Consumer Products and Services

Ron Perelman puts Revlon to its own landmark test

15 Jan 2016

Thirty years after buying the cosmetics maker in a controversial court fight, the billionaire investor may sell it. His legacy is a bedrock M&A rule: Boards must get the best deal for shareholders. It’s a contribution to the law that may even surpass his financial deeds.

Worst CEO job in America for 2016? P&G

29 Dec 2015

David Taylor will struggle to make his mark on the lumbering $200 bln giant. His predecessor-turned-Chairman A.G. Lafley already axed weaker brands, leaving Taylor to sort out growth. He may be forced to break up the Tide-to-Pampers icon or spend the year fighting calls to do so.

Greater China slowdown bedevils Prada

15 Dec 2015

Over nine months of 2015, U.S. and Middle Eastern sales slipped. But Greater China was the showstopper. Local currency retail sales tumbled 24 pct in the region. The $9 bln label’s chosen focus – it even listed in Hong Kong – is looking like the wrong economic and fashion choice.

Avon colors new activist-buyout battle lines

4 Dec 2015

The makeup company is under fire from a pushy investor and may call on private equity firm Cerberus to help. Motorola and NCR similarly just sold minority stakes to Silver Lake and Blackstone. This growing white-knight role suggests the targets aren’t the only ones with troubles.

Unilever’s growth could shrink in the wash

15 Oct 2015

The Anglo-Dutch soap and soup company grew sales nearly 10 pct in Q3. That’s unexpectedly good. It doesn’t, though, mean the emerging markets for which Unilever is a bellwether are recovering. Leave aside currency moves and hot demand for ice cream, and the outlook is lukewarm.

J&J buyback a sensible regimen for ailing stock

13 Oct 2015

The pills-to-Band-Aids group will use debt to repurchase $10 bln of shares, adding to a healthy dividend. CEO Alex Gorsky can credibly argue that currency swings and a full but slow drug pipeline make the stock underpriced. It’s the rare case when juicing its value is justified.

P&G’s Lafley leaves second act only half finished

29 Jul 2015

The $217 bln nappies-to-razors giant’s CEO passes the baton barely two years after returning to the job. A.G. Lafley has sold divisions, cut costs and killed duff brands, but P&G’s shares barely budged. It now falls to David Taylor to reignite growth - or risk activists’ ire.

Coty’s $12.5 bln P&G deal slaps on too much makeup

9 Jul 2015

The fragrance giant is touting $550 mln of cost cuts from buying its larger rival’s beauty business. But that overstates the financial benefits of a tie-up that will take time and money to consummate. Coty’s once over-enthusiastic investors are at least seeing through the gloss.

Uber’s rocky ride hits smooth patch on Wall Street

8 Jul 2015

Opposition to the ride-hailing service is mounting from Paris to Mexico City to New Delhi. Silicon Valley’s $50 bln darling is getting a warm reception, however, from the likes of JPMorgan. Bankers are not only obvious customers, but also would love to drive Uber’s eventual IPO.

Nike displays unsportsmanlike governance conduct

1 Jul 2015

Founder Phil Knight’s transfer of stock that allows him to elect a majority of the board to a foundation constitutes a foul of sorts. Though investors will give the sneaker giant a pass for its extraordinary performance, their successors may rue that failed call.

Coty takes farcical route to right CEO

25 Jun 2015

Bart Becht is staying as the perfume maker’s interim boss, a week before outsider Elio Sceti was due to take over. The former Reckitt chief and dealmaker is just who Coty needs if its bid for P&G’s beauty business succeeds. But it hardly counts as a well-planned succession.

Coty investors in premature lather over P&G swoop

16 Jun 2015

The fragrance group’s shares rose 19 pct on reports it won the auction for its rival’s perfume, cosmetics and shampoo brands. That implies some punchy cost cuts on a complex, as yet unsigned deal that may tie up resources for some time. Shareholders may have to rinse and repeat.

Under Armour dresses in ugly Google governance

16 Jun 2015

The $18 bln athletic-wear maker wants to hand out a new class of stock, as the web search giant recently did, to keep control in founder Kevin Plank’s hands. Super-voting stock is bad enough. Changing the rules on shareholders is worse. The Great Man theory has gone wild.

Play time is over for Toys R Us owners

11 Jun 2015

A decade after a $6.6 bln buyout by Bain, KKR and Vornado, the Barbie-to-Nintendo retailer is trying another new CEO. The chain’s weak financials put it in a class with peers struggling against Amazon. To climb into the sandbox with winners like Michaels will take hard work.

P&G may attract eye of another pushy investor

9 Jun 2015

Bill Ackman turned tail soon after he persuaded the $210 bln Tide-to-Charmin consumer giant to oust its CEO and bring back A.G. Lafley. The former boss has had limited success. With P&G’s growth weak and its shares underperforming, another activist could be tempted to have a go.

Avon gets a swipe of lipstick from a pig, er, PTG

14 May 2015

The embattled beauty firm’s stock surged after a fake offer for almost three times its value landed with the SEC. Whether it was a joke, mistake or dumb attempt at market manipulation won’t matter to disappointed Avon shareholders. But for the SEC, it’s a red-faced embarrassment.

Sharp’s $1.9 bln bailout won’t cut it for long

14 May 2015

The ailing Japanese electronics group’s creditors have rescued it for the second time in less than three years. But its restructuring plan looks too timid given its level of financial distress. Without an improbable revenue pickup, Sharp’s future will remain on a knife-edge.

Flipped mattress maker may keep boards up at night

11 May 2015

H Partners has succeeded in ousting Tempur Sealy’s CEO, independent chairman and another director - without proposing replacements. Now the fund is getting two board seats and leading the search for a new boss. Snagging that much power without much of a plan sets a big precedent.

Thruppence: Can Snapchat unmask dodgy borrowers?

8 May 2015

Alternative lender Affirm has raised $275 mln for a model that rates creditworthiness using social media data alongside other old-school indicators. Breakingviews columnists debate whether info gleaned from Facebook and its ilk could supplant traditional credit-scoring methods.

Sony’s Walkman sayonara is step in right direction

18 Feb 2015

Spinning off the division renowned for popularizing personal electronics is the latest mini-move from boss Kazuo Hirai to revive the Japanese conglomerate. The break with tradition could have more than just symbolic value if it augurs further efforts to tackle Sony’s discount.