The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
SEATTLE, United States — Amazon.com Inc. is hiring 100,000 seasonal workers — 25 percent more than last year — as it continues to make online ordering almost as fast as running to the store.
The short-term hires will supplement 90,000 permanent employees at Amazon’s 70 warehouses and shipping hubs around the country to get through the retailer’s busiest quarter, the Seattle-based company said in a statement Tuesday.
Analysts on average expect Amazon to generate $35.1 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, up 20 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The largest online retailer on Thursday will report third-quarter results, which will include its first Prime Day promotion, a one-day blowout sale in July. Amazon said it sold more products on Prime Day than on Black Friday during last holiday season.
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Amazon has expanded same-day delivery to 12 U.S. cities, requiring the company to build new shipping hubs closer to urban areas. It also is delivering meals from restaurants in Seattle and Portland and has created crafts marketplace Amazon Handmade to compete with Etsy Inc. and EBay Inc. as the retailer seeks new revenue sources.
Amazon’s extensive network of warehouses close to customers puts the company far ahead of retail competitors, Scot Wingo, chairman of e-commerce consultant ChannelAdvisor Corp., wrote in his blog.
As Amazon decreases delivery times and costs, “other retailers are going to struggle to come close,” Wingo wrote.
By Spencer Soper; editors: Jillian Ward, Tony Robinson, Paul Barbagallo.
Fast-growing start-ups like Hettas, Saysh and Moolah Kicks created sneakers designed specifically for active women. The sportswear giants are watching closely.
The companies agreed to cap credit-card swipe fees in one of the most significant antitrust settlements ever, following a legal fight that spanned almost two decades.
In an era of austerity on Wall Street, apparel businesses are more likely to be valued on their profits rather than sales, which usually means lower payouts for founders and investors. That is, if they can find a buyer in the first place.
The fast fashion giant occupies a shrinking middle ground between Shein and Zara. New CEO Daniel Ervér can lay out the path forward when the company reports quarterly results this week.