TOP NEWS
* Lowe's Cos. Inc. reported that adjusted diluted earnings per share for the 13 weeks ended Feb. 2 fell to 74 cents from 86 cents in the 14-week period a year earlier, dropping short of the S&P Capital IQ consensus normalized EPS estimate of 87 cents. In a statement, the home improvement retailer said the fourth-quarter adjustments included 2 cents associated with U.S. tax reforms and 5 cents for a one-time cash bonus for eligible hourly U.S. employees.
* Online travel services giant Booking Holdings, formerly known as Priceline Group, reported a loss in the fourth quarter of 2017 but said it expects to return to profit in the first three months of 2018. For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2017, its net loss was $555.5 million, or $11.41 per share, down from a profit of $673.9 million, or $13.66 per share, in the year-ago period. For the first quarter ending March 31, Booking forecasts net income between $445 million and $465 million, or between $9.05 and $9.45 per diluted share, while revenue is expected to grow between 17.5% and 21.5%.
TEXTILES, APPAREL AND LUXURY GOODS
* Nike Inc. unveiled a new digital and retail concept in New York, Paris, London and Shanghai that the company calls its "sneaker destination for women" with more locations soon to follow. The new concept stores will include members-only services and personalized products for women, as well as same-day order delivery and "exclusive hours" for VIP customers.
MULTILINE RETAIL
* U.S. department store operator Macy's Inc. disclosed in its fourth-quarter 2017 earnings release that it plans to continue exploring opportunities in fiscal 2018 to unlock the value of its real estate portfolio. In February, Macy's reached a deal to sell seven floors in one of its Chicago locations for an aggregate $30 million to a Brookfield Asset Management Inc.-backed private real estate fund. The transaction is set to close in the first half of fiscal 2018.
E-COMMERCE
* Amazon.com Inc. will buy California-based smart doorbell maker Ring for over $1 billion as part of the company's plan to expand into the smart home market, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. An Amazon spokesman confirmed the acquisition but declined to comment on the terms of the deal, the report said.
* Ebates Inc., a subsidiary of Japanese internet services provider Rakuten Inc., sold its Chinese cash-back shopping business to cross-border shopping guide 55haitao.com for an undisclosed sum, allowing the San Francisco-based company to newly focus its resources on China. With the deal, 55haitao.com said it now plans to offer the Ebates in-store cash-back feature to Chinese tourists who visit the same merchants' brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S.
FOOD AND STAPLES RETAILING
* Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV, which operates the Food Lion and Stop & Shop chains in the U.S., said net income in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2017, jumped to €744 million from €178 million in the year-ago period. The supermarket giant, based in Amsterdam, also said it would return €2 billion to investors in 2018 through a share buyback program after proposing a 10.5% year-over-year increase in its dividend.
* U.S. soft drinks giant Coca-Cola Co. will eliminate 250 to 350 jobs after setting up a new operating model for its bottling system as well as reorient some positions and create new ones, MarketWatch reported. The beverage maker, which employs about 12,400 people in the U.S., confirmed the layoffs with the news outlet and said most will occur in its head office in Atlanta.
* Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp. ended high-level talks in a transaction that could have been worth about $25 billion, CNBC reported, citing unnamed sources who added that discussions could resume. Neither Walgreens nor AmerisourceBergen immediately responded to S&P Global Market Intelligence requests for comment.
HYPERMARKETS AND SUPERCENTERS
* Walmart Inc. will launch four new private apparel brands for men, women and children called Time and Tru, Terra & Sky, Wonder Nation and George, which will be available in the company's physical stores and online portal beginning March 1. Walmart also will roll out its first stand-alone e-commerce brand called Allswell, a mattress and bedding line that will be sold exclusively at AllswellHome.com.
HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL
* The U.K. arm of Toys R Us went into administration Feb. 28 after a protracted search for a buyer was unsuccessful. Administrator Moorfields Advisory said it would conduct "an orderly wind-down of the store portfolio over the coming weeks." Toys R Us UK operates 105 stores and employs about 3,000 staff.
* Toys R Us is in talks to sell 85% of its Asia joint venture to Fung Group in a deal that could value the business at $1 billion or more, sources told Bloomberg. William and Victor Fung, managers of the Hong Kong-based company that owns the remainder of Toys R Us Asia, are considering finding partners to join in their purchase and possible IPO of the company, the report said.
* Ulta Beauty Inc. has been hit with two class-action lawsuits accusing the U.S.-based retailer of reselling used cosmetics that came from a "damage bin" of returned products and is facing additional probes by law firms. Kecia Steelman, Ulta's chief store officer, denied the allegations saying the beauty retailer does not sell "used, damaged, or expired products," and adding that Ulta takes protecting its brand integrity "very seriously."
CASINOS AND GAMING
* Casino operator ALH Group, a unit of Australian retailer Woolworths Group Ltd., engaged a Canadian gambling regulator after reports citing Fairfax Media alleged that employees profile customers and ensure that they "put as much money into the machines as possible." ALH said it will "rectify any breach" in compliance with hospitality laws, while its parent said it is taking necessary steps to ensure that ALH remains a "responsible gaming operator."
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