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☆ Adidas Warns of Losses Stemming From Yeezy Fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Adidas said unsold inventory from its Yeezy collaboration with rapper Kanye West, such as these shoes, could deliver a 1.2 billion euro hit to revenues. Adidas AG warned it could swing to a loss in 2023 should it fail to sell its inventory of Yeezy shoes, following the termination of its partnership with rapper Kanye West. The German sportswear giant on Thursday said it expected sales to fall at a high single-digit rate in currency-neutral terms because of the “significant adverse impact of not selling the existing stock” from the once-lucrative Yeezy collaboration. This would lower revenues by 1.2 billion euros (about $1.29 billion), and operating profit by 500 million euros, it said.

☆ Truckers Expect an Inventory-Driven Rebound Later This Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Trucking companies are pinning hopes for a rebound in freight demand on the second half of this year, saying their retailer customers expect to resume restocking after winding down inventories over recent months. Carrier executives say they are hearing from their shipping customers that they expect to return to a more normal ordering cycle this year and start moving bigger volumes closer to the fall shopping season following volatile retail spending and distribution in 2022 that left them overstocked. Inbound volumes at U.S. ports are also down, suggesting fewer goods from overseas are flowing into domestic freight networks. “Trucking is definitely down right now,” said Tom Nightingale, CEO of AFS Logistics, a Shreveport, La.-based logistics operator. She said on a Jan. 18 earnings conference call that the company “has good signals” from shipping customers that they plan to pick up their ordering in the second quarter.

☆ H&M Profit Battered by Rising Costs, Russia Exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

H&M reported a rise in sales but saw its margins eroded by cost inflation. H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB reported a sharp drop in annual profit as rising costs and its decision to exit Russia hampered the fast-fashion giant’s efforts to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic. H&M on Friday reported a net profit of 3.6 billion Swedish kronor, equivalent to $349 million, for the 12 months ending Nov. 30, a 68% decline on the previous financial year.

☆ Amazon Workers in U.K. Go on Strike for First Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amazon .com Inc. workers in Britain went on strike for the first time Wednesday, dragging the e-commerce giant into the wave of labor unrest that has been sweeping the U.K. and other European economies. While Amazon said the industrial action at a warehouse in Coventry in central England would have little impact on its overall operations, the strikes could portend further disruption for the company in one of its most important overseas markets. Union leaders have already vowed to extend strike to other Amazon facilities in the U.K. in a dispute over pay.

☆ Amazon Caught in Wave of European Strike Action
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ This Retailer’s Lifeblood Was Cheap Plastic Toys. Now It Wants to Switch to Wood.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Trefor Moss | Photographs Tobias Nicolai For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

COPENHAGEN—Denmark, the home of Lego, once pioneered the plastic toy. Now one of the country’s biggest toy retailers wants to ditch plastic and go back to wood and other natural materials. Variety-store chain Flying Tiger Copenhagen has grown rapidly across Europe by offering an eclectic mix of cheap toys, gadgets and household items that are often made of plastic. Typical items include a remote-controlled dinosaur for roughly $19, a set of six stick-on mustaches for $4 or a pair of fluffy unicorn slippers for $13.

☆ U.K. Companies Tested by Fallout From Ukraine War
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Trefor Moss | Photographs Mary Turner For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LEEDS, England—Europe has been hit hard by the fallout from the war in Ukraine, putting its companies on the front line of what has become a war of economic attrition between the West and Russia that is playing out alongside the real war in Ukraine. The U.K. is suffering more than other big countries in Europe, economists say. Inflation is running in the double digits, higher than all of its Group of Seven industrialized peers with the exception of Italy; gross domestic product shrank 0.2% in the third quarter year-over-year, setting the U.K. on course for a likely recession. Other big economies like Germany and France are increasingly looking like they may avoid one. The British economy is widely forecast to shrink in 2023, faring worse than every G-20 economy except Russia, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says.

☆ H&M Sales Rise but Lag Behind Rival as Growth Slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

H&M’s overall performance in 2022 has been hampered by the closure of its stores in Russia and Belarus in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB reported a 12% rise in annual sales but the rate of growth slowed in the fourth quarter as the fast-fashion giant grapples with economic uncertainty. The retailer on Thursday said revenue for the 12 months to Nov. 30 came in at 224 billion Swedish krona, equivalent to $21.84 billion. That means the company has yet to bounce back to prepandemic levels, having reported sales of 233 billion krona in 2019.

☆ H&M to Lay Off 1,500 Staff to Stem Rising Costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

H&M was slower to bounce back after the pandemic compared with some of its competitors. H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB said it would cut around 1,500 jobs from its global workforce as retailers around the world face pressure from high inflation and weakening consumer demand. The Swedish fast-fashion company disclosed the layoffs Wednesday as part of a broader efficiency program aimed at reducing administrative and overhead costs. As part of that effort, H&M had been reviewing its organization, Chief Executive Helena Helmersson said.

☆ Gieves & Hawkes, Tailor Favored by British Royalty, Secures Rescue
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Savile Row suit maker has been acquired by Frasers Group, whose brands include a department chain and sportswear retailer. LONDON—Gieves & Hawkes, tailor to royalty and world leaders for centuries, is back in British hands after five ill-fated years of Chinese ownership that threatened its survival. Frasers Group PLC, whose stable of brands include a department store chain and discount sportswear retailer, said Friday it had acquired the Savile Row suit maker in a deal overseen by administrators appointed to sell the assets of its failed former owner.

☆ Amazon Faces $1 Billion Competition Lawsuit in the U.K.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A U.K. lawsuit alleges Amazon has abused its position by ‘promoting offers favorable to Amazon and excluding other sellers’ on its website. Amazon.com Inc. faces a $1 billion lawsuit in Britain alleging it has broken U.K. and European competition law, the latest legal challenge to the e-commerce giant in Europe. The suit, filed in the U.K. on Monday, alleges the company has abused its position by “promoting offers favorable to Amazon and excluding other sellers” on its website, regardless of whether the other sellers were offering better deals. The suit was brought by international law firm Hausfeld & Co. LLP on behalf of Julie Hunter, a member of the Financial Services Consumer Panel, an independent body that represents the interests of U.K. consumers.

☆ IKEA Profit Halves Amid Rampant Cost Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

IKEA’s sales rose last year in value terms but declined by volume. IKEA reported a sharp fall in annual profit as ballooning costs offset record sales, and said it expected shoppers to rein in spending in the coming months. Inter IKEA Holding BV on Thursday said net profit fell by half to 710 million euros, equivalent to $701 million, in the year to the end of August, down from €1.43 billion in the previous 12 months, as the surging cost of raw materials and transportation ate into margins.

☆ Discounters Thrive as Cost-of-Living Crisis Hits European Households
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Discount stores like Poundland are thriving in the U.K.LONDON—Cash-strapped European consumers are flocking to discount stores, company executives say, as the prices of many goods, from food and clothing to electricity and gasoline, keep rising. Discount stores across the region have reported rising sales in recent months and say they plan to open more stores to lure middle-class consumers who are suddenly eager to economize.

☆ IKEA Posts Record Sales Despite Supply-Chain Disruptions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

IKEA stores reported record annual sales despite global supply-chain disruptions and fast-rising costs, in what the company said was a sign of the Swedish brand’s appeal in uncertain economic times. Sales rose 6.5% to 44.6 billion euros, equivalent to $43.3 billion, in the 12 months to Aug. 31 compared with the year-earlier period, Inter IKEA Holding BV said Thursday. Inter IKEA owns the IKEA brand, develops its products and manages its supply chain, stores are operated separately by franchisees.

☆ Lego Owner to Acquire Education-Technology Firm Brainpop
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lego owner Kirkbi A/S is buying U.S. video-learning firm Brainpop for $875 million, according to the companies, as the family behind the world’s largest toy maker expands into the education business. The Danish company said the purchase of Brainpop, which produces short animations used in schools to help children learn everything from math to music, was part of a plan to build a new business pillar. The deal—through which Kirkbi is acquiring Brainpop’s owner FWD Media Inc.—is expected to close Tuesday, the companies said.

☆ Lego Sales Soar Despite Economic Uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lego A/S reported a surge in sales for the first six months of 2022 and said it had won market share from rivals, building on its position as the world’s largest toy maker. The Danish maker of colorful toy bricks said Wednesday that revenue increased 17% compared with the first half of 2021 to 27 billion Danish krone, equivalent to $3.47 billion. It said Star Wars, Technic and Harry Potter themed sets had sold well. Net profit of 6.2 billion krone was down slightly on the 6.3 billion krone reported in the same period last year, during which Lego roughly doubled its profits.

LONDON—The booming market for secondhand luxury goods is creating a dilemma for makers of high-end handbags, fashion and jewelry: Join the trend, or ignore it. Secondhand luxury isn’t new, but its popularity is surging. Steep price hikes by prestigious brands like Chanel SA are driving some luxury buyers to look for less expensive used items. Others are seizing on secondhand goods’ sustainability bona fides: A used pair of designer jeans doesn’t cost any more of the planet’s resources to make.

Property ReportThe biggest landlord of the city street renowned for bespoke tailoring wants to demolish two buildings and redevelop the site as a mixed-use complex, relocating several tailors and in some cases requiring them to move off the row altogether.

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