TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) – A joint venture set up by Japan’s Sony Group Corp (6758.T) and Honda Motor (7267.T) is aiming to deliver its first electric vehicles by 2026 and will sell them online, starting in the United States and Japan.The new EV will also be priced at a premium, offering a new software system developed by Sony that would open the way to recurring revenue from entertainment and other services that would be billed monthly, the companies said.The update from the joint venture, Sony Honda Mobility, is the first since the two companies launched the project in June.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. .
Key details, including pricing, battery range and even the platform for the new vehicle have not been determined, but representatives of the new company detailed a vision for a vehicle that would function almost like a rolling smartphone.Sony will provide the software system for the new car, from the onboard controllers to cloud-based services that will connect with entertainment and payment systems.It will also provide sensors and other technology for a Level 3 autonomous drive system that will allow for drivers to pay more attention to the content and software services that will be offered.In Level 3 systems, also known as limited self-driving automation, drivers can ride without watching the road or handling the wheel on highway driving but need to be ready to take back control.Tesla (TSLA.O), General Motors(GM.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Mercedes Benz(MBGn.DE) all offer some form of hands-free driving assist systems.“As safe driving technology will continue to evolve and the amount of concentration required to drive will be reduced, we should consider new ways to enjoy and spend time in the cabin space as a whole,” said Izumi Kawanishi, the joint venture’s president and executive at Sony.Honda will decide on the platform that the new vehicle will use and details like the battery supplier. The still-to-be named EV will likely be manufactured by Honda at one of its plants in Ohio.Honda, like its bigger rival Toyota Motor (7203.T), has been slow to shift its fleet to electric. It has also struggled over the years to make gains in the luxury vehicle market with its Acura brand.Yasuhide Mizuno, the joint venture’s chairman and chief executive, and a senior Honda executive, said the project was important for Honda to develop a “longer-term relationship” with its car buyers as the vehicle shifts to become more of a connected device.Mizuno said Honda believed that 2025 would be a crucial year in the shift toward EVs in the U.S. market and that the joint-venture believed it had to hit that opening even though it means a compressed development cycle for the new EV.The new EV will be delivered to the Japanese market in the second half of 2026. The two companies are considering a launch for Europe, but no plan has been set. Orders for the new EV should open in 2025, the companies said.($1 = 146.8300 yen)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comIndia’s Reliance launches first in-house premium fashion store
BENGALURU, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RELI.NS) retail unit launched its first in-house premium fashion and lifestyle store on Thursday, as the billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led company continues to grab a bigger slice of India’s luxury market.The new store chain called Azorte, the first of which was launched in Bengaluru, will compete with the likes of Mango and Industria de Diseno Textil SA-owned Zara (ITX.MC), and cater to millenials and Gen Z.”The mid-premium fashion segment is one of fastest growing consumer segments as millennials and the Gen Z are increasingly demanding the latest of international and contemporary Indian fashion,” Akhilesh Prasad, chief executive of the fashion and lifestyle arm of Reliance Retail, said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Nandan Mandayam and Nivedita Bhattacharjee in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. .
The launch is a part of the Ambani company’s aggressive strides in the retail industry, forging partnerships with domestic and global brands. read more The company plans to build a portfolio of 50 to 60 grocery, household and personal care brands within the year and is in advanced talks to get the rights for LVMH-owned French beauty brand Sephora in India.Reliance’s luxury and lifestyle foray has been led by Ambani’s daughter Isha.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPremium bicycles win new fans among China’s city folk
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($1=6.96 yuan)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. .
Juicy Couture owner scoops up UK’s Ted Baker for about $254 mln
The Ted Baker logo is seen at their store at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York, U.S., February 15, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
- Offer price of 110 pence per Ted Baker share
- Offer backed by Ted Baker board
Aug 16 (Reuters) – Juicy Couture and Forever 21 owner Authentic Brands (ABG) (AUTH.N) has agreed to buy Ted Baker (TED.L) in a deal worth roughly 211 million pounds ($254 million), ending months of speculation over the fate of the British fashion group.Pandemic-related losses forced Ted Baker to put itself up for sale in April and the company picked a preferred suitor the following month. However, the bidder – reported to have been ABG – in June decided not to make an offer, forcing Ted Baker to consider other options. read more Ted Baker has now reached an agreement with U.S.-based ABG, whose brands also include Reebok, consisting of 110 pence cash for each Ted Baker share, and which represents a premium of about 18.2% to Monday’s closing price.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. .
The companies said the deal would not be revised unless a rival suitor emerges.”ABG believes there are significant growth opportunities for the Ted Baker brand in North America given (its) … strong consumer recognition in this market,” the New York-listed company said in a statement on Tuesday.Known for its suits, shirts and dresses with quirky details, Ted Baker is in the midst of a turnaround plan and is looking to benefit from a rebound in demand for office and leisure wear.In May it posted a smaller annual loss of 38.4 million pounds and said sales in the first quarter of the current year had risen 20% year-on-year. read more Ted Baker had also rejected several bids from private-equity group Sycamore before launching its sale process, and Tuesday’s move is the latest in a flurry of deals for British companies, made more affordable to overseas buyers by the weakness of the pound.Ted Baker’s shares were up about 17% at 108p in early trading, just shy of the offer price and still well short of their peak in 2015 when they were trading at 2,972p apiece.($1 = 0.8299 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWall St Week Ahead Recession fears loom over U.S. value stocks
A screen displays trading informations for stocks on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Lewis Krauskopf, additional reporting by David Randall and Ira Iosebashvili; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. .
NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) – Fears of a potential economic slowdown are clouding the outlook for value stocks, which have outperformed broader indexes this year in the face of surging inflation and rising interest rates.Value stocks – commonly defined as those trading at a discount on metrics such as book value or price-to-earnings – have typically underperformed their growth counterparts over the past decade, when the S&P 500’s (.SPX) gains were driven by tech-focused giants such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Apple Inc (AAPL.O).That dynamic shifted this year, as the Federal Reserve kicked off its first interest rate-hike cycle since 2018, disproportionately hurting growth stocks, which are more sensitive to higher interest rates. The Russell 1000 value index (.RLV) is down around 13% year-to-date, while the Russell 1000 growth index (.RLG) has fallen about 26%.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com This month, however, fears that the Fed’s monetary policy tightening could bring on a U.S. recession have shifted the momentum away from value stocks, which tend to be more sensitive to the economy. The Russell value index is up 0.7% in July, compared with a 3.4% gain for its growth-stock counterpart.”If you think we are in a recession or are going into a recession, that does not necessarily … work to the advantage of value stocks,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive at Horizon Investment Services.The nascent shift to growth stocks is one example of how investors are adjusting portfolios in the face of a potential U.S. economic downturn. BofA Global Research on Thursday cut its year-end target price for the S&P 500 to 3,600 from 4,500 previously and became the latest Wall Street bank to forecast a coming recession. read more The index closed at 3,863.16 on Friday and is down 18.95% this year.Corporate earnings arriving in force next week will give investors a better idea of how soaring inflation has affected companies’ bottom lines, with results from Goldman Sachs , Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and Tesla among those on deck.For much of the year, value stocks benefited from broader market trends. Energy shares, which comprise around 7% of the Russell 1000 value index, soared over the first half of 2022, jumping along with oil prices as supply constraints for crude were exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.But energy shares along with crude prices and other commodities have tumbled in recent weeks on concerns that a recession would sap demand.A recession also stands to weigh on bank stocks, with a slowing economy hurting loan growth and increasing credit losses. Financial shares represent nearly 19% of the value index. read more An earnings beat from Citigroup, however, buoyed bank shares on Friday, with the S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK)gaining 5.76%.At the same time, tech and other growth companies also tend to have businesses that are less cyclical and more likely able to weather a broad economic slowdown.”People pay a premium for growth stocks when growth is scarce,” said Burns McKinney, portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group.JPMorgan analysts earlier this week wrote they believe growth stocks have a “tactical opportunity” to make up lost ground, citing cheaper valuations after this year’s sharp sell-off as one of the reasons.Value stock proponents cite many reasons for the investing style to continue its run.Growth stocks are still more expensive than value shares on a historical basis, with the Russell 1000 growth index trading at a 65% premium to its value counterpart, compared to a 35% premium over the past 20 years, according to Refinitiv Datastream.Meanwhile, earnings per share for value companies are expected to rise 15.6% this year, more than twice the rate of growth companies, Credit Suisse estimates.Data from UBS Global Wealth Management on Thursday showed value stocks tend to outperform growth stocks when inflation is running above 3% – around a third of the 9.1% annual growth U.S. consumer prices registered in June. read more Josh Kutin, head of asset allocation, North America at Columbia Threadneedle, believes a possible U.S. recession in the next year would be a mild one, leaving economically sensitive value stocks primed to outperform if growth picks up.”If I had to pick one, I’d still pick value over growth,” he said. “But that conviction has come down since the start of the year,” Kutin said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com