E-commerce

Stars align for luxury circular economy

23 Dec 2020

The pandemic and a desire to save the planet will prompt shoppers to buy pre-owned apparel. Luxury items’ lasting charm may unlock a $600 bln market for old Gucci, Hermès and other high-end brands. Even manufacturers could get in on the act, marrying financial and ESG goals.

Corona Capital: Vaccine dibs

21 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Vaccine prioritization is about to get competitive.

Wish’s cut-price approach fails to extend to IPO

8 Dec 2020

The owner of the cheap-and-cheerful e-commerce site reckons it’s worth up to $14 bln. Wish’s gamification of online shopping is a bit like China’s hugely successful Pinduoduo. The valuation suggests too much optimism that the model will translate for a U.S. audience.

Buy-now-pay-later exposes regulation blind spot

8 Dec 2020

Sweden’s Klarna and Australia’s Afterpay both allow punters to buy goods and defer payment. Opinion is divided over how regulators should treat any loss on the enabling financing. Balancing innovation and stability is hard, but the rules right now aren’t clear enough.

Corona Capital: Movie releases, Ads, Running

4 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: HBO Max uses its muscle on movie releases; advertising wins some and loses some; Brooks’ beast year.

Pinduoduo rises to China’s grocery challenge

30 Nov 2020

The e-commerce company unveiled plans to raise as much as $6.1 bln to expand in fresh food. Competition is fierce and building out logistics will be costly, but its model of matching farmers to shoppers gives it an edge. And boss Chen Lei has successful experience as an underdog.

Corona Capital: Scotland, EU impasse, Amazon

27 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Scottish independence gets a viral shot in the arm; Poland and Hungary take a united stand on the European Union’s recovery fund; and the online retail giant delivers a modicum of Christmas cheer to workers.

Alibaba and Hong Kong celebrate happy anniversary

26 Nov 2020

Both have been rocked in various ways in the year since the Chinese tech titan completed its landmark $13 bln secondary listing. At the same time, more companies have followed suit and boosted the city’s trading volume. Benefits may keep accruing if indexes retrain their sights too.

Corona Capital: Tiffany, Biden, Vaccines, Cash box

24 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The cut-price jeweller issues less-than-sparkling results; the U.S. president-elect gets to start tackling the pandemic; Russia touts its discount vaccine; and UK firms gorge on shareholder-unfriendly equity issues.

Russia is blessing and curse for e-commerce IPO

19 Nov 2020

Online marketplace Ozon’s New York offering values it at up to $5.6 bln. A big and underpenetrated market is a plus, as are barriers to foreign rivals. But subsidising deliveries in the world’s biggest country means it’s burning cash. The $1 bln fundraising may not be its last.

Corona Capital: Brexit curveball, Sonos

19 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: a Covid-19 scare for European Brexit negotiators puts an already-optimistic deadline to the test; and wireless-speaker maker Sonos joins the list of companies profiting from consumers being stuck indoors.

Hut Group’s long-term pay plan is far too short

19 Nov 2020

The recently listed beauty tech firm’s boss Matthew Moulding is 900 mln pounds richer after meeting bonus targets. But the company’s shares only needed to rise 30% for him to do so, and he can sell his shares in March. It’s a pretty odd way to design a long-term incentive plan.

Corona Capital: Dimon weighs in, Gen Z

18 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: JPMorgan’s chief executive calls for U.S. politicians to “just split the baby” on stimulus; and Generation Z deals a new body blow to the idea that office life will emerge from the pandemic unscathed.

Walmart explores perks of being second best

17 Nov 2020

The retailer’s online sales are soaring, and it has rolled out a membership model akin to Amazon Prime. Jeff Bezos’s firm is miles ahead. But like Disney, whose streaming service is quickly catching up to Netflix, there are benefits for Walmart in riding a rival’s coattails.

Corona Capital: Home Depot

17 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Home Depot will benefit as DIYers move inside.

Corona Capital: DraftKings, Palantir Technologies

13 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: DraftKings gets lucky; Palantir needs to hike faster.

Viewsroom: Chinese tech crackdown, The vax trade

12 Nov 2020

Beijing took Alibaba, Tencent and others to task over monopolistic practices; and global financial markets got a boost from Pfizer’s revelation that its Covid-19 vaccination may be super-effective. Breakingviews columnists around the world weigh in on both developing stories.

Tencent’s super status can survive antitrust dig

12 Nov 2020

Dominance in gaming and messaging boosted quarterly sales 29%. Compared to e-commerce giant Alibaba, Tencent’s ubiquitous WeChat app depends less on subsidies and other practices singled out by regulators. The $681 bln tech giant benefits from boss Pony Ma’s low profile too.

Corona Capital: Lyft, Vaccine minefield, Peru

11 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The U.S. ride-hailing company is tempted by food delivery; Pfizer could face high demand for its coronavirus vaccine; and Peru gets another leadership shuffle just as Covid-19 cases soar.

Jeff Bezos and Margrethe Vestager can get along

10 Nov 2020

The Amazon CEO may balk at charges from Europe’s antitrust tsar that his company distorts retail competition. Possible remedies, like sharing data or erecting internal firewalls, will hurt. Still, Vestager is trying to cope with Amazon’s dominance, not end it. That’s something.