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☆ Subway is reportedly exploring a sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Subway, one of the world’s most recognizable fast food brands, might be up for a sale, according to the Wall Street Journal. The privately held company has obtained advisers to explore sale that could value Subway at more than $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a statement provided to CNN, Subway said that it doesn’t “comment on ownership structure and business plans” because it’s private. Subway is still in the early stages of throwing up the “for sale” sign and it might not find an acceptable deal, the Journal reported. Subway attributed its recent success to its new “Subway Series” menu, which was streamlined to help speed up service, and an increase in digital orders.

☆ Pepsi is ditching Sierra Mist for a new Sprite rival
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Pepsi is reaching for the stars in its latest effort to take on Sprite. It’s replacing Sierra Mist, a 24-year-old brand that has failed to gain traction against market leader Sprite, which is owned by main rival Coca-Cola (KO). A Pepsi spokesperson told CNN that Starry has a “higher citrus flavors that are true to fruit and more aromatic” compared to Sierra Mist. Courtesy StarrySierra Mist launched in 1999 to much fanfare, however it never made much of a dent in Sprite’s dominance. Sprite, meanwhile, has grown its share of the soda market over the same time period to nearly 8%.

☆ Abercrombie & Fitch is cool again
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Abercrombie & Fitch has shed its perfume-filled mall stores, shirtless models and logo sweatshirts to win over Millennials and Gen Z.It’s working. Abercrombie (ANF) said Monday that its women’s segment was on track to deliver its highest holiday sales period ever, and its men’s division was growing, too. “Abercrombie was a key destination for holiday shopping,” Neil Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData Retail, said in a note to clients Monday. “This a further sign that the brand has successfully ditched the baggage of its past.”The brand, which has about 225 stores, plans to open around 10 Abercrombie stores a year over the next three years. Today, Abercrombie’s stores are lighter than they once were and its clothes are looser.

☆ Abercrombie, American Eagle signal upbeat holiday-quarter sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Deborah Mary Sophia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF.N) and American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO.N) issued upbeat holiday-quarter sales forecasts on Monday as consumers snapped up their winter wear during the peak shopping season. Shares of Abercrombie, which owns the Hollister label, jumped more than 9%, while American Eagle climbed about 3%. It projected fourth-quarter operating margin between 6% and 8%, up from a range of 5% to 7% estimated previously. American Eagle also said its fourth-quarter revenue and profit margins were tracking at the high end of its forecasts, benefiting from its decision to right-size inventory and a better-than-expected performance at its American Eagle label. Last week, department store chain Macy's Inc (M.N) projected holiday-quarter sales toward the lower end of its previous forecast.

☆ Premarket stocks: These three big unknowns will drive markets in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And there are three big “ifs” that will determine the health of the economy: The strength of the labor market, the American consumer and the Federal Reserve. Will the labor market cool off? This is all happening as the Fed tries to actively cool the labor market. Policymakers fear that persistent wage growth in a tight labor market will keep already sky-high inflation levels elevated. Mortgage rates continue to soarMortgage rates rose again last week, beginning 2023 twice as high as they were a year ago.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond warns it may file for bankruptcy. Here's what customers and employees should know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bed Bath & Beyond may file for bankruptcy, according to a company SEC filing Thursday. Bed Bath & Beyond reported an expected loss of $385.8 million the previous quarter. If Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy, the company could go out of business — meaning employees would lose their jobs and the company would have to liquidate its assets. Bed Bath & Beyond shares were down 20% down when the stock market opened Thursday, compared Wednesday's close. "In our view, Bed Bath & Beyond is too far gone to be saved in its present form," Saunders wrote.

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) on Thursday said it was exploring options including a bankruptcy filing to address the U.S. home goods retailer's plunging sales, dwindling cash and debt load, sending its shares tumbling. Bed Bath & Beyond said it expects to report a third-quarter loss of $385.5 million after sales plunged 33%. The stock was one of the most active on the Nasdaq, with nearly 9.4 million shares traded as of 09:37 ET. Bed Bath & Beyond's fortunes dwindled and its stock collapsed in value after it pursued a strategy focused on its own private-label goods. Activist investor Ryan Cohen, the chairman of GameStop Corp (GME.N), took a stake in Bed Bath & Beyond, which he later sold, sending shares crashing.

☆ New York and L.A. meet CDC criteria for masking in public. How much will masks help this winter?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Aria-Bendix-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Aria Bendix | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The Philadelphia school district announced Wednesday that students and staff will be required to wear masks indoors for two weeks in January in an effort to slow transmission after the holidays. The New York City Department of Education issued a letter this week strongly encouraging students and staff to wear a well-fitting mask indoors. After three years of Covid, however, experts recognized that few people are inclined to wear masks as often as they had previously while in public spaces. But Luby said he still wears a mask in public, even when others around him do not. “I find myself in that situation a lot — I’m the only person in the room wearing a mask," he said.

That made Vietnam one of the top buyers of Russian arms, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which tracks global military expenditures. Starting Thursday, the country will host its first large-scale international arms trade fair, for which more than 170 companies from 30 countries have registered, the defence ministry said. The Defence Ministry referred questions about the country's defence industry to the Foreign Ministry, which did not respond to requests for comment. A half-dozen Russian defence firms are registered for the Hanoi fair, including Rosoboronexport, the state agency that imports and exports weapons. That year, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced Vietnam's military imports to only $32 million, of which $9 million worth were Russian arms.

☆ BP doubles down on hydrogen as fuel of the future
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] The BP logo is seen at a BP gas station in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 24, 2021. But grey hydrogen becomes "blue hydrogen" if the polluting emissions are captured. The IRA offers a $3 per kilogramme tax credit for clean hydrogen, which brings green hydrogen to par or even below the cost of grey and blue hydrogen, according to analysts. "With the hydrogen production tax credits that are now in place, it has ... allowed green hydrogen to be a lot more competitive," McLeod said. Subsidies will initially allow green and blue hydrogen to compete with grey hydrogen, allowing consumers to switch to cleaner fuel, McLeod said.

☆ Is this the last Christmas for Sears?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Easterling was at the Sears in her hometown of Jersey City, New Jersey, one of only 15 full-line Sears stores still open. The two started a catalog business selling watches and jewelry in 1888, incorporating under the Sears Roebuck name in 1893. The Sears catalog was the way many Americans first started to buy mass-produced goods. File photo/AP People shop inside a Sears store in Morton Grove, Illinois, in 1961. AP Soldiers guard a Sears store in Baltimore after riots broke out following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

☆ Cost-of-living crisis casts shadow over Britain's Black Friday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Britain's retailers are hoping Black Friday discount day will get shoppers spending, though it takes place against a backdrop of a worsening cost-of-living crisis and the distraction of the soccer World Cup. And they have begun their Christmas shopping early this year to help budget their finances. In France, 70% plan to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to research by PwC France. More than a decade since being brought to the UK by Amazon, Black Friday's worth to retailers still divides opinion. Naysayers argue the discounts suck forward Christmas sales with reduced profits and undermine consumers' willingness to pay full price again before the festivities.

☆ Louis Vuitton picks Shanghai for first furniture and homewares store
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Louis Vuitton on Friday announced plans to open a dedicated furniture and homewares store in Shanghai, a world first for the French luxury brand as it aims to expand further into lifestyle offerings to affluent Chinese clients. Louis Vuitton, part of LVMH (LVMH.PA), said in a statement the showroom will be trialled for several months as a pop-up and if successful will then become a permanent feature. A smaller side building is dedicated to showing designs by Frank Chou, the first mainland Chinese designer tapped by Louis Vuitton to collaborate on the Objet Nomades collection, as the furniture and homewares ranges is known. Louis Vuitton dipped its toes into a more lifestyle-oriented offering in China last month when it opened a store in the southwestern city of Chengdu that included an exhibition space and restaurant. Verghese sees homewares as a good bet for Louis Vuitton, especially in China.

☆ Investors in some retail stocks have more than holiday spending to worry about
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But what if investors now face another risk from retail stocks? Here's a screen of high-yielding retail stocks, based on last Friday's close: Kohl's, under pressure from activist investors and its shares down 35% in 2022, now yields 6.2%. American Eagle's dividend payout ratio was at 80% vs 33% one year earlier. Gap's dividend payout ratio was 365%, up from 37% a year ago. Target's dividend payout ratio has risen to 54% from 23%, according to FactSet, while its debt-to-equity has ballooned to 153% from 102%.

☆ Telecom operators won't make much money from tech, strategist says as he discusses crypto, China and chips
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | 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 EmailTelecom operators won't make much money from tech, strategist says as he discusses crypto, China and chipsTelecom operators won't make much money from tech, Cyrus Mewawalla, head of thematic intelligence at GlobalData, says as he discusses crypto, China and chips.

☆ Gap's slowing sales of baby clothes indicate inflation is deeply hurting families
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Customers are pulling back on spending at Gap and Old Navy — particularly in one specific category that shows just how much families are feeling inflation’s pinch. But Gap and Old Navy said Thursday they’re now seeing less spending on babies’ and kids’ items. “Old Navy customers still have a propensity to buy. More than a quarter said inflation motivated those purchases, and half of parents surveyed sold a secondhand item in the kids’ and baby items category. Mercari said parents of kids 2 and under are the most active secondhand shoppers, according to its survey.

☆ Premarket stocks: Get ready for a spending slowdown this holiday season
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Retail sales surged by 1.3% in October. What’s happening: Wednesday’s headline retail sales numbers, reported by the US Census Bureau, came in strong, but the momentum is unlikely to continue. These cracks in retail are starting to show just as the sector enters its most critical sales period: The holiday shopping season. The bottom line: This holiday season will likely be a mixed bag with some winners and losers in the retail sector, said Saunders. “We do have to do some tax rises, do some spending cuts, if we’re going to show we’re a country that pays our way,” he told Sky News on Sunday.

☆ Walmart and Target’s quarterly results lay bare the retailers' stark differences
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Groceries account for 56% of Walmart's annual revenue, compared with just about 20% at Target, according to company filings. More customers turn to Walmart to fill out the bulk of their grocery lists, said Neil Saunders, managing director of retail advisory firm GlobalData. A man pushes his shopping cart past bread for sale at a Walmart SuperCenter store in Rosemead, California. Brown | AFP | Getty ImagesLow prices vs. Fun findsWalmart is known for its mantra of "everyday low prices" and its focus on value has become synonymous with its name. About 21% of sales at Target come from unplanned purchases, according to GlobalData research from before the pandemic.

☆ Walmart earnings: Wealthier shoppers turn to Walmart for groceries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —Wealthier customers pinched by inflation are switching to Walmart for groceries, boosting sales at America’s largest retailer. Walmart is a bellwether of consumer spending, particularly on groceries, which account for more than half of its sales. The company said it is making “strong grocery share gains, including from high-income households.”It’s the latest sign that the highest inflation in decades is altering shoppers’ spending habits, including wealthier customers. Other discount supermarkets and Dollar General (DG) have said they are gaining new, wealthier customers because of inflation. Walmart had to mark down prices on many of these items to entice shoppers to buy, hurting its profit.

☆ Home Depot customers are spending more, but that’s mainly due to inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Now for the bad news: Home Depot lost customers again. The DIY leader said in its third quarter earnings report that the number of customer transactions fell more than 4% from a year ago. Home Depot noted that the average customer ticket was nearly $90, up about 9% from a year ago. “Home Depot is not immune to a tightening economy,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in a report. “Moving into 2023, the picture becomes more complicated and much depends on the trajectory of the economy,” Saunders said.

☆ Retailers' biggest holiday wish is to get rid of all that excess inventory
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Investors want a clearer sense of how much excess stuff retailers have sold off — and how deep they may have to discount to keep merchandise moving. Retailers are under pressure to clear out inventory and start fresh in the next fiscal year. Walmart and Target were among the retailers that shocked investors with significant jumps in inventory levels in the first quarter, which ended April 30. Kohl's swung from having too little inventory last year to having ballooning inventory in the second quarter of this year. Excess inventory could downgrade the shopping experience this holiday season at some stores, too.

☆ Gap Inc. launches its store on Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNNBusiness —Gap announced Thursday that it has officially launched its store on Amazon. While shoppers were able to buy Gap merchandise on Amazon previously through third-party sellers, the new partnership with Amazon Fashion marks the first time that Gap itself is selling its products on the online marketplace. The items, available for purchase beginning today on Amazon US and Amazon Canada, include the basics that Gap is known for — hoodies, T-shirts, denim, socks, underwear and sleepwear for adults, kids and infants. Gap (GPS) Inc. said its Amazon store will also include Baby Gap (GPS)-branded items such as nursery furniture, strollers, bassinets and cribs. None of the Gap items are exclusive to Amazon (AMZN), however, and will also be available for purchase in Gap stores and on Gap.com.

☆ Autos giant Renault is betting the market for gasoline cars will continue to grow
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The tie-up with Geely comes as Renault fleshes out plans to establish an EV spin-off called Ampere. According to Renault, France-based Ampere "will develop, manufacture, and sell full EV passenger cars." This was because, Pieton argued, it created "a world-leading supplier of ICE and hybrid powertrains with around 19,000 employees in the world, covering 130 countries." "Manufacturers need to be flexible in their powertrain offerings according to market needs — which differ across the world." The U.K., for example, wants to stop the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars and vans by 2030.

☆ Adidas will continue to sell Kanye West’s shoe designs without the Yeezy name
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

But Adidas (ADDDF) will continue to sell the lucrative sneaker and apparel line, stripped of the Yeezy name and branding. The company said it’s the sole owner of all Yeezy line design rights for both existing and future colors and versions. The Yeezy line was a key product for Adidas and the fallout has hurt the company. He will have to find ways to replace Yeezy sales and turn around the brand. It would be a mistake for Adidas to continue selling the line, said Darcey Jupp, an apparel analyst at GlobalData.

☆ Kohl's CEO Gass to leave for top job at Levi Strauss
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Uday Sampath Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Kohl's Corp (KSS.N) Chief Executive Michelle Gass will step down and take the helm at Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI.N) amid renewed calls from activist investors for management and board reshuffles at the struggling department store chain. Gass came under renewed pressure from hedge funds Macellum Advisors and Ancora Holdings after Kohl's decided in July to remain independent after exploring a sale. The former Starbucks (SBUX.O) executive, who became Kohl's CEO in 2018, will leave in December to become president at Levi's early next year before taking over from long-time boss Chip Bergh within 18 months. At Levi's, Gass faces the challenge of helping the denim maker navigate out of an inflationary environment that has caused a slump in discretionary spending and hit earnings. Kohl's said Tom Kingsbury, a director nominated by Macellum and Ancora last year, will serve as interim CEO from Dec. 2.

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