Retail

Price may be Couche-Tard’s lowest Seven & i hurdle

21 Aug 2024

The Canadian suitor may be able to cut enough costs to offer a 40% premium for its rival, valuing it at $59 bln. But antitrust concerns might require selling some US assets. And the target's status in Japan as a quasi-national asset will complicate attempts to seal a deal.

Couche-Tard may find 7-Eleven bid more convenient

19 Aug 2024

The Circle K owner’s preliminary offer sent shares of the retailer’s $38 bln Japanese parent Seven & i up. The target is plotting its own rejig, with support of activist ValueAct. But fair M&A guidelines ensure the bidder a warmer initial reception than the one it got in France.

Alibaba and JD reveal two ways to cope in downturn

16 Aug 2024

China's $190 bln e-commerce group relies on ad sales and is betting on new tech for a turnaround. Its rival sells to shoppers and is focusing on supply chains to boost earnings. The diverging fortunes rest on who spends more: cash-strapped firms or cost-conscious consumers.

Attention retail shoppers: Walmart is different

15 Aug 2024

The $600 bln company’s sunny financial results and outlook shined brightly, lifting stock prices across an industry darkened by spending and recession fears. Its size and breadth make it a highly imperfect bellwether, however. There are better guides for consumption trends.

Hong Kong faces China’s other consumption slump

14 Aug 2024

Spending is weak on the mainland, but retail sales in the financial hub have fallen for four months in a row. That's due to a double whammy of locals and tourists buying less. The city's once resilient landlords are cutting dividends - an ominous sign of more pain to come.

Bangladesh becomes global firms’ next big unknown

6 Aug 2024

Protests may ease now Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has fled. But her ouster after 15 years of iron-fist rule leaves the economically struggling country of 170 mln vulnerable. Companies like H&M and Inditex that depend on it for garment-making face an anxious time ahead.

Diageo’s succession hangover has fuzzy duration

30 Jul 2024

The $67 bln drinkmaker’s 2023 promotion of CEO Debra Crew was seamless. But Diageo’s share price has slumped since, and some of the problems are self-inflicted. Crew’s future may hinge on a rebound of US consumer sentiment, rather than any bold change of strategy.

Consumer titans have Covid-era issue, in reverse

26 Jul 2024

In the pandemic, Nestlé and Unilever’s higher prices were accompanied by falling sales. Now they are tempting consumers to buy more products, but prices are harder to budge. One issue hasn’t changed: the giants’ vulnerability to cheaper and healthier eating habits.

French luxury’s China pain may be more evenly felt

24 Jul 2024

Headwinds from Beijing are affecting the performance of Hermès, LVMH and Kering. The three groups continue to operate in different leagues, but they share a common dependence on the People’s Republic. China’s shaming of luxury implies Hermès may be less insulated than before.

Burberry faces a lengthy stay in the bargain bin

15 Jul 2024

Shares in the $3.4 bln UK fashion group fell 17% after it replaced its CEO and suspended its dividend. New boss Joshua Schulman’s plan to refocus on trench coats isn’t certain to work. But Burberry fare’s waning appeal also limits the scope for a deep-pocketed acquirer like LVMH.

Underdogs force Nike into game of defense

28 Jun 2024

The Converse owner's shares fell sharply after it warned on weaker sales. Rival upstarts have been giving Nike a run for its money, and the company is backpedaling on its direct-to-consumer push and doubling down on product innovation. Trouble is, it's starting on the back foot.

Wanted: A buffed-up board to put a sheen on Shein

28 Jun 2024

The $63 bln fast-fashion giant needs to find a chairman and board directors ahead of a London IPO. Providing comfort to fund managers jittery about Shein’s supply chain and cheap clothes will be tough. Breakingviews imagines how a headhunter might approach potential candidates.

Britvic can swerve Carlsberg dilution

21 Jun 2024

The soft drinks maker rebuffed a $4 bln cash deal from the Danish beer giant. Carlsberg wants to boost its no-alcohol business, so may yet return with a more generous offer. But Britvic’s cocktail of geographic expansion and low-sugar drinks means it can also grow on its own.

Shein’s tax perk is as American as apple pie

20 Jun 2024

The fast-fashion retailer and its rival Temu skirt import levies courtesy of a loophole critics want to close. That’s easier said than done. In any case, the Chinese-founded firms aren’t the only ones to build empires with the aid of quirks in the US tax system.

Permira has many motives to kill its Golden Goose

19 Jun 2024

The sneaker brand blamed Europe’s political uncertainty for pausing its $1.9 bln listing. Yet a sluggish luxury market and slower growth had already forced it to scale back its price ambitions. For the private equity shop, avoiding a repeat of Dr. Martens’ IPO flop is paramount.

Golden Goose IPO to test its Super-Star status

11 Jun 2024

The maker of pricey sneakers liked by Taylor Swift will list in Milan. But sales are slowing and keeping a 34% profit margin while investing in growth is hard. As a luxury boom flags, a relatively discounted IPO value of 2 bln euros including debt is appropriately conservative.

Dollar Tree rejig is tale of haves and have nots

5 Jun 2024

The $26 bln discount chain’s main brand is attracting shoppers with deeper pockets, a similar pattern to Walmart. The more downmarket Family Dollar, acquired in a takeover battle a decade ago, is struggling. Cutting it loose could help shareholders uncover a bargain.

Big Macs are pricing out American shoppers

23 May 2024

The driving force of the world’s largest economy, US consumers, may be buckling under higher costs on everything from lattes to burgers. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate whether Main Street stalwarts like Starbucks or McDonald’s face a reckoning.

China stock rally leaves Alibaba out in the cold

13 May 2024

The e-commerce giant’s shares are up less than 5% this year despite Tencent’s surging by a quarter. Boss Eddie Wu is promising stock buybacks and dividends. But investors are sceptical on Alibaba's growth prospects and whether it can unlock value after a botched restructuring.

Inditex’s golden era is coming to an end

3 May 2024

Asian disruptor Shein is threatening the $142 bln Zara owner’s fast-fashion crown with ultra-cheap wares. Dismissing the risk may threaten its market share. To protect the Spanish giant’s business, CEO Óscar García Maceiras has plenty of cash but no obvious M&A solution.