly high. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Ben Winck, BoE, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Reuters, of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, X, Treasury, UBS, Warner Bros Discovery, Thomson Locations: Asia

Inditex shares have risen around 64% over the past 12 months as the world's biggest clothing retailer successfully passed cost increases on to shoppers and reported record profit margins. But after several U.S. retailers including Macy's and Foot Locker warned of weak consumer spending, fears of an economic slowdown have come back into focus. "I think companies will be more disciplined and will reduce pricing where they think they can gain volumes," said Fabio Di Giansante, portfolio manager at Amundi, which holds shares in Inditex. In the six months to July last year, Inditex's sales increased by 25% and profits climbed by 41% - but that was in comparison with a period marked by COVID-19 lockdowns around the world. According to Bernstein analysts, Inditex's key rival H&M (HMb.ST), set to report third-quarter sales on Friday, has pushed through more price increases than peers over the past year.

Persons: Inditex, Locker, Inditex's, Fabio Di Giansante, Geoffroy De Mendez, De Mendez, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Bernstein, Amundi's Di Giansante, Helen Reid, Corina Pons, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Macy's, Inditex . Bank of America, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Zara, Amundi, Inditex ., U.S, London, Madrid

☆ European retailers risk dressing-down from investors as consumers flinch
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Reuters GraphicsThe broader STOXX 600 (.STOXX) is up by 7% this year, meaning retailers are outperforming by the most on record. The snag is that this stellar run has been partly built on investors unwinding bearish bets, or short positions, on retail stocks, after last year's pessimism proved overdone. This means retail stocks might not see as many willing buyers as earlier this year. Jones expects retail stocks to fall in the second half of the year. JPMorgan downgraded the grocery retail sector this month and flagged the prospect of price declines going into 2024.

Persons: Inditex, unwinding, Benjamin Jones, Jones, Florian Ielpo, Ielpo, WH Smith, Alexandre Bompard, LSEG, Joice Alves, Amanda Cooper, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Reuters, Macro, Multi, Management, Carrefour, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Thomson Locations: Zara, bullish, LSEG, Britain

"Increasingly we are going to turn used clothes into raw material from Europe for fashion companies." Also in Spain, rivals including H&M, Mango and Inditex have created a non-profit association to manage clothing waste, responding to an EU law requiring member states to separate textiles from other waste from January 2025. OBSTACLESThe obstacles to significantly reducing clothing waste are formidable, despite the EU crackdown, industry sustainability commitments and initiatives like the Moda Re expansion. Adidas (ADSGn.DE), Bestseller, and H&M (HMb.ST) have invested in Finnish start-up Infinited Fiber Company, which manufactures fibre out of textile waste, cardboard and paper. As in Spain, textile waste associations would be set up in each country.

Persons: Albert Alberich, Inditex, Dijana Lind, Hugo Boss, Lind, Moda, Aissatou Boukoum, Mauro Scalia, Corina Pons, Helen Reid, Horaci Garcia, Nacho, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: BARCELONA, Moda, Caritas, Union, European Commission, Union Investment, Adidas, McKinsey, Reuters, EU, ReHubs, Moda Re, United Nations, Inditex, Puma, Infinited Fiber Company, Thomson Locations: Spain, Barcelona, Spanish, Europe, Zara, Bilbao, Valencia, EU, Frankfurt, ReHubs Europe, Mali, Sant, AFRICA, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal, Africa, Senegalese, Germany, Texaid, Switzerland, Vestisolidale, Italy, France, EURATEX, Madrid, London, Nacho Doce

☆ Zara's billionaire founder – one of the world's richest people – has just bought a $232 million luxury Chicago apartment tower
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amancio Ortega has purchased a 45-story Chicago apartment tower. Ortega, founder of Zara parent company Inditex, splashed out $232 million on the property. Pontegadea, Ortega's family office, bought the 45-story 727 West Madison property, a company spokesperson told Insider. AdvertisementAdvertisementPrices start at $2,166 a month for a studio, rising to $6,083 for the most expensive apartment available, a three-bed. Ortega is the world's 14th richest person, with an estimated net worth of around $75.2 billion, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows.

Persons: Amancio Ortega, Ortega, there's, Charles Koch, Michael Dell, Walton, Inditex Organizations: Seattle HQ, Toronto's Royal Bank, Service, Madison, Chase Bank, Bloomberg, Pontegadea, Meta's Seattle, Royal Bank Plaza Locations: Chicago, Zara, Manhattan, Wall, Silicon, Cook County, Meta's, Toronto

TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Aug 18 (Reuters) - A wildfire that has blanketed much of the Spanish island of Tenerife with smoke and ash has slowed its advance thanks to containment efforts and more favourable weather during the night, authorities said on Friday. Fernando Clavijo, regional leader of the Canary Islands, said there were no more evacuations overnight and officials were considering lifting restrictions on almost 4,000 residents who had been ordered to stay home. [1/2]Pine trees burn in a forest fire in Candelaria on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain August 16, 2023. Scorching heat and dry weather this summer have contributed to unusually severe wildfires in Europe and Canada. On Friday, Spain's AEMET weather service expected maximum temperatures of 32C in Tenerife.

Persons: Fernando Clavijo, We've, Borja Suarez, Mount Teide, Andrei Khalip, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Teide Astrophysics, Thomson Locations: TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Spanish, Tenerife, Candelaria, Europe, Canada, Maui, Lahaina

London/Hong Kong CNN —H&M has decided to stop operating in Myanmar following an increase in allegations of labor abuses at garment factories in the country. As of March, H&M sourced from 41 factories with nearly 42,000 workers in the country, according to company figures. Its withdrawal comes after new allegations published by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), a workers’ advocacy group. The organization has been tracking cases of alleged labor and human rights abuses against garment workers in the country for years. “Things are getting worse for garment workers — and quickly,” the organization said.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, ” “, ”, doesn’t, Inditex, Spencer, Primark, “, BHRRC Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, Business, Human Rights Resource, Chevron, Initiative, Human Rights, Reuters Locations: Hong Kong, Myanmar, Swedish, Zara, Stockholm, TotalEnergies, British, ”

TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Firefighters on Thursday struggled to contain a wildfire that broke out in a mountainous national park on the Spanish island of Tenerife, prompting authorities to evacuate at least 3,800 people. "The night has been very tough...This is the most complex fire we've had in the Canary Islands in the last 40 years," the region's leader, Fernando Clavijo, told a news conference. [1/5]EIRIF forest firefighters work during the extinction of the forest fire in Arafo on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain August 16, 2023. Last week, a heatwave in the Canary Islands left many areas bone dry, heightening the risk of wildfires. This summer, firefighters have extinguished a series of forest fires on the islands of Gran Canaria and La Palma, which form part of the Canary Islands archipelago.

Persons: Alba Gil, we've, Fernando Clavijo, Pedro Martinez, Borja Suarez, Clavijo, Teide, Aena, Andrei Khalip, Christina Fincher, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Authorities, Gran Canaria, La, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Tenerife, La Esperanza, Canary, Europe, Canada, Lahaina, Arafo, El Rosario, La Orotava, Spanish, Gran

☆ Exclusive: H&M says it will "phase out" sourcing from Myanmar
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Helen Reid | Thomson Reuters | London-Based Reporter Covering The European Retail Sector Through A Global Lens. Focusing On Companies Including Adidas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - The world's second-biggest fashion retailer H&M (HMb.ST) has decided to gradually stop sourcing from Myanmar, it told Reuters on Thursday, as reports of labour abuses in garment factories in the country increase. H&M became the latest brand to cut ties with suppliers in the country after Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC), Primark (ABF.L), Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) and others. "After careful consideration we have now taken the decision to gradually phase out our operations in Myanmar," H&M said in an email to Reuters. "We have been monitoring the latest developments in Myanmar very closely and we see increased challenges to conduct our operations according to our standards and requirements." Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Matt ScuffhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Inditex, Spencer, Helen Reid, Matt Scuffham Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Myanmar, Zara

☆ Exclusive: H&M probes Myanmar factory abuses as pressure intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Helen Reid | Thomson Reuters | London-Based Reporter Covering The European Retail Sector Through A Global Lens. Focusing On Companies Including Adidas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The BHRRC has been tracking allegations of workers' rights abuses in garment factories since the military junta took power in Myanmar, plunging it into political and humanitarian crisis. There have been 21 cases of alleged abuses linked to Inditex suppliers over the two-year period, and 20 linked to H&M suppliers, according to the report. The Myanmar Garment Manufacturing Association did not reply to a request for comment. It expects its final orders from Myanmar suppliers to ship before the end of this year, but has also increased its presence on the ground. H&M and Bestseller are among 18 brands that are part of the European Union-funded MADE project aimed at improving labour conditions in Myanmar's garment factories.

Persons: Inditex, Spencer, Primark, we've, Karina Ufert, Vicky Bowman, Bowman, Helen Reid, Vanessa O'Connell, Marguerita Choy, Emelia Organizations: Reuters, Zara, Human Rights Resource, Myanmar Labour News, Myanmar Garment Manufacturing Association, Ethical Trade, European Union, European Chamber of Commerce, Myanmar Centre, Responsible Business, Thomson Locations: Myanmar, British, MYANMAR Spanish, Danish

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