Retail in america

The resignation of Glossier CEO Emily Weiss inspired another wave of obituaries for young, female founders. Nevertheless, they persist—and refuse to be put on glass pedestals again. I n October 2021, Rent the Runway cofounder Jennifer Hyman took her 12-year-old subscription fashion company public at a $1.7 billion valuation, valuing her 5.1% stake at nearly $49 million. The 41-year-old CEO was one of only about 25 American women in history to go public with a company she had founded. But Rent the Runway’s IPO was even more unusual for not only having a female founder but also a female CFO and a female COO. Hyman celebrated the moment on a flowery Nasdaq podium surrounded by the key women on her team, her two daughters and a shower of pink confetti. But for all the femininity on stage, there is one word that Hyman would not use to mark the moment: “Girlboss.” “We've created a false narrative because we looked at two or three examples of women who were building businesses … [Read more...] about Why Female Entrepreneurs Welcome The End Of The Girlboss Era—Once And For All

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Candid patients receive custom aligners and orthodontist-designed digitally mediated treatment ... [+] plans. Candid What started as two twentysomethings’ desire to bring straight teeth to everyone is turning into a better way to do braces, especially with a mouthful of new cash. Candid is an orthodontics company that gives customers the power to buy a clear orthodontist-created alignment plan online—at 65% less than traditional braces . In 2012, recent Stanford grad and Lyft special operations employee Nick Greenfield had dental insurance for the first time in his life, providing him the opportunity to finally get his teeth straightened. When he realized this molar movement would cost some thousands of dollars, he decided to build a low-cost alternative. Inspired by the success of Warby Parker, Casper and other direct-to-consumer disruptors, he had the idea to do just that for braces. Looking … [Read more...] about Something To Smile About: Candid Raises $63 Million To Be The Warby Parker Of Braces

Shares of Morgan Stanley ( MS ) climbed after the bank announced plans for stock dividends and buybacks . Morgan Stanley shares rose over 3% after the company increased its dividend and announced a $20 billion stock buyback. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo also boosted their dividends. Goldman had one of the largest dividend increases, with a 25% hike to $2.50 per share. Bank of America’s increase came to 5%, while Morgan Stanley raised its dividend by 20%. JPMorgan and Citigroup both held the line on their dividends, and said that increasingly stringent capital requirements forced the firms to keep them unchanged. JPMorgan did announce a new $30 billion stock buyback plan that began back in May. "It is notable that JPMorgan and Citi did not increase their dividends given that they are much more cautious about the health of U.S. consumers than other banks, and even though they have ample capital to sustain a downturn, they still think it is prudent to be … [Read more...] about Big Banks Announce Dividend Plans

A Sri Lanka Air Force member checks the tokens of people queueing for fuel due to fuel shortage, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 27, 2022. - A + A COLOMBO (June 28): Sri Lanka will allow companies from oil-producing countries to import and sell fuel, the power and energy minister said on Tuesday, ending a duopoly as it tries to overcome a shortage of petrol and diesel that is exacerbating an economic crisis. The Cabinet decision came as the minister, Kanchana Wijesekera, headed to Qatar and a ministerial colleague was due to arrive in Russia on Sunday for talks on energy deals. Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since its independence, with foreign exchange reserves at a record low of US$1.92 billion, according to the Central Bank, though analysts estimate a lower level of useable funds. The island of 22 million people is struggling to pay for essential imports of food, medicine and, most critically, fuel. Sri … [Read more...] about Cash-starved Sri Lanka to end fuel duopoly to ease shortages

- A + A MILAN (June 28): Dufry AG, the world's biggest duty-free operator, and the Benetton family's Autogrill SpA are working on a deal that would create a leading player in travel retail, the Italian company said on Tuesday, confirming a previous report by Bloomberg. Autogrill confirmed that "there are ongoing discussions, without any exclusivity, regarding a possible integration" with Dufry, according to a statement. Talks between the Swiss and Italian companies were at an advanced stage and an agreement could be signed as soon as next month, people familiar with the matter said earlier, asking not to be named as the discussions were private. Under the deal structure being considered, Dufry would purchase Autogrill and pay in shares, the people said. The Benettons would in turn be the new listed entity's biggest single investor, with a stake of about 20%, the people said. An accord in the travel business would mark a second major deal for Alessandro Benetton … [Read more...] about Autogrill confirms talks with duty-free giant Dufry on tie-up

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): I-Bhd, the master developer of i-City Golden Triangle which is Malaysia’s No. 1 Technology City, is set to stride forward with confidence as the rebound in its business activities gathers momentum. Signs of renewed optimism and rebound are evident in all its major developments, the company said. "Passenger traffic is back at 2019 levels of 90% at Central i-City shopping mall which is a joint-venture between i-City and Thailand’s largest retail property developer, Central Pattana group. "Following the transition to endemicity, the leisure theme park has returned to profitability and [is] seeing a return to its pre-pandemic foot traffic. "The i-City Convention Centre (iCCC) is experiencing good take-up, especially on pent-up demand, as events and activities could not be held over the last two years," it said in a statement released after the company's annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday (June 28). Meanwhile, I-Bhd said Best … [Read more...] about I-Bhd strides ahead with confidence following rebound in business

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): Poh Huat Resources Holdings Bhd's net profit for the second quarter ended April 30, 2022 (2QFY22) jumped 81.75% to RM23.08 million from RM12.7 million in the same period last year, mainly driven by higher furniture shipments from Malaysia. Quarterly revenue grew 12.57% to RM186.34 million from RM165.53 million, as production activities for both the group's operations in Malaysia and Vietnam continued to do well on the back of sustained orders from its customers in North America. "In particular, our Malaysia operations registered strong growth compared to the previous year's corresponding quarter as we ramped up production to clear order backlogs following the resumption of production after MCO 3.0 (Movement Control Order 3.0). Our Vietnam operations also registered higher shipment, albeit at a more modest level," Poh Huat said. As such, its earnings per share almost doubled to 8.71 sen from 4.79 sen previously, its bourse filing … [Read more...] about After 82% jump in 2Q profit, Poh Huat sees signs of demand slowdown in US amid soaring prices

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): Mah Sing Group Bhd has acquired a new plot of land in the district of Tebrau, Johor Bahru — the group's first land deal this year — to develop a mixed project that will have an estimated gross value of about RM469 million. In a statement Tuesday (June 28), Mah Sing said the prime land parcel — measuring about 6.938 acres and valued at RM39.29 million — is located in Taman Seri Austin next to an existing McDonald's drive-through, and is accessible via Persiaran Eco Cascadia. The proposed mixed project, M Minori, will comprise three blocks of serviced suites with 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom units, with indicative build-outs ranging from 550 sq ft to 880 sq ft, with indicative prices starting from RM260,000. “It is about 6.5km from Mah Sing’s Johor office in the matured township of Austin Perdana, and is targeted for registration of interest in the fourth quarter of 2022. This proposed mixed development also features some retail … [Read more...] about Mah Sing buys Johor land for new mixed project with RM469 mil GDV

Our exposure to chatbots is at an all-time high. From customer service to commerce to healthcare, chatbots are the fastest growing brand communication channel , thanks to their ability to handle issue resolution, remove friction in surfacing common information, and enable self-service to relieve human bottlenecks. advertisement advertisement But the growing chatbot landscape shows signs of fracture. In a recent study, over half of consumers who use chatbots cite dissatisfaction due to the frustration caused by “inconsistent answers” across chat and human assistance, while ranking preference of digital service channels like social media, human chat, and even email over chatbots. A finer point still, 60% of consumers would still rather interact with a human than a brand’s chatbot because of the ability to solve more complex and personal problems. The irony is that a chatbot’s premise to exist is to offload human-to-human interactions while … [Read more...] about Chatbots need to evolve to stay relevant in the age of virtual assistants

Financial Supervisory Service building in Yeouido, western Seoul. [YONHAP] Assets of financial holding companies increased 7.4 percent in the first half compared to six months earlier as demand for loans rose, Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) data showed Tuesday. Total assets of the 10 financial holding companies increased 194 trillion won ($164 billion) to reach 2,823 trillion won. The 10 companies are KB, Shinhan, Nonghyup, Woori, Hana, BNK, DGB, JB, Korea Investment and Meritz Holdings. By categories, assets owned by investment firms grew the fastest — increasing 18.9 percent or 48.3 trillion won. This was due to an increase in the value of equities they hold and increases in deposits by retail investors for stock trading. Assets of commercial banks increased by 6.5 percent or 128.6 trillion won from a surge in loans. At credit card companies, assets grew by 7.1 percent or 10.3 trillion won from January to June. For insurance companies, assets increased by 3.7 percent … [Read more...] about Finance sector sees healthy rise in assets in first half