TOP NEWS
* San Francisco-based e-commerce company Stitch Fix Inc. acquired the technology and intellectual properties of Finery for an undisclosed amount, Women's Wear Daily reported, citing an email distributed to users of the digital wardrobe startup. Finery users reportedly have until Sept. 6 to download their saved wardrobes before the company closes its operations.
* Hudson's Bay Co. is closing its Dutch stores by the end of 2019, scrapping about 1,400 jobs, Reuters reported, citing Dutch business daily Het Financieele Dagblad. The department store chain has 15 stores in the country that will be closed "due to an ongoing and untenable financial situation," the newspaper said, citing a letter to undisclosed recipients.
TEXTILES, APPAREL AND LUXURY GOODS
* Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. reported a 9.9% year-over-year rise in domestic same-store sales in August for its flagship apparel brand Uniqlo following strong sales of core summer ranges and other items. The brand recovered from a 10% year-over-year decline in same-store sales in July.
* Zara, a brand owned by Industria de Diseño Textil SA, expressed its support for China's "one country, two systems" policy amid protests in Hong Kong against rules through which the Asian country governs its territories, Reuters reported. The apparel retailer reportedly made the statement in response to local newspaper Ming Pao's inquiry over closure of four shops in Hong Kong. Zara did not immediately respond to the news agency's email seeking comment.
* Arcadia Group Ltd. is separating shared human resources and IT functions in the company as it looks to split its brands for a possible sale at a later stage, The Sunday Times reported, citing sources. A company spokesman denied the news to Drapers, saying the British apparel retailer's board "is now fully focused on implementing its turnaround plan across all its brands" following completion of its company voluntary arrangement. David Shepherd reportedly also resigned as COO of Arcadia.
* Li Ning Co. Ltd. hired Kosaka Takeshi, former group senior vice president of Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. and COO of its Uniqlo China unit, as co-CEO of Li Ning, the company's executive chairman. Shares of the Chinese apparel retailer closed up nearly 5% on Sept. 2 to HK$24.25 following the announcement.
MULTILINE RETAIL
* Global index provider FTSE Russell listed Marks & Spencer Group PLC as one of the companies to be relegated from the FTSE 100 index as its shares continued to fall in 2019. The department store chain's stock reached £1.87 in London mid-morning trading on Sept. 3, down 1.61% from the previous close and nearly 40% lower year over year.
HOUSEHOLD AND PERSONAL PRODUCTS
* British household products maker Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC said former CEO Rakesh Kapoor has retired from the company's board, effective immediately.
* Beiersdorf AG completed its $550 million purchase of sun care brand Coppertone from Bayer AG. As part of the transaction, Coppertone's approximately 450 employees in the U.S., Canada and China, along with its Cleveland, Tenn., production center, will transfer to the Nivea skin cream maker.
* Mary Ma, who has served as an independent nonexecutive director at The Unilever Group since 2013, died on Aug. 31. Ma was a member of the audit and compensation committees of the company's board.
FOOD AND STAPLES RETAILING
* Tesco Personal Finance PLC, known as Tesco Bank and is owned by U.K. grocery retailer Tesco PLC, confirmed the sale of its mortgage portfolio to Lloyds Banking Group PLC for a cash consideration of £3.8 billion. Tesco Bank has more than 23,000 mortgage customers.
HYPERMARKETS AND SUPERCENTERS
* German food retailer Metro AG sold 11 Cash & Carry stores in Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic for over €250 million in a sale-and-leaseback transaction. Metro's real estate arm, Metro Properties, sold the stores to asset manager FLE GmbH, a subsidiary of France's LFPI Group.
* Wal-Mart de México SAB de CV, or Walmex, now offers same-day delivery for certain household and technology items ordered online, Reuters reported. The service applies to around 12,000 products within certain dimensions, such as laptops, mobile phones, televisions and clothing irons, the report said.
HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL
* Sports Direct International PLC is backing a lawsuit launched by Debenhams PLC's landlords against its proposed restructuring to drive the department store chain out of the business and "pick up its assets on the cheap," the Financial Times reported. The landlords reportedly expect the High Court to overturn the decision by Debenhams' creditors to approve its company voluntary arrangement, an insolvency process that allows struggling companies to restructure. Sports Direct declined to comment on the news agency's report.
* Steinhoff International Holdings NV nominated Mazars Paardekooper Hoffman Holding NV as its external auditor for fiscal 2019.
* U.K.-based housewares producer Portmeirion Group PLC appointed Mike Raybould, currently group finance director, as its CEO, replacing Lawrence Bryan, who will continue to serve as a director. The company also named David Sproston, previously group financial controller and finance director of Portmeirion Group UK Ltd., to the position of group finance director.
HOTELS, RESORTS AND CRUISE LINES
* Indian travel service provider Cox & Kings Ltd. has engaged Lazard Ltd. for a potential sale of Berlin-based hospitality chain Meininger Hotels, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Representatives for Cox & Kings, Lazard and Meininger reportedly declined to comment.
LEISURE PRODUCTS AND FACILITIES
* Lego Group said it is making upfront investments to grow the business, which includes launching in new markets, as it posted revenue for the first half of 2019 that grew 4% year over year to 14.8 billion Danish kroner. The group said it will expand its presence in India by opening an office in Mumbai in early 2020 and plans to continue to invest in China. It also expects to have more than 140 stores across 35 cities by the end of 2019.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Gambling revenue in Macao dropped 8.6% year over year in August to 24.26 billion Macanese patacas, while accumulated gross revenue for 2019 declined 1.9% to 198.22 billion patacas, according to data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
* Retail sales in Australia fell 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, following a 0.4% rise in June, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In trend terms, retail sales rose 0.1% during the month.
* Total retail sales in the U.K. remained flat year over year in August, while a 0.5% drop was recorded on a like-for-like basis, data from the British Retail Consortium showed. "Greater economic and political uncertainty has driven down consumer demand," said CEO Helen Dickinson.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.39% to 25,527.85, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.02% to 20,625.16.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.30% to 7,259.44, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.47% to 1,061.71.
On the macro front
The Purchasing Managers' manufacturing index, the Institute For Supply Management's manufacturing index and the construction spending 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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