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☆ Billions and Billions Earned: How McDonald’s Keeps Its Edge
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Spencer Jakab | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The McDonald’s app had 127 million downloads worldwide last year—almost four times as many as the next-closest industry competitor. There are some equally mind-boggling figures surrounding the chain today, and not just in its pleasing first-quarter earnings report released Tuesday morning. Its sheer heft as the world’s largest restaurant chain, along with a good dose of digital savvy, has helped expand its lead over fast-food rivals. Consider, for example, that there were 127 million downloads worldwide of the chain’s app last year, according to Apptopia. Even in the fast food-happy United States, downloads last year numbered as many as the second, third and fourth competing app combined.

☆ What happens to buybuy BABY with Bed Bath & Beyond planning to go out of business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —America’s leading specialty baby products retailer will shutter its 120 stores, a consequence of parent company Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy filing on Sunday. “The buybuy BABY business is the one part of the operation that will probably attract interest from buyers,” Saunders said. Bed Bath & Beyond placed some hope in buybuy BABY while it struggled to survive. He joined Bed Bath & Beyond in 2019 from Target, where he was in charge of expanding its private label brands. In its bankruptcy filing, Bed Bath & Beyond said it had $5.2 billion in debt and assets of just $4.4 billion.

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☆ Burger King’s secret weapon against McDonald’s is the Whopper
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The plan is still in early stages: Burger King has invested $40 million as of the end of last year. At US Burger King locations open at least 13 months, sales jumped 5% in the quarter, thanks in part to the burger. “I don’t know what his place might be in the future.”The fast food war heats upFor Burger King, the Whopper is more than just a burger. But even if the Whopper isn’t all that different from other fast food burgers, it’s the one Burger King has got. For Burger King, “the challenge is you’re competing against McDonald’s, and McDonald’s is really good,” said Senatore.

☆ Rite Aid Seeks Direction as Pressure Mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sabela Ojea | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rite Aid has said it aims to keep cutting expenses through 2024 by ramping up store closures and shrinking its workforce. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesRite Aid Corp.’s cash reserves are dwindling, a lawsuit is looming and sales are slowing ahead of the drugstore chain’s fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. Meanwhile, investors are waiting for the company to name a permanent chief executive to chart a path to growth as demand wanes for Covid-19 booster shots and testing services.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond gets $120 million lifeline to help it stock near barren shelves
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Cash-starved Bed, Bath & Beyond, which is scrambling to avoid bankruptcy, announced a $120 million lifeline to help it stock near-empty shelves. One reason that the chain’s sales have fallen and losses have mounted is that the company doesn’t have the funds needed to buy inventory in order to stock shelves. The money comes from ReStore Capital, which will purchase up to $120 million of merchandise from Bed, Bath & Beyond’s suppliers in order to supplement stock at Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY. “This … solution can allow us to strengthen merchandise availability and better fulfill demand.”Shelves are seen empty inside of a closed Bed Bath and Beyond store on February 08, 2023 in Larkspur, California. Last week, the company disclosed in a filing plans to sell $300 million worth of its stock to raise much-needed cash.

☆ Yes, You Can Put Your Taxes on a Credit Card. Here’s How to Make It Work
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +14 min

Sign-up bonusesA much better strategy, according to credit card experts, is to use a hefty tax payment to help you qualify for a generous sign-up bonus on a new credit card. Downsides of paying taxes with a credit cardIn addition to fees, paying your taxes with a credit card isn’t without downsides. Most credit card issuers report your credit card balances and the amount of available credit to all three major credit bureaus monthly. Although having a large balance on a credit card can impact your credit score, the effects aren’t permanent. How to pay federal taxes with a credit cardThe IRS does not directly accept tax payments via credit card.

☆ New Starbucks CEO plans to pull barista shifts in stores every month
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Starbucks’ new CEO Laxman Narasimhan teased his plan for the company in a letter to employees. It includes working in Starbucks stores as a barista once a month. “Critically, we will reinvigorate our culture around what it means to be a partner at Starbucks,” Narasimhan continued. Starbucks employees react and cheer at the sound of honking motorists supporting them in a nationwide strike at the Starbucks at 1601 W. Irving Park Road on Dec. 16, 2022, in Chicago. Schultz, who remains on Starbuck’s board, is scheduled to testify about Starbucks’ labor practices during a Senate hearing next week.

☆ Starbucks’s New CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, Takes Coffee Chain’s Helm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Heather Haddon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Starbucks’s leadership handoff comes ahead of the coffee chain’s annual shareholder meeting this week. Starbucks Corp. said it handed the reins of the world’s largest coffee chain to its incoming chief executive officer, Laxman Narasimhan . The Seattle-based company said that interim CEO and longtime leader Howard Schultz exited the role Monday, with his successor officially taking over and joining the company’s board. Starbucks previously had said that Mr. Narasimhan would begin in his role on April 1.

☆ Rise of the APEs, Coming to a Theater Chain Near You
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Spencer Jakab | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AMC senior managers such as CEO Adam Aron have undertaken sales of the movie-theater chain’s stock. Tuesday was a lousy day to be an ape and a pretty decent one for some of their sworn enemies. To be clear, the primates involved are all humans. “Apes” are social-media-inspired retail shareholders who took their nickname from the “Planet of the Apes” films—the remakes, not the 1968 original starring Charlton Heston . They are lovers of meme stocks like AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and haters of hedge funds.

☆ IKEA’s Latest Climate Target: Glue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The company expects biomaterials to become more cost competitive with fossil-based materials in the coming years. Instead, Mr. Rangel Ahrens said IKEA uses weight because it allows them to measure changes in a material, such as recycled and renewable content. It discovered around half of the material’s emissions were from the glue used to bind the wood chips and fibers together, meaning that fossil-based glue was responsible for about 5% of IKEA’s carbon footprint, Mr. Rangel Ahrens said. “We are not just telling them you should reduce emissions from suppliers by 80% and go fish,” Mr. Rangel Ahrens said. It needs to be available also for people with thin wallets,” Mr. Rangel Ahrens said.

☆ McDonald’s Cardi B and Offset Promotion Draws Pushback From Some Restaurant Owners
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Heather Haddon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

McDonald ’s Corp.’s celebrity-sponsored meals, which have generated strong sales for the chain, are drawing criticism from franchisees who say some of the artists don’t reflect the company’s values. Some U.S. McDonald’s restaurant owners have raised concerns over the chain’s collaborations with celebrities including rappers Cardi B and Offset, according to franchisees and email messages to other owners and the company that were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Some owners said a number of McDonald’s locations have declined to promote the current Cardi B and Offset meal, because of concerns about being associated with the artists.

☆ Target’s Slim Sales Growth, Rising Costs Weigh on Earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sarah Nassauer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Target said strong sales in food, beauty and essentials are offsetting weaker consumer spending in other categories. Target Corp. said slower sales growth and rising operating costs hurt its profit in the most recent quarter, as shoppers continued to spend cautiously with inflation hitting their budgets. The retail chain’s comparable sales, or those from stores or digital channels operating for the past 12 months, rose 0.7% in the quarter ended Jan. 28, compared with the same period a year earlier. More shoppers visited Target stores in the fourth quarter, but spent differently than last year, the company said Tuesday.

☆ Volkswagen sees no sign of forced labor at its plant in Xinjiang
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Volkswagen faced a barrage of criticism from campaigners Tuesday after the head of its Chinese business said he saw no sign of forced labor during a visit to the carmaker’s plant in Xinjiang. Activists and an international group of lawmakers said verifying labor standards in the region was impossible. Rights groups have documented human rights abuses in Xinjiang since the 2000s, including mass forced labor in detention camps which the United Nations said could constitute crimes against humanity. Brandstaetter said he saw no signs of forced labor and that workers’ comments matched the reports Volkswagen had received from SAIC about the plant. Reputational riskVolkswagen says it has never found evidence of forced labor among its Xinjiang workforce and its presence is positive for the local population.

☆ Domino's stock tumbles 10% as delivery problems persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“We experienced significant pressure on our U.S. delivery business in 2022,” CEO Russell Weiner wrote in a statement discussing financial results Thursday. Domino's said its delivery business struggled last year. “Every day, delivery customers will be deciding where to spend their hard-earned dollars. And it raised the price of its “mix and match” deal for delivery orders, but not carryout. And while staffing has improved somewhat, “there is more work to do on staffing that part of the business,” Weiner said of delivery.

☆ Starbucks doubles down on Asia Pacific with biggest expansion in five years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Starbucks will open more than 400 stores across Asia Pacific in 2023, marking its biggest expansion in the region in five years. “We are seeing headwinds shifting to tailwinds across markets around the world, including the Asia Pacific region, and continued recovery coming out of the pandemic,” he said in the statement. The metric refers to sales at stores open at least 13 months. The company’s locations elsewhere proved to be bright spots during the quarter, with revenue jumping by more than 20% year-on-year for Asia Pacific, Conway said during the presentation. Drive-thrus are becoming more popular, as customers look for more convenience, according to Emmy Kan, the firm’s Asia Pacific president.

☆ AMC to Charge More for Better Movie Theater Seats
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dia Gill | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New AMC pricing that adjusts ticket prices based on where viewers sit applies to shows after 4 p.m., except on the chain’s Tuesday discount days. Some moviegoers will soon have to pay higher prices for better seats. The theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. said Monday it was rolling out a new plan that adjusts ticket prices during peak shows based on where viewers sit. Prime seats in the middle of the theater will come at a premium, while neck-craning front-row seats will cost less.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond Faces Debt Deadline as Bankruptcy Looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Suzanne Kapner | Andrew Scurria | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The clock is ticking for Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. The home-goods chain’s lenders have cut off credit and it hasn’t secured a buyer to acquire its business, leaving it with dwindling options to avoid a bankruptcy filing. With chapter 11 looking increasingly likely, the focus shifts to what’s next for the retailer and what shape it might take coming out of a restructuring. Here is what we know.

☆ Here’s What’s Next for Bed Bath & Beyond as Bankruptcy Looms and Stores Close
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Suzanne Kapner | Andrew Scurria | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Here’s What’s Next for Bed Bath & Beyond as Bankruptcy Looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Suzanne Kapner | Andrew Scurria | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

On Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced that the United Arab Emirates had pledged a staggering $30 billion in investment in the Asian country. The news came after the leaders of the two nations held talks in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, in a landmark trip that marked the first-ever state visit to the UAE by a South Korean president, according to a statement from Yoon’s office. In total, representatives from approximately 100 South Korean companies traveled with the president, according to his office. Some South Korean firms also agreed to build farms for tomatoes and strawberries in the UAE, a country that relies heavily on imports of agricultural products. Going forward, South Korea “will be a key partner in the global supply chain,” using its expertise in sectors such as semiconductors and steel-making to help stabilize supply chains, he pledged.

☆ Wendy’s Will Undergo Organizational Redesign
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wendy’s has doubled its dividend and increased its stock-buyback program. Wendy’s Co. announced on Friday the departures of two executives and changes to its leadership structure aimed at cutting administrative costs. Wendy’s also doubled its dividend and increased its stock-buyback program. Nelson Peltz , who leads Trian Fund Management LP, the restaurant chain’s largest shareholder, said Friday that the new capital-allocation strategy would support the company’s long-term growth plans.

☆ McDonald’s ex-CEO fine: not a nothing burger
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - McDonald’s (MCD.N) ex-boss is in the frying pan. The $196 billion Big Mac purveyor sued and successfully clawed back Easterbrook’s bounty of over $100 million in compensation. The SEC’s order also dings McDonald’s for not better clarifying why he was dismissed without cause. The slap against McDonald’s suggests the company also was not being forthcoming. Still, Easterbrook’s $400,000 fine adds to his pain, and he is also barred from serving as a public officer or director for five years.

☆ SEC fines McDonald's ex-CEO Easterbrook $400,000 for allegedly misleading investors about his firing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Disgraced former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook will pay $400,000 to settle charges that he allegedly misled investors about the circumstances of his 2019 firing following a relationship with an employee. McDonald’s later filed a lawsuit against Easterbrook that ended with the ex-CEO paying back his $105 million severance payment, but the SEC charged both the executive and the company for making such a deal in the first place. In addition to the $400,000 civil penalty, Easterbrook is also banned from serving as a director or officer at any company that reports to the SEC. In August 2020, McDonald’s filed a lawsuit claiming Easterbrook lied to the board about the extent of his relationships with employees. Steve Easterbrook, former CEO of McDonald's Corp. Brendan McDermid/ReutersMcDonald’s settled the lawsuit with Easterbrook in 2021, forcing him to repay his severance package of $105 million.

Michael Burrage liked Fort Lauderdale ever since his first visit as a college student in the 1970s but bought a home there only in March 2022, when the latest addition to a burgeoning luxury market, Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, opened in the Florida beach town. Last spring, with the slowdown on the horizon, Mr. Burrage spent $13.45 million to buy three condominiums in the complex’s yacht-shaped building on the Atlantic Ocean. Mr. Burrage, 72, co-founder of Oklahoma City-based law firm Whitten Burrage, said he trusted the chain’s brand and had studied sales and resale prices at its other residence projects, including one in Miami.

☆ AMC CEO Adam Aron Asks Board for Salary Freeze in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CEO Adam Aron won’t take a raise, but he did say AMC will increase pay for its hourly theater employees next year. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Adam Aron has asked the company’s board to freeze his compensation in 2023 following a painful year for the theater chain’s share price. Mr. Aron said in a string of tweets Tuesday that he has asked the board to freeze his target cash and stock pay in 2023, saying he didn’t “want ‘more’ when our shareholders are hurting.”

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