Nike partners with Black Girl Ventures As part of its commitment to support social justice, economic and educational organisations for Black Americans, Nike has partnered with and invested into the economic empowerment organisation Black Girl Ventures. The sportswear company’s $500,000 will support BGV in “its efforts to provide Black and Brown women-identifying founders with access to community, capital and capacity-building to support entrepreneurship”, a statement from Nike reads.
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“Nike’s funding will help us grow our reach through new chapter development, increase our technology infrastructure to better serve Black and Brown leaders through our proprietary crowdfunding platform and increase our brand visibility through storytelling campaigns curated by Black and Brown women,” said Shelly Bell, the founder and CEO of Black Girl Ventures.
In 2021, Nike’s Black Community Commitment will provide a series of grants that will total $1.75 million to organisations supporting Black communities in Boston, Memphis, St. Louis, Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.
Versace Macau reopens at Four Seasons
Versace has reopened its newly refurbished store at the Shoppes at Four Seasons, Macau. Renowned architect Gwenael Nicolas’ redesign of the 369-square-metre boutique was inspired by the Greek tale of “Medusa’s hypnotic gaze”.
The new store has a ceiling designed with concentric golden louvers surrounding a three-dimensional Medusa, white marble flooring and walls and golden metal displays. It also has plush carpets and blue velvet armchairs.
Asos revenue lifts to 23 per cent in four months
Asos has announced its total revenue lifted by 23 per cent during the four months to December 2020 to £1.36 billion (AU$2.4 billion), citing strong growth in Australia, the UK and the US.
The brand has remained more resilient than expected, which is largely due to the continued relevance of its ‘lockdown’ category product mix and the increase in online shopping during the pandemic. Asos said its active customer base increased from 1.1 million to 24.5 million, as gross profit margin grew 90bps.
“We are really pleased with the strong performance we have delivered, which is testament to both the strength of our multi-brand model and the hard work of our people,“ said Asos chief executive Nick Beighton. “We have continued to execute well and deliver for our customers, while investing into growing our business and driving further efficiency through a strong operational grip.”
He said that although Asos has achieved success last year, it would not change its outlook as it moves forward, foreseeing an unpredictable 2021. The fallout of Britain’s exit from the EU is expected to cost the business $26 million in tariffs.
Dr Martens pursues London IPO
Dr Martens is eyeing a London stock market listing, which would value the company at about US$2.7 billion. In a statement, the brand said private equity owner Permira plans to sell part of its stake in the IPO, alongside other existing shareholders. No new shares will be issued, which will give Dr Martens a free float of at least 25 per cent, the statement also said.
Since Permira snapped up Dr Martens in 2014, it has expanded the brand globally, gaining an average 20 to 30 per cent revenue growth in the past few years. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are joint global coordinators for the offering, and Barclays, HSBC, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and RBC Europe are joint bookrunners. Lazard is the financial adviser.
Staples makes a bid for rival Office Depot
Office supplies store Staples has offered to acquire ODP Corp, the owner of its rival Office Corp, for $2.1 billion in cash.
The US Federal Trade Commission rejected Staple’s $6.3 billion offer in 2016, saying a merger could decrease the competition for nationwide contracts for office supplies.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approved Staples’ proposal to snap up Office Depot, which is locally called OfficeMax.
The two companies agreed to merge in 1996, but the deal was halted when a government lawsuit argued the merger would lead to higher prices for pens, paper and other office supplies.
Staples was a public company when it attempted the acquisition. It went private in 2017.
Staples said it is prepared to take “all necessary measures” to divest ODP’s B2B Business to a FTC-approved and qualified buyer.
USR Parent, or Staples, said it would offer $40 per for each ODP share, a premium of 8.2 per cent to Friday’s close.
ODP’s shares rose about 11 per cent to $41 before the opening bell.