TOP NEWS
* EBay Inc. said Devin Wenig will step down as its CEO, president and director, effective immediately. The e-commerce company's board appointed CFO Scott Schenkel as interim CEO. Andy Cring, eBay's vice president of global financial planning and analysis, was named interim CFO.
* Peloton Interactive Inc. priced its IPO of 40,000,000 class A common stock at $29 per share. Peloton's shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol PTON, effective Sept. 26.
TEXTILES, APPAREL AND LUXURY GOODS
* V.F. Corp. expects adjusted EPS to grow at a five-year CAGR of between 12% and 14% compared to fiscal 2019 figures. Sales through 2024 are expected to grow at a five-year CAGR between 7% and 8%, with most growth coming from its largest brands, including Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Dickies.
* Ted Baker PLC named Debenhams Retail Ltd. CFO Rachel Osborne as its new CFO. Osborne will join Ted Baker and its board "within the next few months."
* Foot Locker Inc. invested $3 million in Los Angeles-based startup Commerce Media Holdings LLC, which does business as NTWRK, to release exclusive products and original content on the e-commerce platform. NTWRK raised a total of $10 million in a series A funding round led by Foot Locker and Live Nation Entertainment Inc.
* EssilorLuxottica SA expects the growing global demand for corrective vision wear to lift the sales of its eyewear brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley through 2023, according to an investor presentation. The France-based optical wear producer expects synergies in its supply chain, technology and manufacturing to generate cost savings of up to €600 million by 2022-2023.
* LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton SE-owned Thélios confirmed that it will make Dior eyewear collections after Safilo Group SpA announced in July that its licensing agreement with the brand will expire Dec. 31, 2020, Women's Wear Daily reported.
* Lululemon Athletica Inc. is winding down its Ivivva business and will shutter its remaining seven stores of the girl's activewear brand by mid-2020 as it looks to grow its men's and international sales, CNBC reported, citing a company executive. The move comes two years after the Canadian clothing chain started scaling back the business and closed about 40 of its 55 Ivivva stores and converted half of the remaining stores to Lululemon-branded branches.
E-COMMERCE
* Amazon.com Inc. started exploratory talks to pick up a minority stake in value fashion chain Max from The Landmark Group, The Economic Times (India) reported, citing two senior industry executives. The potential move comes amid uncertainties surrounding the U.S. e-commerce giant's plan to acquire a stake in Reliance Retail Ltd. due to the chain's high valuation and the tighter foreign direct investment rules in India, the report said. A spokesperson for Amazon India reportedly declined to comment, while Reliance Retail and Landmark Group's Indian arm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
* Flipkart Online Services Pvt. Ltd. added more than 50,000 direct jobs in preparation for the festive season and its six-day Big Billion Days sales event beginning Sept. 29, The Economic Times (India) reported, citing a company statement. The Walmart Inc. unit reportedly hired for positions across its supply chain, logistics arm and customer support, and also expects to raise the number of indirect jobs on its platform through the seller network by 30%.
* Affiliates of funds managed by Apollo Global Management Inc.'s affiliates finalized their acquisition of Shutterfly Inc. in a cash deal with an enterprise value of approximately $2.7 billion.
HOUSEHOLD AND PERSONAL PRODUCTS
* Coty Inc. appointed Pierre Denis and Beatrice Ballini to its board. Denis is the CEO of Capri Holdings Ltd.-owned Jimmy Choo Ltd., while Ballini is a senior member of the Retail Practice at advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates.
* Firmenich International SA agreed to acquire a 17% stake in Robertet SA for €683.30 per share. The fragrance manufacturer is also in talks of establishing a broader collaboration with Robertet in the long term.
FOOD AND STAPLES RETAILING
* X5 Retail Group NV said its board approved its decision to transform its Karusel hypermarket format over a two-year period. The food retailer plans to expand 34 Karusel stores into large supermarkets under the Perekrestok brand by early 2021, close 20 leased Karusel locations by 2022 and evaluate what to do with the remaining 37 Karusel stores while maintaining their operations.
HYPERMARKETS AND SUPERCENTERS
* Coles Group Ltd. lost a A$40 million case it filed in November 2018 against the Australian Taxation Office after the federal court ruled that the retailer was not eligible for fuel tax credits, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Coles reportedly claimed that it was eligible for fuel tax credits on the 107 million liters of evaporated fuel sold through its Express service stations.
HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL
* Best Buy Co. Inc. said it is aiming for an enterprise revenue of $50 billion for fiscal 2025 and expects revenue of $43.1 billion to $43.6 billion for fiscal 2020. The electronics retailer is also targeting non-GAAP operating income rate of 5% and $1 billion of additional cost reductions and efficiencies for 2025.
* Home furnishing retailer AllHome Corp. priced its IPO at 11.50 Philippine pesos, valuing the company at about $826 million. The offering reportedly could raise up to $285.35 million, making it the largest IPO in the country in the last three years.
* Home improvement retailer Via Varejo SA is considering selling the domain Extra.com to former controlling shareholder Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA-owned Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição, Reuters reported, citing Chairman Michael Klein. Klein reportedly told journalists that it is "still valuing the domain to begin talks with GPA or other groups," adding that the company plans to reactivate its own credit operations using the digital framework provided by BanQi.
LEISURE PRODUCTS AND FACILITIES
* Mattel Inc. launched Creatable World, a gender-inclusive doll that has extensive wardrobe combinations. The doll line consists of six different kits that are available in a variety of skin tones.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* U.K. retail sales volume continued to decline for the fifth consecutive month in September, though retailers expect sales to fall at a slower pace in October, the Confederation of British Industry said. Of the retailers surveyed, a net balance of negative 16% indicated a drop in retail sales volume, compared with a year ago, albeit at a slower pace than the negative 49% balance in the prior month.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng jumped 0.37% to 26,041.93, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.13% to 22,048.24.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.99% to 7,362.13, and the Euronext 100 climbed 0.70% to 1,089.32.
On the macro front
The GDP report, the international trade in goods report, the jobless claims report, the corporate profits report, the retail inventories report, the wholesale inventories report, the pending home sales index, the EIA natural gas report, the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index, the Fed balance sheet and the money supply 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.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 8 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
