Retail

Walmart can discount tariffs only so much

15 May 2025

The $750 bln retailer will raise prices, weeks after it put on a happier face. JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon also warns that recession remains a threat despite lower duties for China. Sustained gloom signals to the White House that there’s a limited supply of ways to shield shoppers.

Swatch activist risks tripping over family ties

14 May 2025

The $9 bln watchmaker is the target of US investor Steven Wood, who is trying to muscle onto the board. Sprucing up the luxury unit and investing in the firm’s online offering could fix its share price. But convincing the controlling Hayek clan to loosen its grip will be tricky.

Amazon’s Day 1 memo contains handy tariffs guide

1 May 2025

In 1997, founder Jeff Bezos said his company would 'obsess over customers' and focus on the long haul. Living up to that ethos means eating some steep import levies or at least posting them clearly. Otherwise, it sends a message of thinking shorter-term and less about shoppers.

Shein is next litmus test for India-China ties

22 Apr 2025

Beijing’s desire to keep supply chains in the People’s Republic puts the fast fashion retailer’s partnership with Reliance in focus. The fate of the alliance will test how far President Xi Jinping is willing to take the "dragon-elephant tango” as Sino-American ties worsen.

LVMH’s opaque succession merits investor discount

15 Apr 2025

The $300 bln luxury giant wants shareholders to raise the retirement age for chair and CEO Bernard Arnault to 85, perhaps giving him another decade in charge. Lack of clarity about who takes over, or how his five children will share control, weighs on the group’s enviable record.

Walmart’s happy face is hard to reflect back

9 Apr 2025

The $700 bln retailer kept forecasts of at least 3% sales growth and 3.5% higher operating profit for 2025. Such confidence jars with US tariffs and recession risks both rising. Boss Doug McMillon has navigated downturns before, but unpredictability levels blunt his reassurance.

Dismal dollar-store deal upends recession logic

26 Mar 2025

Discount chain Dollar Tree is selling its down-market brand for $1 bln to private equity, after buying it for $9 bln in 2015. As consumers show signs of struggling, catering to all income levels would seem a safe bet. Tariffs and government cuts turn that rationale on its head.

Nike’s boss is on a runaway turnaround treadmill

21 Mar 2025

CEO Elliott Hill issued a disappointing sales forecast, sending shares down 7%. A sneaker glut may require deep discounting and the tired brand needs a jumpstart. Investors’ benefit of the doubt is stretched to breaking point as earnings plunge, threatening yet more pain.

Klarna’s wisest IPO aim is a modest valuation hike

17 Mar 2025

The buy now, pay later firm made a net profit in 2024 as it eyes a US listing. Klarna was once worth $46 bln, but the last funding round only fetched $7 bln. While a new Walmart deal helps, rocky markets and the need for a discount to rival Affirm imply little more than $10 bln.

Seven & i’s latest revamp leaves stale aftertaste

7 Mar 2025

Incoming boss Stephen Dacus is keeping plans to sell the $37 bln firm’s superstores and list its US business. What’s new is using the proceeds to buy back $13 bln of stock over five years. That’s no strategy for growth or unlocking value. A sale to Couche-Tard still looks best.

Alibaba’s comeback has redeeming features

21 Feb 2025

The Chinese giant's market value is up 60% to $320 bln this year. The e-commerce unit is recovering, strengthening funding for its promising cloud and AI ventures. It vindicates boss Eddie Wu's decision to shelve a breakup. But fierce competition will keep margins under pressure.

Amazon superstore becomes harder to justify

6 Feb 2025

The $2.5 trln e-commerce company competes with Microsoft in the cloud, Walmart in retail and Meta and Alphabet for ads. With AI, it’s even harder to be great at everything against such strong rivals. An eroding premium suggests that keeping it all under one roof makes less sense.

Bad things come in small US package taxes

5 Feb 2025

Bluntly ending a duty-free exemption on Chinese goods costing less than $800 will affect more than Shein and Temu shoppers. A $50 parcel could double in price, by one estimate, hurting small merchants, too. Retaliation and more supply-chain upheaval are also apt to hike the bill.

LVMH signals US is yet to be luxury’s new China

29 Jan 2025

The $368 bln French group’s China weakness meant its shares had a torrid time in 2024. A surge in richer Americans’ wealth implies the US could be an alternative luxury growth engine. Underwhelming results at LVMH, normally a bellwether, suggest this remains a work in progress.

Puma offers bad mix of sprained ankle and silence

23 Jan 2025

The $5 bln German sportswear group’s shares plunged 20% after a bad fourth quarter, in contrast to Adidas’ strength. Puma’s plan to compete involves selling direct to consumers and a flashy new sports shoe. A key part of investors’ concern is its caginess on what’s going awry.

Reliance is latest prong of US’s India pitchfork

17 Jan 2025

Earnings at Mukesh Ambani’s $198 bln giant grew 7%, supported by its energy business. But US sanctions against Russian oil will dull gains from a 10-yr supply deal it just signed with Rosneft. The curbs appear to have caught it off guard and threaten its share price recovery.

Richemont shine casts fuzzy light on luxury rally

16 Jan 2025

The $94 bln Swiss group’s shares rose 16% as the Cartier owner smashed quarterly sales forecasts. The numbers pushed up rival stocks like LVMH. That seems premature. US consumers may offset weak Chinese spending but most of its competitors lack Richemont’s jewellery focus.

Adani’s consumer exit crystallises costs of crisis

6 Jan 2025

The Indian infrastructure group will end a 25-year-old cooking oil joint venture with Wilmar. The sale of its stake to its Singapore partner is discounted and convoluted but, if all goes well, the deal will raise $2 bln and boost the embattled seller's financial position.

Sour grapes spill beans on squashed grocery deal

11 Dec 2024

After trying to unite for two years, Albertsons and Kroger each claimed the other broke their contract a day after US judges nixed the $25 bln merger. The blame game may well end in a stalemate. It also suggests trustbusters astutely divined a ruthlessness veiled in so much M&A.

Blocked grocery mega-merger tips rolling M&A cart

10 Dec 2024

A US judge ruled Kroger’s $25 bln union with Albertsons is anticompetitive, siding with President Biden’s trustbusters. The decision further ingrains some of their bolder ideas. Dealmakers and CEOs planning shopping sprees under a new administration could use the reality check.