By Paul Page
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Amazon.com Inc. is facing major questions over its acquisition
of Whole Foods Market Inc. , and the answers may help determine how
both companies look in the future. Beyond basic cross-selling
opportunities, the WSJ's Laura Stevens reports Amazon will consider
how deeply it will integrate its new subsidiary after the $13.7
billion deal closes later this year. The level of integration
carries big stakes for both operations, and Amazon's track record
provides clues on how it looks at its acquisitions. Amazon left
online shoe seller Zappos largely autonomous after its $1.2 billion
acquisition in 2009, but fine-tuned its supply chain efficiency and
cut costs -- something likely to happen at Whole Foods. But Amazon
folded warehouse-robot maker Kiva fully under its corporate
umbrella after its 2012 purchase. That helped Amazon's operations
while keeping the technology away from rivals. Amazon may look at
Whole Foods that way if it views the grocer, with its network of
exclusive suppliers and real estate, as a strategic asset touching
more of Amazon's larger business.
Glencore PLC is riding a commodities turnaround now, but the
Swiss mining and trading giant sees electric cars helping drive its
future earnings. The company is deepening its investments in some
raw materials, the WSJ's Scott Patterson reports, after it reported
a $2.5 billion net profit in the first half of 2017 following a
loss a year ago. The results follow similar strong reports from
mining companies including Rio Tinto PLC and Anglo American PLC,
and the financial strength in the commodities world is brightening
prospects in the beleaguered dry bulk shipping sector. Glencore's
first-half revenue rose 44% to $100 billion, and the company is
brimming with confidence over its essential role in developing
technology supply chains. Glencore is the world's biggest producer
of cobalt, a key commodity in the lithium-ion batteries that power
electric vehicles and mobile phones. It said cobalt prices have
more than doubled in the past year, one reason the mining business
is enthralled with new technology.
Blue Apron is having a hard time putting together the recipe for
both getting customers and delivering the goods. In its first
earnings update since a June initial public offering, Blue Apron
said its costs soared 86% to $65.7 million, the WSJ's Heather
Haddon reports, as the New York-based company hired more employees
and struggled with the opening of a new fulfillment center. That
Linden, N.J., site is eventually supposed to handle more than half
of Blue Apron's meal kits. But the operation has run into delays,
and that's hurting the company's ability to roll out new products
and, more critically, hold onto customers. It's a familiar case
where a business plan founders on logistics execution, but it's
magnified at Blue Apron because distribution is central to the
company's bid to carve out a new market. Blue Apron boasts roughly
a million customers but will need to get more meal kits delivered
on time and intact to keep its business moving.
TECHNOLOGY
The building blocks for toys are becoming less focused on --
blocks.Lego A/S is changing leadership as the toy maker focuses
more fully on technology, the WSJ's Saabira Chaudhuri reports,
following a market for toys that is moving in a digital direction.
Lego's replacement of Bali Padda, a 61-year-old British-born
executive who had been in job for just eight month, with Niels B.
Christiansen, the 51-year-old former boss of Danish industrial
group Danfoss A/S, is the most visible sign of change at the iconic
Danish toy maker. The deeper shifts come as Lego copes with slowing
sales growth and competition from smartphone apps and videogames,
changes that may roil the global toy manufacturing and shipping
world. Descartes Datamyne measured the U.S. toy import business at
more than $14 billion in 2015. But Lego and rival Mattel Inc. are
focused on modernizing toys for a digital era, and that may promise
more screen time for children and fewer goods heading to ports.
What is a $10 billion factory for technology goods really worth?
The question is raising new heat in Wisconsin as the state
considers the costs of drawing Foxconn Technology Group to build a
manufacturing facility employing up to 13,000 people. Gov. Scott
Walker defends Foxconn's $3 billion tax incentive package, telling
the WSJ's Shayndi Raice the deal will be "transformational" for
Wisconsin, even as criticism arises over the hefty tax bill. A
state fiscal analysis found taxpayers wouldn't recoup their
investment until the 2042-2043 fiscal year. The debate highlights
questions around the field of site selection that is critical to
supply chains. Big manufacturers and logistics companies often seek
significant local and state tax breaks, but critics say the
incentives aren't always worth it, and may just move jobs around
rather than spurring overall job growth. Mr. Walker insists the
Foxconn deal carries bigger benefits, and will help spur a larger
eco-system of technology research, manufacturing and
employment.
QUOTABLE
IN OTHER NEWS
A gauge of U.S. business prices fell in July for the first time
in 11 months. (WSJ)
SoftBank Group Corp.'s technology fund will invest about $2.5
billion in India's biggest e-commerce firm Flipkart Group.
(WSJ)
Macy's Inc. and Kohl's Corp. reported that declines in sales
moderated in the past quarter. (WSJ)
Italy has seen a sharp drop in the number of seaborne migrants,
raising hopes that Europe's migration crisis is easing. (WSJ)
U.S. investigators say Islamic State used fake eBay transactions
to funnel money to an alleged ISIS operative in the U.S. (WSJ)
Oil investors are losing confidence that drillers in West Texas'
Permian Basin can keep production rising. (WSJ)
Casual dining bellwether DineEquity Inc. plans to close up to
160 Applebee's and IHOP restaurants. (WSJ)
Tesla Inc. is talking to state authorities about road-testing
heavy-duty trucks that use autonomous and "platooning" technology.
(Reuters)
Los Angeles-based startup Chanje plans to start selling
electric-powered medium-duty trucks in the U.S. in the coming
weeks. (Los Angeles Times)
Beauty products subscription service Birchbox has held
acquisition talks with retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
(Recode)
Brazilian mining giant Vale SA has sold almost all of its very
large ore carriers. (Splash 24/7)
The National Retail Federation's Global Port Tracker forecasts
U.S. import container volume will grow 2.1% in August amid a
buoyant peak season. (Journal of Commerce)
Maersk Line parent A.P. Moller--Maersk A/S will work with Danske
Bank in a joint venture offering digital payment services for
global customers. (Port Technology)
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. struck a logistics joint venture in
Vietnam with local operator Minh Phuong to better manage the flow
of its goods there. (VietNamNet)
Taiwanese shipping line Yang Ming Marine Transport Ltd. cut its
second-quarter loss 90% to $14.7 million. (American Shipper)
Unionized workers at a New Jersey-based clothing distribution
center supplying large retailers walked off the job to protest low
wages. (Newark Star-Ledger)
Federal regulators are wrestling with the complexity of
pharmaceutical supply chains in setting rules for identifying and
tracing drugs. (Pharmaceutical Technology)
Indiana plans a $20 million expansion of cargo facilities at its
Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan. (Northwest Indiana
Times)
The lifting of a state of emergency in Ethiopia may put the
country on track to attract textile and apparel firms. (Sourcing
Journal)
Some states want truckers to change delivery schedules to avoid
congestion expected during this month's solar eclipse. (Transport
Topics)
ABOUT US
Paul Page is deputy editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow him
at @PaulPage, and follow the entire WSJ Logistics Report team:
@brianjbaskin , @jensmithWSJ and @EEPhillips_WSJ. Follow the WSJ
Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.
Write to Paul Page at paul.page@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 11, 2017 06:49 ET (10:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM)
過去 株価チャート
から 6 2024 まで 7 2024
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM)
過去 株価チャート
から 7 2023 まで 7 2024