Articles by AFP
Benetton artistic director leaves as it seeks return to profit
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Milan, Italy - Italian clothing retailer Benetton said Friday that its creative director Andrea Incontri is leaving the group as part of a wider management overhaul to stem its losses. In a statement, the company said it is "aiming to define a management team to support its new director general in a new phase of rationalisation and relaunch". It...
Chinese tech giant Alibaba's quarterly profit shrinks 29 percent
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Beijing - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba reported a 29 percent fall in quarterly profit on Thursday as it battles sluggish consumption during an economic slowdown. Net income attributable to shareholders came in at 24.3 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) in the quarter ending June 30, Alibaba said in a corporate filing, down from 34.3 billion yuan in...
Seoul authorities find toxic substances in Shein and Temu products
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Women's accessories sold by some of the world's most popular online shopping firms contained toxic substances sometimes hundreds of times above acceptable levels, authorities in Seoul said Wednesday. Chinese giants including Shein, Temu and AliExpress have skyrocketed in popularity around the world in recent years, offering a vast selection of...
UK probes Amazon partnership with AI firm Anthropic
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London - Britain's competition regulator on Friday said it had launched an inquiry into a partnership between US e-commerce giant Amazon and Anthropic, an American developer of artificial intelligence. The move comes after the Competition and Markets Authority in April said it was examining tie-ups between artificial intelligence firms and their...
Not to be sniffed at: Dolce & Gabbana launches 99 euro dog perfume
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Rome - No need to wrestle your dog into the bath anymore. Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has launched a new perfume for canine companions. The "alcohol-free scented mist for dogs" is on sale for 99 euros and comes with a free collar -- but also a warning from animal rights activists, who say it could cause pets distress. "I am...
Amazon quarterly profit doubles as cloud business grows
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Amazon reported Thursday its profit in the recently ended quarter doubled to 13.5 billion dollars with the help of renewed momentum of its AWS cloud computing business. The e-commerce giant's sales of 148 billion dollars fell just shy of lofty market expectations, however, and shares slid more than four percent to $176.50 in after-market trades....
Armani posts higher 2023 revenue but notes slowdown in Asia
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The Armani Group saw a four percent rise in revenues last year, the luxury fashion group said Monday, while acknowledging a slowdown in Asia that was crimping sales this year. Revenues grew by four percent to 2.45 billion euros (2.65 billion dollars) in 2023, the company said in a statement. But it cited a "single-digit slowdown in the second...
China hits SMCP as it falls into the red for H1
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Textile group SMCP (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac) posted a net loss of 27.7 million euros in the first half on Thursday, after a net profit of 14 million a year earlier, while its half-year sales fell by 4% to 585.3 million euros. The net result would have been "balanced" without 30 million euros of accounting effects, including...
Kering sees earnings fall, issues profit warning
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Luxury group Kering said Wednesday its half-year net profit fell by half and warned operating earnings for the second half of the year would be down around 30 percent. Revenues also slid by 12 percent and its flagship brand Gucci continues to underperform, with sales down by 20 percent.(AFP)
Dolce & Gabbana eyes stock market listing
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Italian luxury group Dolce & Gabbana is considering bringing in outside shareholders and could seek a stock market listing, its chief executive Alfonso Dolce said Monday. "We are now ready to consider opening our capital to third parties through a quotation or via other financial instruments," he said in an interview with daily Corriere della...