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International Business

  • Alipay expands North American presence

    More North American shoppers will have access to Alipay.   Through a partnership with leading luxury travel retailer DFS Group, Alipay’s in-store mobile payment service will be available in DFS’ Honolulu International Airport store, and its downtown T Galleria by DFS, Hawaii store in advance of the Chinese New Year. DFS Group launched Alipay in its airport stores in SFO, LAX, and JFK in 2016.  

  • Yankee Candle modernizes front end

    Yankee Candle is all about catering to its customers. A new point-of-sale will help associates further drive this experience.  

  • Home improvement giant taps veteran as finance chief

    Lowe's Companies has promoted a 20-year company veteran to CFO.   The retailer announced that Marshall A. Croom will succeed Robert F. (Bob) Hull Jr. as chief financial officer, effective March 3. Hull plans to retire after 17 years with the company.   

  • Eyeglass retail giant in $49 billion merger

    Luxottica Group, the leading eyeglass retailer with multiple U.S. store banners, has entered into a deal that would create a global giant in the optical industry.   Luxottica, whose brands include LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Oliver Peoples, and Pearle Vision, will merge with lens-maker Essilor International of France in a deal valued at $49 billion. The merger brings together the industry’s largest manufacturer with its leading retailer.    

  • Amazon poaches Target exec for Prime expansion

    One of Target’s rising stars is joining Amazon to drive Prime membership in international markets.   Jamil Ghani, Target’s former senior VP of strategy and innovation, will champion the growth of the retail giant’s Prime presence overseas. He will report to Greg Greeley, VP of Amazon Prime, and be based out of the company’s Seattle headquarters, according to ReCode.  

  • Alibaba turns sights to brick-and-mortar

    Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is making a play for a department store and mall operator in China.   The company made a $2.6 billion bid for Intime Retail, with a plan to take it private, reported the New York Times. Alibaba already owns a 28% stake in the company, which operates 29 department stores and 17 shopping malls in China, mainly in first- and second-tier cities.  

  • Another department store retailer cuts sales outlook in wake of gloomy holiday

    Hudson's Bay Co. is the latest department store retailer to report weak holiday sales.   The Canadian retailer, whose banners include Hudson’s Bay, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, reported a 0.7% decrease in consolidated comparable sales in the nine-week holiday selling period that ended Dec. 31.  

  • Canadian firm acquires American Apparel — but not all of it

    Canadian apparel manufacturer Gildan Activewear Inc. emerged as the winner in the court supervised auction to acquire the bankrupt American Apparel brand and some of its other assets. The company, however, will not be purchasing American Apparel’s 110 retail stores.   Gilden’s $88 million winning bid was higher than its initial proposal of $66 million, which was made back in November as part of a stalking horse portion of American Apparel LLC’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing.   

  • Proposed Republican tax reforms would hit these retailers the hardest

    Apparel retailers might be in for tough going if proposed tax reforms pass.  

  • Report: Walmart Canada settles dispute with Visa

    A six-month battle between Walmart Canada and Visa has come to an end.   The retailer, which threatened to ban the card processor from all of its stores nationwide due to “unacceptably high” credit-card transaction fees, has ended its feud, and will resume accepting Visa cards at its more than 400 stores starting Friday, Jan. 6.  
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