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Amazon expands Whole Foods perks for Prime; Lord & Taylor lands on Walmart.com

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Amazon expands Whole Foods perks for Prime; Lord & Taylor lands on Walmart.com

TOP NEWS

* Amazon.com Inc. is offering Prime members additional discounts on groceries already on sale at Whole Foods Market Inc., confirming reports that it will expand perks, which will include free two-hour delivery service in select cities, for its Prime subscribers. Members will be eligible for an extra 10% off sale items, typically hundreds of products throughout the store, plus weekly deep discounts on select best-selling items. The new benefit will be available at all Whole Foods stores in Florida and will expand across all Whole Foods and Whole Foods Market 365 stores in the U.S. this summer.

* Hudson's Bay Co.-owned department store chain Lord & Taylor will roll out a new store on Walmart Inc.'s e-commerce site in the coming weeks that will feature 125 brands, including Tommy Bahama, Vince Camuto and Miss Selfridge. Orders over $35 will be eligible for Walmart's free two-day shipping.

TEXTILES, APPAREL AND LUXURY GOODS

* Burberry Group PLC reported earnings for fiscal 2018 that exceeded expectations as it made good progress on its multiyear strategy to reposition its brand in the luxury space. For the 12 months ended March 31, the British fashion label reported that adjusted diluted EPS rose 6% year over year, or 10% on a constant-currency basis, to 82.1 pence from 77.4 pence, ahead of the S&P Capital IQ consensus normalized EPS estimate of 80 pence. Revenue fell 1% to £2.73 billion from £2.77 billion a year earlier. In lunchtime trading in London, Burberry's shares were up more than 2%.

* Footwear retailer PUMA SE has split from its luxury goods parent Kering SA, effective May 16, following receipt of shareholder approval, during the French conglomerate's annual general meeting. As previously announced, Kering will retain a 15.85% holding in the German company after distributing PUMA's outstanding shares to Kering investors.

* Hillhouse Capital and CDH Investments, the private equity owners of shoe retailer Belle International Holdings Ltd, are looking at spinning off the company's sportswear and apparel distribution business for a Hong Kong IPO, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News. A potential listing reportedly could take place as early as 2019, with one source saying it could raise about $1 billion. However, the sources said, discussions about floating the unit remain at an early stage, adding that Belle's owners, including management, may opt against the move.

* Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. Japanese apparel unit GU plans to open its first South Korean store at the LOTTE Corp.-owned Lotte World Mall in Seoul in the fall of 2018. The planned 1,400-square-meter location will offer items for women, men and children.

* Victoria's Secret, womenswear label of L Brands Inc., may have indicated an inventory problem at its loungewear line Pink as it sent customers an email with the subject line "OOPS, WE MADE TOO MANY!" Business Insider reported. The email informed customers of a 40% off sale at its Pink brand, suggesting that the brand is using promotions to clear inventory and attract customers. Pink CEO Denise Landman said during L Brands' fourth-quarter earnings call that the apparel label "had areas of success and disappointment" resulting to a mixed performance in the period.

MULTILINE RETAIL

* Target Corp. said that its next-day delivery service of household essentials, Target Restock, is now available across the United States, free for Target Redcard purchases and costs $2.99 for all others with no membership fee. Customers can place an order for a box weighing up to 45 pounds as late as 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and the general merchandiser will deliver the items the next day. Separately, the general merchandiser also will launch a redesigned men's grooming products section at 11 of its stores, offering more than 600 products ranging from $1.49 to $199.99, with plans of introducing the new section to 80 more locations by 2018-end.

E-COMMERCE

* Amazon.com Inc. is opening Amazon Go stores in San Francisco and Chicago. According to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle, the online marketplace is planning to open the cashierless convenience store in the city, saying company representatives recently informed the local government that they would be applying for required building permits. Meanwhile, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed to The Seattle Times that Amazon was planning to open stores in San Francisco and Chicago but did not specify when. Recent job postings on Amazon's website show that the e-commerce giant is looking to hire store managers in both cities.

* Ctrip.com International Ltd. partnered with payment services providers UnionPay International Co. Ltd. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.-owned Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co. Ltd. to launch its first credit card outside China, the Nikkei Asian Review reported. The launch of Trip.com Global Card, which will be available beginning June 6, reportedly intends to tap into the market of Japanese tourists traveling abroad as it will offer benefits such as hotel reservation discounts through Ctrip's Trip.com global portal.

FOOD AND STAPLES RETAILING

* Australian supermarket operator Woolworths Group Ltd. will build a new distribution center in Melbourne, which will store and deliver fresh produce and chilled products to its supermarkets in Victoria. The new Melbourne facility, which is expected to create 2,400 new jobs, will replace the current operations at its Mulgrave produce and recycling distribution center by late 2020.

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL

* U.K. home improvement retailer Wickes Ltd. will slash 100 jobs at its Watford, England, office in order to "be leaner and more agile" as the company focuses on its multichannel and digital businesses, Retail Gazette reported, citing a company spokesperson. The subsidiary of Travis Perkins PLC reportedly was affected by the 4.6% drop in the like-for-like sales of its parent's consumer division for the first quarter of 2018.

* IKEA Group appointed Javier Quiñones as country retail manager of its U.K. and Ireland division, effective June 1, replacing Gillian Drakeford, who is set to move to IKEA Concept owner Inter IKEA Systems as retail system manager, Retail Gazette reported. Prior to his appointment, Quiñones was the company's deputy retail manager for the region.

HOTELS, CASINOS AND GAMING

* Paddy Power Betfair PLC confirmed that its U.S. business is in talks to purchase online fantasy sports site FanDuel "to target the prospective U.S. sports betting market." The Ireland-based gaming company said negotiations are ongoing, but there is no certainty that an agreement would be reached. According to a report by the Financial Times, Paddy Power is looking to capitalize on the lifting of a sports betting ban by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 14.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* A proposed change to federal laws could make disposing of aerosol cans easier and cheaper for retailers, a retail trade group said. The Retail Industry Leaders Association, or RILA, said it supports the proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency, which would classify aerosol cans as "universal waste," lowering some barriers around how the cans can be disposed of or recycled. If the rule is adopted, retailers and others involved in the disposal of aerosol cans would be able to store greater quantities of the cans for longer periods of time.

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The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.13% to 31,110.20, and the Nikkei 225 was down 0.44% to 22,717.23.

In Europe, as of midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.13% to 7,732.64, and the Euronext 100 had fallen 0.09% to 1,070.51.

On the macro front

The MBA mortgage applications report, the Housing Starts report, the Industrial Production report, the Atlanta Fed's business inflation expectations survey and the EIA petroleum status report are due out today.

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