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Alibaba buying Kaola for $2B, plans launch of own e-commerce business in India

TOP NEWS

* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is buying Chinese tech giant NetEase Inc.'s import online shopping platform Kaola for approximately $2 billion. Following the transaction, Kaola will continue to run as an independent brand. Alibaba has named Tmall Import and Export General Manager Alvin Liu as the new CEO of the business.

* Alibaba Group Holding plans to launch its first fully owned e-commerce business in India through its subsidiary, UCWeb Inc., within the company's current fiscal year ending March 31, 2020, Press Trust of India reported, citing a senior company official.

TEXTILES, APPAREL AND LUXURY GOODS

* Under Armour Inc. appointed Stephanie Pugliese as president of its North American arm, effective Sept. 16. Pugliese will join the apparel retailer from e-commerce company Duluth Trading Co. LLC, where she served as president and CEO.

* G-III Apparel Group Ltd. lowered its non-GAAP diluted EPS outlook for fiscal 2020 to a range of $3.15 to $3.25, from its prior forecast of $3.25 to $3.35 but expects net sales to come in at $3.30 billion instead of $3.28 billion. For the second quarter ended July 31, the company's adjusted diluted EPS of 23 cents surpassed the S&P Global Market Intelligence consensus normalized EPS estimate of 22 cents, while net sales climbed 3.1% year over year to $643.9 million.

* Eyewear company Safilo Group SpA will let go of 80 employees in its headquarters in Padua, Italy, as it launches additional restructuring measures, the company confirmed to Women's Wear Daily. The procedure reportedly is expected to close by Sept. 23 and adds to the 80 workers that it already laid off in August at its manufacturing plants in the towns of Longarone and Santa Maria di Sala.

* LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE plans to hire an additional 1,500 staff for its workshops in France, where the company employs 4,300 people, according to the luxury-goods maker's tweet. The Paris-based company plans to take in the extra staff by 2022.

* Lululemon Athletica Inc. raised its diluted EPS outlook for fiscal 2019 to $4.63 to $4.70 from the prior guidance of $4.51 to $4.58 and lifted its revenue forecast to between $3.80 billion and $3.84 from the previous $3.73 billion and $3.77 billion. For the second quarter ended Aug. 4, Lululemon's diluted EPS came in at 96 cents compared with 71 cents in the year-ago quarter, above the S&P Global Market Intelligence consensus estimate for normalized EPS of 89 cents.

* British Land Co. PLC filed a legal challenge against Monsoon Accessorize Ltd.'s plans to restructure, Sky News reported. British Land reportedly voted against Monsoon's company voluntary arrangement, which would enable the apparel retailer to close 36 of its stores, as owner Peter Simon failed to listen to landlords' concerns regarding its terms. British Land and Monsoon both declined to comment, the report said.

MULTILINE RETAIL

* Nordstrom Inc. will open two new service hubs in New York City, one on Sept. 5 and another on Sept. 27, in order to make it more convenient for customers to access its products and services.

* Macy's Inc. is looking to cut annual cost by $400 million to $550 million and ramp up its productivity over the next two to four years, CFO Paula Price said at Goldman Sachs' global retailing conference.

E-COMMERCE

* Amazon.com Inc. is in talks with Indian retail chains Future Group, Shoppers Stop Ltd. and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd.'s More to help the e-commerce giant enter the offline retail market in the country, The Economic Times reported, citing three senior industry executives. The U.S. retailer owns stakes in the three retailers. The newspaper said Amazon, Future and Shoppers Stop did not respond to requests for comment, while More declined to comment.

* The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority suspended the court action against Viagogo Entertainment Inc. after the ticketing company complied with the watchdog's request regarding how it displays ticket prices on its site. CMA CEO Andrea Coscelli said Viagogo's website now shows where a customer will be seated in a venue and whether they could be turned away at the door, adding that the time the company took to comply with the rule was "clearly not acceptable."

HOUSEHOLD AND PERSONAL PRODUCTS

* Cosmetics label Fenty Beauty, launched by singer Rihanna in partnership with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE's Kendo Brands, opened a flagship store on Alibaba Group Holding's online platform Tmall Global, a move that it expects will make its products more accessible to Chinese consumers.

* Kimberly-Clark Corp. CEO Michael Hsu said the company has not been affected by the trade war between China and the U.S. since it makes it products locally for local consumers, CNBC reported.

FOOD AND STAPLES RETAILING

* Pharmacy chains CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. asked its customers to stop bringing firearms in its stores, joining similar initiatives by retailers Kroger Co. and Walmart Inc., which also recently restricted ammunition sales at its stores.

* Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV is trialing a fully digital, checkout-free Albert Heijn store called AH to go in front of the chain's support office in Zaandam, Netherlands. The store will be tested with associates over the next two months.

HYPERMARKETS AND SUPERCENTERS

* Costco Wholesale Corp.'s net sales in August grew 6.9% to $11.79 billion from $11.03 billion in the same month a year ago, with a 5.5% comparable sales growth across the company's global operations and 23.9% increase in e-commerce comparable sales.

* Wal-Mart de México SAB de CV, or Walmex, said total consolidated sales for the month of August grew 7.7% year over year to 52.68 billion Mexican pesos.

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL

* Rent-A-Center Inc.'s board declared a dividend of 25 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2019, payable on Oct. 9 to shareholders as of Sept. 23.

* Sonos Inc. will launch its first battery-powered smart speaker for outdoor-use, called Sonos Move, on Sept. 24.

SPECIALIZED CONSUMER SERVICES

* Sotheby's shareholders approved the art auction house's sale to art collector and telecom entrepreneur Patrick Drahi in a deal with an enterprise value of $3.7 billion that is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary conditions.

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The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.66% to 26,690.76, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.54% to 21,199.57.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.8% to 7,265.62, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.18% to 1,080.49.

On the macro front

The employment situation report, the quarterly services survey and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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