Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR) said on Tuesday that it would invest $15 million in its U.S. brewery, at a time when President Donald Trump is pushing to boost domestic production.

This move is part of Anheuser-Busch’s $300 million investment announced in May to create and sustain manufacturing jobs in the U.S. this year.

Several businesses across the globe have been ramping up investments and expanding their presence in the United States to avoid tariffs and align with the Trump administration’s “Made in America” push.

AB InBev said the investment includes funding for supply chain infrastructure to transport its domestically grown ingredients to the St. Louis, Missouri brewery, and to get beer brands, including Budweiser and Bud Light, to consumers.

In July, the company saw a decline in sales volumes due to tepid demand in Brazil and China, adding to investor woes over the industry growth.

News Credits- Reuters

Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT) is set to report its second quarter earnings this week, with Bank of America analysts expecting the discussion to center less on headline numbers and more on the forces shaping the retailer’s longer-term trajectory.

For Q2, the analysts project adjusted EPS of $0.70 and US comparable sales growth of 3.5% for the quarter, in line with the Wall Street consensus.

However, they noted that recent data implies potential upside, citing stronger-than-expected sales trends during the period.

Looking at Walmart’s long-term prospects, the analysts see the company’s ability to leverage ancillary businesses to improve profitability as a key growth driver.

“We see continued gross margin expansion in Q2 helped by digital advertising & other ancillary businesses,” the analysts wrote.

With US eCommerce profitability achieved last quarter, advertising, data, and fintech are becoming increasingly important.

These businesses have delivered 40% annual growth over the last four years and are projected to drive two-thirds of Walmart’s profit growth in the next several, the analysts noted.

Convenience remains a major differentiator, the analysts believe. Over the past year, Walmart introduced the ability for customers to combine grocery, general merchandise, and pharmacy items in a single order and receive it in less than an hour.

Bank of America said this kind of integration, along with plans to extend same-day delivery coverage to 95% of US households by year-end, underscores how Walmart’s stores continue to provide a key advantage in localized fulfillment, especially in fresh food.

The firm also pointed to Walmart’s ability to navigate trade and inventory challenges. The retailer’s size, supplier relationships, and automation “well position it to manage tariffs,” with the added flexibility of shifting goods between first- and third-party arrangements and a lower overall import exposure than many peers.

On valuation, Bank of America acknowledged Walmart trades at roughly 34 times earnings, near two-decade highs, but argued the premium is warranted.

“We maintain ‘Buy’ on Walmart as share gains continue across product categories and incomes (especially $100k+) as its strong value offering & digital convenience resonate,” the analysts wrote.

Shares of Walmart traded at $101 on Tuesday afternoon, up 12% so far this year.

Author Credits- Emily Jarvie
Proactive

Louis Vuitton has announced the arrival of La Beauté, an “elevated make-up line”, as colour cosmetics continue to be seen as key growth avenues for ultra-luxury labels.

And it comes as the company announces the official arrival of Dame Pat McGrath as creative director, Cosmetics, for La Beauté (although she’s clearly been working on this project for some time).

LVMH’s star brand said the launch expands the House’s vision that’s “rooted in travel, creativity, and savoir-faire,” and introduces a “highly curated offering of the finest quality make-up, housed in objets d’art designed to be kept forever”.

It added that it’s “redefining beauty as a lifestyle, as an experience and as a dedicated art form,” and is setting “a new standard in luxury beauty”.

What this means in practice is 55 lipsticks (after all, LV is 55 in Roman numerals), 10 balms and eight eye palettes with 20 August set for the Chinese launch, then 25 August as a wider digital pre-launch date and a global debut later next week.

The company said those lipsticks, balms, and eyeshadows (priced from $160 to $250) are “objects of desire that echo the trunk-making, artistry, and cultural vision at the heart of Louis Vuitton, each with a McGrath twist. As with the Maison’s most iconic pieces across fashion, accessories and fragrance, every detail has been considered, refined, and perfected”.

And the packaging really underlines the luxury edge. Gilded packs by Konstantin Grcic are linked closely to the established codes of Louis Vuitton and in particular give a starring role to the LV flower.

With the ongoing luxury fashion slowdown and the global luxury beauty market expected to continue a strong growth trajectory, it’s an increasingly important category for even the most successful fashion labels. And the more luxurious the better as the pricing proves.

But while the prices are high, the launch is likely to appeal to aspirational luxury shoppers who may not buy the clothes but may well have a Louis Vuitton bag and will be keen to have a lipstick to go in it.

Author Credits- Sandra Halliday
FASHION NETWORK

While retail investors may have taken a fancy for both the new-age stocks, mutual funds were seen dumping shares of soaring Zomato’s parent Eternal while aggressively accumulating its rival Swiggy, even as the food delivery war intensifies and one stock rockets to fresh highs while the other struggles to move ahead.

Even as Eternal shares surged 17% in July and touched a fresh 52-week high of Rs 319.80 on BSE last Friday, mutual funds were busy booking profits worth an estimated Rs 1,700 crore last month by offloading 5.4 crore shares, according to data from Prime Database and Nuvama.

Meanwhile, they poured Rs 1,400 crore into Swiggy, snapping up 3.43 crore shares of the stock that’s down over 26% year-to-date.

The contrarian bet appears to be a classic case of buying the dip and selling the rip. While Eternal has delivered a stellar 14% return year-to-date and hit fresh peaks, fund managers seem to believe the rally has run its course. Conversely, Swiggy’s brutal 26% decline appears to have created a buying opportunity that institutional investors can’t resist.

Zomato vs Swiggy

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund led the Zomato exodus with Rs 810 crore in sales, closely followed by Mirae Asset’s Rs 820 crore disposal. Other major sellers included Kotak and SBI Mutual Fund. However, not all funds joined the selling spree. Axis Mutual Fund bucked the trend with Rs 375 crore in purchases, alongside Motilal Oswal and HDFC.

On the Swiggy front, the buying brigade was led by Mirae Asset, HDFC, SBI MF, Bandhan, and Invesco.

The timing couldn’t be more telling. Eternal’s 17% July surge came after a robust 21% rally in June, suggesting fund managers are taking profits after a strong run. Meanwhile, Swiggy managed just a 1% gain in July despite the heavy institutional buying, highlighting the stock’s current struggles.

What should investors do?

Goldman Sachs remains bullish on Zomato, raising its 12-month target price to Rs 340 from Rs 330 and reiterating a Buy rating with 25% potential upside. The investment bank raised its FY26E-30E revenue estimates by up to 11%, driven by strong demand trends in quick commerce.

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“On the back of 1QFY26 results, our food delivery GOV/revenue estimates are higher by 1-2%. We raise our FY26E-FY30E quick commerce GOV estimates by up to 9% due to strong demand trends,” Goldman Sachs noted.

Jefferies has turned even more optimistic, upgrading Eternal to Buy after earlier concerns about competition proved “unfounded.” The brokerage highlighted management’s significantly positive commentary, especially on quick commerce.

“Progress in Q/C suggests that our concerns on competition, which led to the d/g in Jan-25, were unfounded; we now u/g to BUY,” Jefferies said.

For Swiggy, the Street sees a turnaround brewing. Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy, noting that “Q1 profitability marked the trough” and expecting easing competition ahead.

“With a pause on dark store expansion in ST and easing in competition (JEF view), Q1 profitability marked the trough. Swiggy however remains prone to high volatility due to a low margin base,” the brokerage cautioned.

Morgan Stanley has “lowered projections of consolidated adjusted EBITDA losses for F26-28” while HSBC values the entire Swiggy business at $11.4 billion or Rs 430 per share, with the food delivery business alone worth $8 billion.

Author Credits- Nikhil Agarwal
msn

UK parcel delivery company Evri has partnered with second-hand fashion marketplace Vinted to offer customers free reusable packaging in dedicated Evri ParcelShop locations in the UK.

In an initial eight-week trial, the packaging will first be available in more than 100 ParcelShops across the UK, growing to almost 300 throughout the trial. It is aimed at providing customers with a quick and free packaging solution at drop-off, and with a reusable alternative by which to ship their parcels.

The packaging has been designed to fit a medium sized Vinted parcel and has been created with two adhesive strips, supporting Vinted buyers and sellers.

The trial is part of a wider expansion of the partnership between Evri and Vinted Go, with both businesses reporting recent periods of significant volume growth.

Evri recently announced a significant investment in its ParcelShop and locker network, with plans to double its size to 25,000 locations by 2030. The companies says that the packaging could be rolled out across more of the Evri’s ParcelShops if it proves to be a success.

Vinted’s delivery arm Vinted Go recently signed a four-year extended contract with the Yorkshire-based delivery company to make it even easier for Vinted members in the UK to be able to ship their items.

Claire Phelan, head of e-commerce partnerships at Evri, said, “We’re thrilled to be the first UK delivery carrier to be able to support Vinted’s trial of reusable packaging. By stocking this at almost 300 of our Evri ParcelShops, it provides their army of sellers with an efficient and reusable solution by which to send their parcels. And, as we forecast issuing over 100K units of Vinted’s reusable packaging during the trial, its multi-use feature is fantastic, giving buyers the opportunity to re-purpose.”

Vytautas Atkočaitis, vice president of Vinted Go, said, “By collaborating with selected carrier partners including Evri to provide free and reusable packaging, we hope to encourage our members to opt for packaging that is suitable for repeat use and fits the size of their items better.”

Author Credits- ALASDAIR MORTON
Parcel and postal technology INTERNATIONAL

Nike Inc.’s sneakers are front and centre at Foot Locker Inc. stores once again as the long-time partners rebuild a relationship that had frayed in recent years.

Foot Locker is positioning Nike’s running shoes in the lead columns of the men’s sections in its stores — in front of rivals such as On, Hoka, Adidas and New Balance for the first time in two years, according to Matthew Boss, an analyst at JPMorgan. Nike had previously been positioned behind all those brands.

“Our recent fieldwork points to Nike product placement returning to pole position,” Boss said in a note to clients.

The two companies are mending ties after Nike heavily pulled back from Foot Locker under its previous chief executive officer in order to prioritise its own stores and online shop. Nike products once accounted for about 75% of Foot Locker’s total purchases, but that number dropped below 60% in 2022. Nike’s strategy hurt Foot Locker’s business for years.

Nike’s current CEO, Elliott Hill, has vowed to work more closely with wholesalers. As part of that push, Foot Locker is working on expanding its Home Court basketball sections developed in tandem with Nike. Foot Locker plans to add the sections to 100 stores around the world by 2026.

Hill is refocusing Nike on its sports products and looking to boost sales of running products around the brand’s Pegasus, Vomero and Structure shoes. Nike had ceded ground to its many competitors in running while it pushed lifestyle sneakers.

In May, Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. agreed to acquire Foot Locker in a $2.4 billion deal — an agreement that would combine two of the largest sports chains in the US.

News Credits – FASHION NETWORK