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TOP NEWS
*Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever NV unveiled a new structure designed to give itmore flexibility that includes unifying its corporate headquarters in theNetherlands. Unilever saidit would introduce a single holding company that would be incorporated andtax-resident in the Netherlands with one class of shares that it intends tolist in London, Amsterdam and New York. In addition to the governance changes,Unilever said it would restructure its business into three divisions — beautyand personal care, home care, and foods and refreshment.
*Toys R Us Inc. filednew bankruptcy court documents that will lead to the sale or closing of all 735U.S. stores. The retailer also plans to pursue a reorganization and saleprocess for its Canadian and overseas operations in Asia and central Europe,including Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Its businesses in Australia,France, Poland, Portugal and Spain are considering options including potentialsales. The company's U.K. division also announced it was all of its stores.
TEXTILES, APPAREL &LUXURY GOODS
*Fashion retailer H&M Hennes& Mauritz AB on March 15 reported that fiscal first-quartersales declined year over year despite an increase in stores. Sales includingvalue-added tax in the three-month period to Feb. 28 fell to 53.55 billionSwedish kronor from 54.37 billion kronor a year earlier. Store numbers increasedto 4,743 from 4,393. In midday trading, H&M shares were down 4.2%.
*Warby Parker has raised $75 million in its latest round of funding led by T.Rowe Price, bringing its total funding to almost $300 million to date, CNBC reportedMarch 14. The New York-based eyeglass retailer reportedly plans to use themoney for research and development and technology investments.
MULTILINE RETAIL
*U.S. department stores operator Sears Holdings Corp. said its net incomeattributable to shareholders increased to $182 million, or $1.69 per dilutedshare, during the fourth quarter ended Feb. 3. The company had a net loss of$607 million, or $5.67 loss per diluted share, during the same period in 2017.It posted EBITDA of $2 million during the period, compared to $61 million inthe fourth quarter of 2017.
*Privately owned retailer L.L.Bean Inc. has shut down its internet of thingsproject amid articles calling the concept "creepy" for its ability totrack a customer's location and clothing after purchase, The Wall Street Journal reported.The plan was to test the use of a blockchain ledger and sensors attached tocoats and boots to access customers' demographic information, according to thereport.
E-COMMERCE
*Japan's Fair Trade Commission raided Amazon.com Inc.'s Japanese unit on suspicion of apossible antitrust violation, Reuters reportedMarch 15, citing a company spokesperson and Kyodo news agency. The e-commercecompany is suspected of asking vendors to shoulder part of the cost incurredfrom selling their products at a discount on the online platform, according tothe report.
*JD.com Inc.plans to partner withHong Kong fashion brands and launch its drone delivery service and unstaffedconvenience stores in the region, the SouthChina Morning Post reported, citing the company's senior businessdevelopment manager, Ben Chuk. The report added that the e-commerce companyalso partnered with Li & Fung(Retailing) Ltd. to develop AI-based retail solutions and build anAI research center. Separately, the company said it planned to leverage itse-commerce capabilities in China as it seeks to expand its automotiveaftermarket business. The Chinese e-commerce giant already sealed partnershipswith more than 30,000 authorized offline stores.
*EBay Inc. andMeredith Corp.-owned consumer magazine and digital platform Time Inc. willpartner to pilot anAI-based shopping platform to allow customers to shop for items they see in thepublication's fashion articles, InternetRetailing reported. The new platformreportedly will use eBay's "Shop the Look" technology, which itlaunched in 2016.
*Rakuten Inc.completed its tenderoffer for 16,773,720 shares of non-life insurer Asahi Fire & MarineInsurance Co. Ltd. The Japanese online services and e-commerce giant made atender offer of ¥2,664 per share of Asahi's common stock and ¥10,656 per shareof the insurer's series A class stock. The offer came after Japanese bankNomura Holdings Inc. agreed to sell its Asahi shares to Rakuten on Jan. 29.
FOOD & STAPLES RETAILING
*Chipotle Mexican GrillInc. Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Mark Crumpacker willstep down from hisrole March 15 after more than nine years with the U.S. restaurants operator.
INDUSTRY NEWS
*The U.S. Department of Commerce reported adecline of 0.1% in retail sales for February. It was a third consecutive monthof decline in retail sales and signaled a slowdown in economic activity duringthe first quarter of 2018. Retail sales data for January were revised to show adecline of 0.1%, instead of 0.3% as previously reported.
