Tag: Retail and wholesale
Stores drop MyPillow after CEO pushes election conspiracies
NEW YORK (AP) — The founder and CEO of MyPillow, who amplified President Donald Trump's claims of election fraud, said a backlash against his...
Retail group: holiday sales up 8.3% amid big spending shift
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s largest retail trade group said Friday that holiday sales soared 8.3%, far exceeding its forecast even as the...
U.S. retail sales fell in December for 3rd straight month
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales fell for a third straight month as a surge in virus cases kept people away from stores during...
Instacart, others push incentives to get workers vaccinated
As vaccinations continue across the U.S., some companies are offering financial incentives to encourage their workers to get the shots.
...
Petco goes public again as spending on dogs and cats soars
NEW YORK (AP) — Petco, the pet store chain, went public again Thursday, hoping to cash in on people's obsessions with their furry pets....
Poshmark’s shares soar in debut to public markets
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Poshmark Inc. more than doubled in their stock market debut Thursday, a testament to investor enthusiasm for the...
Connecticut probing Amazon’s e-book deals with publishers
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut authorities are investigating whether Amazon's e-book deals with certain publishers are anticompetitive and violate antitrust laws, state Attorney General...
France opposes foreign takeover offer for supermarket chain
PARIS (AP) — France's government says it opposes the proposed 16.2 billion-euro ($19.6 billion) takeover of French supermarket chain Carrefour by Canadian convenience store...
Target continues to thrive in whirlwind retail environment
NEW YORK (AP) — Target's strong sales streak extended through a pandemic-shrouded holiday season after a hard push online and an increased effort to...
Fed survey finds economy slowing in some areas of country
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Federal Reserve survey of U.S. business conditions has found modest economic gains at the start of the year, although some...
EXPLAINER: Vaccine push gains steam but many still face wait
More Americans are now eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine but they may still face a wait for their first shot even as supplies...
Sephora to fight against racial bias with an action plan
NEW YORK (AP) — Beauty retailer Sephora plans to increase the diversity in its product offerings and offer more inclusive marketing as part of...
NIreland stores see empty shelves as Brexit trade rules bite
LONDON (AP) — The U.K.’s biggest supermarket chains warned Wednesday that food supplies in Northern Ireland face disruption because of new checks imposed by...
Average US price of gas up 9 cents a gallon to $2.35
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 9 cents a gallon over the past three weeks to $2.35.
...
Companies say post-Brexit rules are clogging up UK-EU trade
LONDON (AP) — Some businesses said Friday that costs and paperwork are hampering trade between Britain and the European Union as the reality of...
US services sector grows for seventh consecutive month
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The U.S. services sector, where most Americans work, grew for the seventh consecutive month in December even as coronavirus...
Walgreens tops fiscal 1Q forecasts as it fights pandemic hit
Walgreens Boots Alliance lost $308 million in its first fiscal quarter due to a big charge tied to its ownership stake in the drug...
The Latest: Australia moves up vaccination start to February
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia is advancing the start of its coronavirus vaccination program to mid-February, with plans to inoculate 15% of the population by...
Governors scramble to speed vaccine effort after slow start
New York’s governor threatened to fine hospitals if they don't use their allotment of COVID-19 vaccine fast enough. His South Carolina counterpart warned health...
Walgreens to sell drug wholesale business for $6.5B
Walgreens Boots Alliance will sell its pharmaceutical wholesale business to AmerisourceBergen in a $6.5 billion cash and stock deal.
...
US factories grew in December at fastest pace since mid-2018
WASHINGTON (AP) — American factories grew in December at the fastest pace in more than two years as manufacturing continued to weather the pandemic...
Safety issues mount as skiers hit backcountry in pandemic
DENVER (AP) — On March 14, Colorado's governor issued an executive order shutting down ski resorts across the state. The coronavirus had arrived and...
California sues seafood companies over alleged lead, cadmium
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued five seafood companies on Tuesday, alleging they have sold fish that contains lead and...
From Zoom to Quibi, the tech winners and losers of 2020
We streamed, we Zoomed, we ordered groceries and houseplants online, we created virtual villages while navigating laptop shortages to work and learn from home....
As South Africa’s virus spikes, president bans liquor sales
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reimposed a ban on alcohol sales and ordered the closure of all bars Monday as part...
Effective date delayed for California’s flavored tobacco ban
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California state officials have agreed to delay the effective date of what state lawmakers intended as a Jan. 1 ban...
Holiday sales tick up as shoppers invest in their homes
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales increased a modest 3% during a longer holiday season this year, as homebound shoppers spent more on furnishing...
The Latest: Japan sharply tightens ban on foreign visitors
TOKYO — Japan’s government will temporarily ban entry of all nonresident foreign nationals as a precaution against a new and potentially more contagious coronavirus...
Police: Man steals mini-snow plow, crashes into Target
BAY SHORE, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island man has been arrested after a Christmas morning crime spree that gave new meaning to the...
Consumers still want to get outdoors as temperatures plunge
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Over the summer, people looking to get out of the house snapped up boats, bicycles and patio furniture, figuring they...
Safety a higher priority than sales for many small retailers
NEW YORK (AP) — Dan Marshall’s toy store should be crowded this time of the year with parents and grandparents buying gifts and children...
Feds sue Walmart over role in opioid crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department sued Walmart on Tuesday, accusing it of fueling the nation’s opioid crisis by pressuring its pharmacies to fill...
Pandemic crushes global supply chains, workers at both ends
In her last weeks working the freight shift at the local J.C. Penney store, Alexandra Orozco took out her phone and hit record. The...
Cut off: Britain hit with travel bans over new virus strain
LONDON (AP) — Trucks waiting to get out of Britain backed up for miles and people were left stranded at airports Monday as dozens...
Average US price of gas up 4 cents a gallon to $2.26
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 4 cents a gallon over the past two weeks to $2.26.
...
‘Unbelievable’ snowfall blankets parts of the Northeast
GLENVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — The Northeast’s first whopper snowstorm of the season buried parts of upstate New York under more than 3 feet (1...
California sets teachers, first responders for next vaccines
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Teachers, first responders, and grocery and restaurant workers were among those recommended Wednesday to get the next round of scarce...
Vaccinations reach nursing homes as California faces crisis
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The first COVID-19 vaccinations are underway at U.S. nursing homes, where the virus has killed more than 110,000 people,...
Retail sales fell 1.1% in November, biggest drop in 7 months
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans held back on spending during the start of the holiday shopping season, a troubling sign for retailers and the...
Florida shuts down bay known nationally for its oysters
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Because of a dwindling oyster population, a Florida agency voted unanimously Wednesday to shut down oyster harvesting in Apalachicola Bay...
From restaurants to retailers, virus transformed economies
NEW YORK (AP) — It would be just a temporary precaution.
...
Over-the-counter home test for COVID-19 gets US green light
WASHINGTON (AP) — The first home test for COVID-19 that doesn't require a prescription will soon be on U.S. store shelves.
...
Virus resurgence hits H&M sales, cuts promising recovery
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish fashion retailer H&M says its sales fell 10% in the fourth quarter as the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic...
California subpoenas Amazon over worker safety in pandemic
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Monday asked a judge to order Amazon to comply with subpoenas his office issued nearly four months ago...
Publishing saw upheaval in 2020, but ‘books are resilient’
NEW YORK (AP) — Book publishing in 2020 was a story of how much an industry can change and how much it can, or...
Explosion damages Polish store near Amsterdam, 3rd in 2 days
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An explosion damaged a Polish supermarket in a Dutch town near Amsterdam early Wednesday morning, the third such blast...
CEO of retailer Zalando resigns to prioritize wife’s career
BERLIN (AP) — The chief executive of online fashion retailer Zalando is stepping down to focus on his family, saying his wife's career should...
Average US price of gas up 4 cents a gallon to $2.22
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline rose 4 cents a gallon over the past two weeks to $2.22.
...
Most of California to enter sweeping new virus lockdown
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The vast region of Southern California, much of the San Francisco Bay area and a large swath of the Central...
Southern California, San Joaquin Valley under restrictions
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Faced with a dire shortage of hospital beds, health officials announced Saturday the vast region of Southern California and a...
Vegas execs sue online travel firms, allege unpaid hotel tax
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two prominent Las Vegas communications executives have sued more than 20 online travel companies for back taxes that they say...
Walmart drops $35 minimum for its members’ online orders
NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers on Walmart.com who pay a $98-a-year membership fee will get free shipping on orders of any size starting Friday.
...
Event organizer drops BookExpo, annual publishing convention
NEW YORK (AP) — The annual publishing convention and trade show known as BookExpo, a decades-old tradition where guest speakers have ranged from Bill...
In dark day for UK retailing, 242-year-old Debenhams to shut
LONDON (AP) — The future of around 25,000 retailing jobs in Britain hangs in the balance after the failure of two long-established companies laid...
This holiday season, everyone is shopping from home
NEW YORK (AP) — The viral pandemic is accelerating a transformation of America's holiday shopping season.
...
Philip Green’s retail empire Arcadia calls in administrators
LONDON (AP) — Arcadia Group, the sprawling British retail empire that includes Topshop and has been run by billionaire Philip Green since 2002, was...
Black Friday sees record online as US shoppers stay home
Black Friday online sales hit a new record this year as pandemic-wary Americans filled virtual carts instead of real ones.
...
Tony Hsieh, retired Zappos CEO, dies at 46 after house fire
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tony Hsieh, the retired CEO of Las Vegas-based online shoe retailer Zappos.com, who spent years working to transform the city's...
Virus keeps Black Friday crowds thin, shoppers shift online
NEW YORK (AP) — The raging coronavirus pandemic kept crowds thin at malls and stores across the country on Black Friday, but a surge...
Stocks rise on Wall Street as S&P 500 hits record high
NEW YORK (AP) — The S&P 500 rose to a record high Friday as investors continue to look forward to the distribution of a...
Holiday trends to watch: Adult Play-Doh; stores that ship
NEW YORK (AP) — The pandemic is turning this into a holiday shopping season like no other.
...
Lights, camera, sell: Retailers want you to watch and shop
NEW YORK (AP) — When Jenna Powell gets in front of a camera, she can sell $10,000 worth of sparkly dresses and tie-dye hoodies...
Left for dead, twice, RadioShack gets another shot online
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — RadioShack, a fixture at the mall for decades, has been pulled from brink of death, again.
...
Best Buy reports 3Q results that exceed Wall Street views
NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy Co. reported fiscal third-quarter results that blew through analysts' expectations as the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer enjoyed...
Retail trade group sees solid holiday sales despite pandemic
NEW YORK (AP) — The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, expects that holiday sales could actually exceed growth seen in...
Death on eve of Brazil’s Black Consciousness Day sparks fury
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Black man died after being beaten by supermarket security guards in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre on...
France postpones ‘Black Friday’ to help locked-down shops
PARIS (AP) — France's government on Friday got supermarket chains and e-commerce platforms like Amazon to agree to postpone “Black Friday” promotions, responding to...
GM: New batteries cut electric car costs, increase range
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors says a pending breakthrough in battery chemistry will cut the price of its electric vehicles so they equal those...
Macy’s loses money in 3Q; virus surges into holiday season
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's swung to a quarterly loss and sales tumbled 22% as the department store chain struggled to bring shoppers back...
US mortgage rates fall to new lows; 30-year loan at 2.72%
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week, reaching record lows for the 13th time this year amid fresh signs of weakness...
Barack Obama memoir off to record-setting start in sales
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Barack Obama's “A Promised Land” sold nearly 890,000 copies in the U.S. and Canada in its first 24...
Target gains steam heading into crucial holiday season
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is the latest big box U.S. retailer to show that it's prospering during the pandemic.
...
Toilet paper limits, empty shelves are back as virus surges
NEW YORK (AP) — Looking for toilet paper? Good luck.
...
Amazon opens online pharmacy, shaking up another industry
NEW YORK (AP) — Now at Amazon.com: insulin and inhalers.
...
Fed’s Powell says surge in virus cases threatens US economy
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the nationwide surge in confirmed coronavirus could slow the economy in the months...
Another booming quarter for Walmart, but sales are slowing
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart turned out another stellar quarter as the world’s largest retailer powers through a pandemic that has felled other national...
Weak 0.3% US October sales gain spreads some holiday unease
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales in the U.S. grew a sluggish 0.3% in October, even as retailers offered early holiday discounts online and...
Isolated Americans spend at home; Home Depot is there for it
As the year comes to a close Americans are still stuck at home and that has led to an explosive year for Home Depot....
The Latest: India registers over 30,000 new virus cases
NEW DELHI — India has registered 30,548 new confirmed coronaviruses cases in the past 24 hours, the lowest in the last four months but...
The Latest: Washington gov. may announces new restrictions
SEATTLE — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has scheduled a news conference for Sunday morning as COVID-19 case numbers soar throughout the Pacific Northwest where...
Feds announce COVID-19 vaccine agreement with drug stores
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials have reached an agreement with pharmacies across the U.S. to distribute free coronavirus vaccines after they are approved...
U.S. bankruptcy court approves sale of J.C. Penney
NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney is on course to emerge from bankruptcy by Thanksgiving, after a U.S. bankruptcy court approved the sale of...
Ulta to open beauty shops at 100 Target stores in 2021
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's largest beauty store chain, Ulta Beauty, has a deal to place shops in more than 100 Target stores...
Chinese shoppers splurge in world’s largest shopping fest
HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese consumers are expected to spend tens of billions on everything from fresh food to luxury goods during this year’s...
EU files antitrust charges against Amazon over use of data
LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators filed antitrust charges Tuesday against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of using its access to data from companies...
Google ad costs, not its alleged monopoly, irks businesses
NEW YORK (AP) — When asked about Google, Bryan Clayton voices a familiar lament among small business owners.
...
Beyond Meat shares plummet on weak 3Q, McDonald’s questions
Beyond Meat's stock plummeted Monday after company executives struggled to explain the company's weaker-than-expected third quarter sales and answer questions about whether it will...
Former Microsoft worker gets 9 years in $10M fraud scheme
SEATTLE (AP) — A former Microsoft worker was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison for a scheme to steal $10 million in digital...
Updated menu, celeb collaborations, pump McDonald’s sales
McDonald’s U.S. sales roared back in the third quarter with new menu items and attention-grabbing celebrity collaborations.
...
Average US gas price falls 3 cents to $2.19 per gallon
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline fell 3 cents over the past two weeks to $2.19 per gallon.
...
Books? Hairdressers? Europeans split on lockdown essentials
HALLE, Belgium (AP) — In times when a pandemic unleashes death and poverty, the concept of what is essential to keep society functioning in...
Virus-hit Paris bookshop Shakespeare & Co appeals for help
PARIS (AP) — Shakespeare and Company, the iconic Paris bookstore that published James Joyce’s “Ulysses” in 1922, is appealing to readers for support after...
Ahold Delhaize online sales soar amid global pandemic
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Soaring online sales amid the global coronavirus pandemic boosted global retailer Ahold Delhaize's earnings in the third quarter, the...
English retailers fret over Christmas as lockdown 2.0 looms
LONDON (AP) — This year, the annual illumination of the Christmas lights on London's famous Oxford Street was very much a bittersweet moment.
...
Walmart abandons shelf-scanning robots, lets humans do work
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is laying off the robots it had deployed in about 500 stores to keep tabs on what’s on and...
Crushed by the virus, 2 mall operators file for bankruptcy
NEW YORK (AP) — Two mall operators filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, hurt by the coronavirus pandemic that has forced their tenants to permanently...
The Latest: Biden: I’ve learned from Clinton campaign errors
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the presidential campaign (all times local):
...
Walmart returns guns and ammunition to US store displays
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart has reversed course, announcing it is returning ammunition and firearms to their displays in its U.S. stores.
...
Mississippi city won’t lose lights after threat over debt
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An entire city in Mississippi that was under threat of losing electricity before the end of the year because...
Australia’s second-largest city ends 111-day virus lockdown
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Coffee business owner Darren Silverman pulled his van over and wept when he heard on the radio that Melbourne’s pandemic...
