An old-fashioned start-up
Picture imperfect: from left, Matthias Fiegl, Sally Bibawy, and Wolfgang Stranzinger, shot with a Lomo There is a generational divide around the smell, feel and sound of winding a roll…
Billabong receives second bid from TPG
Billabong, the struggling Australian surfwear company, has received a second takeover bid from US private equity group TPG. The Gold Coast-based company said TPG had lodged a cash offer of…
Peet’s Coffee in near-$1bn buyout by Benckiser
Peet’s Coffee & Tea, a US chain that claims a devoted following of “Peetniks”, is to be acquired for nearly $1bn by Joh A Benckiser, a German family holding company…
Amazon offers aid to warehouse workers
©Getty Amazon is seeking to improve its relations with warehouse workers by offering to fund training in engineering, computing and healthcare as it faces criticism over working conditions and builds…
Dairy farmers and supermarkets draft deal
Dairy farmers have struck a deal “in principle” with processing firms and supermarkets over milk prices but will not necessarily stop protests if retailers go ahead with next month’s planned…
Ma takes firmer grip of Alibaba
Alibaba, China’s largest ecommerce company by revenue, announced an internal restructuring on Monday as the group seeks to refocus management control in the hands of founder Jack Ma. The company’s…
Isabella Oliver eyes international growth
Isabella Oliver, the privately owned online maternity wear specialist beloved of young, wealthy mothers-to-be and Hollywood celebrities, is eyeing international expansion. The company, founded by a husband and wife team…
Small banks seize chance to open their account
If consumers needed any more ammunition to switch away from the big banks, then the recent IT failure at Royal Bank of Scotland, Libor-rigging scandal at Barclays and allegations over…
G4S fiasco puts business in dock
Another week, another big company in the stocks. Amid controversies over Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and GlaxoSmithKline, the failure by G4S to find 10,400 security guards for the…
Tesco scales down ambitions for China
“You’ll find more people in Chernobyl on a winter’s day,” is how one Tesco manager sums up the lacklustre business at one of the company’s Chinese shopping malls. The mall…
Tesco faces international headwinds
Tesco is facing fresh headwinds at its international operations, just as chief executive Philip Clarke is battling to turn round its UK business. The supermarket group has suffered a slew…
Poor summer rains on UK company margins
After weeks of rain and widespread flooding, the UK’s miserable summer claimed more victims on Thursday as companies blamed it for their lacklustre performances. Kingfisher, Britvic and Mitchells & Butlers,…
Household goods sales defy gloom
Statisticians say the country is in recession again and the Bank of England thinks the economy might not grow at all this year. But in spite of the gloom, Britons…
Walgreens and Express Scripts end dispute
Walgreens and Express Scripts settled a heated dispute over fees, ending a breach between the biggest US pharmacy chain and the country’s largest pharmacy benefits manager. Walgreens stopped filling prescriptions…
JC Penney aims to get rid of checkouts
JC Penney, the department store in the midst of wrenching reforms, is aiming to eliminate traditional checkout registers by the end of next year by letting roving staff take payments…