The Wall Street Journal - 08.11.2019

(Ron) #1

B6| Friday, November 8, 2019 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.


lies on its lines of handbags,
which can retail for more than
$10,000 each. LVMH, Kering
and Hermès occupy three of
the top seven spots by market
cap on the CAC-40, France’s
main stock index, ahead of
BNP Paribas, France’s largest
bank, and AXA SA, the coun-
try’s largest insurer.
The industry’s good for-
tunes have been far from
evenly distributed. Outside
those three, high-end fashion
companies such asPradaSpA
andBurberry GroupPLC have
struggled to rejuvenate their
brands. The fashion conglom-
erates appear to have gained

an advantage compared with
single-brand houses because
their labels can share know-
how and pool costs in areas
such as marketing, logistics
and real estate.
LVMH has been by far the
luxury industry’s best per-
former this year, with its
shares up nearly 60%. Revenue
rose 16% in the first nine
months of the year, as LVMH
brushed aside threats from
protests in Hong Kong and
trade tensions between Beijing
and Washington. The share-
price increase has put LVMH’s
market cap on par withCoca-
ColaCo. andBoeingCo.

and capable of buying luxury
goods, LVMH is in a great po-
sition,” said Luca Solca, an an-
alyst at Bernstein & Co.
Kering has been powered
by Gucci, one of the hottest
brands in fashion over the
past three years. Hermès re-

Continued from page B1

LVMH’s


Market Cap


Rides High


BUSINESS WATCH


SIEMENS

Executive Tapped for
IT, Digital Products

Hanna Hennig, the incoming
chief information officer atSie-
mensAG, will help lead the in-
dustrial conglomerate’s digital
transformation and ensure a
smooth information-technology
transition for the spinoff of its
power and gas business, the
company said.
Ms. Hennig, chief information
officer at lighting maker Osram
Licht AG, will start in January,
managing about 2,400 employ-
ees. Osram is a former unit of
Munich-based Siemens. She suc-
ceeds Helmuth Ludwig, who has
worked at Siemens for about 30
years.
Ms. Hennig will be in charge
of the company’s IT operations
and will continue the rollout of
products including MindSphere,
an Internet-of-Things platform
developed in house to collect
and analyze data from its opera-
tions and those of client compa-
nies.
—Agam Shah

DISCOVERY

Profit Soars Amid
Pivot to Streaming

DiscoveryInc. said its third-
quarter profit more than doubled
thanks to lower costs, higher op-
erating results and advertising
growth, as the company turns
its efforts to building direct-to-
consumer streaming services.
Net income at Discovery,
whose channels include Food
Network, TLC and HGTV, was
$262 million, or 35 cents a share,
compared with $117 million, or
16 cents a share, a year earlier.
The sharp increase resulted
partly from lower restructuring
costs compared with a year ago,
when Discovery was reorganizing
after its $11.9 billion purchase of
lifestyle TV company Scripps
Networks Interactive.
Discovery said earnings per
share on an adjusted basis were
87 cents, beating analysts’ con-
sensus of 82 cents.
Revenue grew 3.3% to $2.68
billion. U.S. advertising revenue
rose 2.8% to $1.02 billion.
—Benjamin Mullin

SEAWORLD ENTERTAINMENT

Timeshare Expert
Gets CEO Post

SeaWorld EntertainmentInc.
has tapped a timeshare resort
executive as its new CEO.
The theme-park company,
which runs SeaWorld and Busch
Gardens, on Thursday named
Sergio Rivera, former president
and chief executive of ILG Inc.’s
vacation-ownership segment, as
its new leader.
Gustavo Antorcha resigned as
SeaWorld CEO in September,
seven months after taking the
helm at the company. Finance
Chief Marc Swanson is now the
interim chief executive.
Mr. Rivera took the helm of
ILG’s timeshare business in 2016.
Before that, he worked for Star-
wood Hotels & Resorts World-
wide Inc. as president of its
Americas division. In a call with
analysts, Mr. Rivera said Sea-
World has made progress. “But
we know there’s a lot more to
do to unlock the long-term po-
tential of this business,” he said.
—Dave Sebastian

BUSINESS NEWS


profit for its fiscal second
quarter. Net income was
$182.1 million in the three
months to Sept. 28, up from
$170.3 million a year earlier.
The profit growth was driven
by higher gross margin and
expense control.
Revenue was $1.71 billion,
compared with $1.69 billion a
year earlier. North American
sales fell 1%, dragged down by
a 6% decline in sales to third
parties such as department
stores. The company lowered
its full-year fiscal guidance
slightly, in part due to the pro-
tests in Hong Kong. Stores in
the territory were closed for
48 days in the most recent pe-
riod because of the unrest.
Ralph Lauren executives
said they have mitigated the
impact of tariffs by reducing
the amount of Chinese goods
that they import to the U.S.

Ralph LaurenCorp. posted
higher quarterly profit as the
luxury apparel maker pushes
through price increases, help-
ing offset some of the rising
costs due to tariffs on prod-
ucts imported from China.
The Polo maker has been
pulling back on promotions
and increasing prices in Asia
and Europe. On a conference
call Thursday, Chief Executive
Patrice Louvet said the com-
pany began raising prices
slightly at its North American
outlet stores in late September
and plans targeted price in-
creases with its wholesale
partners and at its own full-
line stores starting with its
spring 2020 assortments.
Shares jumped nearly 15%
Thursday after the company
reported higher-than-expected


BYSUZANNEKAPNER


Price Boosts Push Ralph Lauren Results


Stores in Hong Kong were closed for 48 days in the second quarter because of the protests in the territory.

PAUL YEUNG/BLOOMBERG NEWS

U.S. to China, India and the
U.K., according to the people
familiar with the deal. Until
PIF made its investment, the
company was funded with
$200 million from Mr. Kalan-
ick himself, using proceeds
from sales of Uber shares, one
of the people said. He added
another $100 million in Janu-
ary, bringing the company’s
total to $700 million with the
Saudi cash, the person said.
A spokesman for PIF de-
clined to comment.
Mr. Kalanick is familiar
with food delivery from his
time as chief executive at
Uber, which has its own food-
delivery service, Uber Eats,
that works with CloudKitch-
ens. He remains a director on
Uber’s board, along with Yasir
al-Rumayyan, PIF’s governor.
Mr. Rumayyan spearheaded
a $3.5 billion investment into
Uber in a 2016 funding round
that also gave Mr. Kalanick the
right to appoint three more
board members. A year later,
when Uber faced scandals over
its culture and operations, a
group of investors pushed out
Mr. Kalanick as CEO. But Mr.
Rumayyan remained his
backer.
The pair had discussed a
potential deal for PIF to back
CloudKitchens since the spring
of 2018, said a person familiar
with the discussions. In Octo-
ber 2018, Mr. Kalanick at-

Continued from page B1

Deal Values


Startup at


$5 Billion


tended the annual Future In-
vestment Initiative conference
held in Riyadh weeks after Mr.
Khashoggi’s killing, which
prompted many others to boy-
cott the summit. The event
was sponsored by Saudi
Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman, who U.S. intelligence
officials later concluded had
ordered the murder, which
Saudi Arabia denies. The in-
vestment was completed three
months later.
The Saudi investment has
been known only to a handful
of CloudKitchens executives,
according to the people famil-
iar with the deal. Startups are
usually funded by venture-cap-
ital firms, and those invest-
ments are public. PIF already
backs one of CloudKitchens’s
top rivals indirectly through

SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision
Fund, which counts PIF as its
largest backer. That company,
Reef Technology, puts com-
missary kitchens mostly in
parking lots to help the own-
ers squeeze out additional rev-
enue from unused parking
spots. Reef received more than
$1 billion in debt and equity
funding from investors led by
the Vision Fund in 2018 and
2019, according to people fa-
miliar with the deal.
The Saudi investment in
CloudKitchens also tips the
scales as one of the largest-
ever first-time investments in
a startup by an institution,
sometimes referred to as a
“Series A” investment.
—Eliot Brown and Summer
Said contributed to this
article.

Firm Gobbles Up
Space for Delivery

Travis Kalanick had a front-
row seat to the food-delivery
boom while chief executive at
Uber TechnologiesInc., thanks
to its Uber Eats unit. For his
next act, he is trying to capi-
talize on it through real estate.
With CloudKitchens, he is
buying up cheap properties
around the world. The hope is
that their proximity to densely
populated areas makes them
candidates for commissary
kitchens that can provide food
exclusively for delivery, or even
mini-warehouses for products
people will pay to have deliv-
ered quickly.
The tenants renting the
space might be chefs who
want to test a food concept

but don’t want to lay out capi-
tal or risk opening a restaurant.
Ghost kitchens, as they are
known, may also appeal to ex-
isting restaurants that want
more capacity to prepare food
or make delivery available fur-
ther from their locations.
Mr. Kalanick has kept many
aspects of CloudKitchens a se-
cret. He forbids employees to
list their affiliation in LinkedIn
profiles. The parent company, a
limited liability company,
doesn’t advertise its locations.
Mr. Kalanick’s venture has
acquired competitors including
London-based FoodStars BH
Ltd., according to U.K. regula-
tory filings. Some U.S. locations
the company has opened are in
“opportunity zones,” distressed
areas to which the federal gov-
ernment is seeking to attract
capital by offering tax benefits
for qualified investments.

   


   


  
  
  
  

!

"
 
#"$   
$ %    % "
    & $ '  & 

   ' $ (

  (

 

 
&)  "$
 

 *"  

 
 '
)
   
+
$ " &
, --


 







  




 





 !"#"

TRAVEL

   

 


 
 
 !
"# $ 
%& 
 '
(()
& 
! )!
 *&
*& *&&+ ,-
 , ./
&    0 1

 #+&( 2



  
 

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

 


$$


 
%&& ' '
   & %! 

     



  
 
$$

 
$
 ! 
  "# $$

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

     



  

     
 !  "   #
 


 


$ 


%  &  % '

  
! 
 


BOATING

    
 
   

  


 !
 "#$$$%&'
()*+, -.)*)-
 
 



  

 
  



 


  /

+ * *0. )* 

  
   



   

*0. )*- !"  # 

 

$%  &'!  (   &) *+% !*,,
 

+ *
-.
 /
0 1^
!) 1
+ * *- *0. )* - 2 
    
%  $%  *34  " 2 
     $%    
*% * **  5 % %& & !  *677 **
 %7* *7+ 8  9 &&   %&   *677
&***! 57  : *& $" 3' 
0112)3   5 ; 
 3&& 5  &$% 
 "%%  *    3&& 5   *& ) 

 &$%   5  *  * : 5  


1)* ++ ).
 
 
"%%  %<**&  &=
% * *
% %    ; * &  3&& 5   "&      8
!   :    ** % *     
 
   '%*     *&   
 "%%:
*&*=
% * * %%       


    >  3&& 5    
<   $&**  %* %: * *?!
&
  
  *  !    *  &* 5 * 
& 3&& 5   * %%    '!  ( * 
 %   $&**  %&* 5 *    4 ** 
& 3&& 5        *&* **:  &
             5 %&   

;  -.)*) )3+ ). 34   4    %  & "%%:
"   *  5 
%  !*%** & 5  %     %  & 
"%%: "   *  5 
%    =
% $   2 4
% 9$
%  * %% 5  &%% *  *&  * %% *  * !&
  4  !& *"%%: "   *  5 
% 
*< %  
  & *"%%: "   *  5 
%  % *&6 * *  8
   @  :  *"   *  5 
% * "%%:
"   *  5 
% @  :  *"   *  5 
% *
 %    !:   *%  !@  *  &
%  %  *       *&* **    : *
%  %  *   %      *& *A* *** *8
:  *   @ *   *   !   :
 %  &*"%%: "   *  5 
%    * ' 8
!  ( * *  *  @ 

 
 
!
"   *  5 
% * %% 5 % $&& % %     * &
3&& 5     *
% * %% 5   "%%:
%  
   %  &65 9$ % @: =
% @4 "   *  5 
% 
"%%:  =  %  &   
   & 3&& 5  @
 "   *  5 
%   *  *   *      *
&* **  : *  *    :   * 
  *&  %   *  ! 5 ! **"   *  5 
% @
 ( "   *  5 
%   *  !  
 & %B&> 
) *
 " <*&  & "   *  5 
%  *  
)  
&$%    *  %%  * 5  * %%  * %%:
   %%:    &  C & *
D+ ).42)* -+)*+ ).42)* -+)* *&
  % % *&     * * & 3&& 5  @
*  % 
%  * & % !& $&& % <*
&  &*
% @  *    & %     *  
*   %%4     &   
& C  ! % *
? 5.!)* *- 42)* 1 625, * 2 *- *6!)-
  34   *: *  5  $%       * 8

 %*        !         
 :  $%  *&3&& 5    %% 34
 * 
> 4  , **:   & *   ** %% 
** %** *   % * : *  5 *% **  C
  * *      &   
@    5 *%
 4      *   *:*  ! &  *
@  **C &    C%   *  &

    @ 5 *   & C   'C ) %
%  $% ) %@ 5 *   C *    *&
$%  3  &
     * *   
  
 5 ! **  * C *&* 34 
 *> 48
 , ** **& $%  %% *  * *";  


&   
 >%**: *     %% **  * C 8
 *&34
 *  > 4  , ** *   $%  
&& 5  *&3&& 5    3  34 
  > 4  , *
** *   $%      
  * %% 5 *  
&%%& %   %  %   !'!  (    8
:  ** 4   ** *    5    *
 "& 3&& 5    '!  ( ** %% 5  ! 
     &     *% **  ! 8
*:   5 %&   
"%% ** 34 
 8
 *  > 4  , *** %%  &%% &  &&&  
&'!  ( *   & %'!  ( * 
 :   *: *  !  5 *  * **
34 
  > 4  , *     ** *  *
* **   ** !   *&" 5 *   **
34 
 *  > 4  , **   * %   
 & % * :%       &*

 
** ***  ** *  & % 2 
 4   5 *    34 
  > 4  , * **
*  $%   % !: %      # !&%  8
5 * * *  5 *   * *    5   *  
    '!  ( *A **   &* 34 

  > 4  , * * 5 * : %%    *
   *  * %   $% : %%  %   8 
     * 34 
  > 4  , *
 4  *   & % 8 %   !*:  *  
B+ ). - * 42)* 1 625, * 2  *6!)-
 "%% $&*& % :  *  
% *  * !& C  &
34 
 *> 4  , ** & *% :     8
 
:   * &   & &    &   8
 
  % !
      5 !* C "
% *  * !& C  &  34 
  > 4  , *
% :     
:  * : %%    %% *8
%%: & 5    & **   * %%& % ! *
 * '!  ( *3* *   : 
  &  C   '!  ( *&    
      5 %&   


#112)3 )2
55 *
*75!2, 5+$88$"&
3&& 5       5 ! * *     
'%  %% *    *  **% :
<*   5  * *     '% 
  6 :E :E  5 ;
)F" 3 "'$)),"23
G3"H+3' I =,G,,$  
! # GH&& G "
G)  "3%! 35 "+ %% 3 :  $G  8J %=
2 *)<  :E :E
" 8 "; 2 %  6 
?;8
= 46 
?;8"
# 

 
 


2  *  % *&! *&  4      *
6) *+% !*,,
B
@ ) *
89** 9  ?"@ ) *
, !,,

??@ ) *K*,,
B"@ $*"< *  ,,

@)"$,,
B@  $  5 G! !" 5 **,,
? 2 
**&$*"< *  ,, *;$ "5 :E E

;
2  **&  * * 7 ) *, !,,
?; 3 *+ ! 8
: 

 **) 
;,: *5 %%2L ?;"?
 % ( **      5   !* ** !
   
      & *   $% 

BANKRUPTCIES

The Marketplace


ADVERTISEMENT

To advertise: 800-366-3975 or WSJ.com/classifieds

BANKRUPTCIES

    
 
 
  
9  6 3,>L3
3 23'2"9G3 2
)3'K9 3) H'>$
9 
^
*








 
*

 8 ??'
# %"   * 
 
 
  

  
  
  

   


  
   


 

      

 

      ;

>  ) *  
& )
 *  &:E  #  

    $  "%  #
  
   5 ! 
# $!  

 
    %& 
 '
& (


#   !  $  
# )   
)

*## 
" ++

, %#  "
$ 
%  **  
 5    * %     
 # *%*)    !

    %& 
 '
& (


#   !  $  
# )   
)

*## 
" ++

, %#   "
$ B%  *  
    % ! %% * %* 
 4   *  #$%    *34  "
 
    &  5  8   
*  *  ****  %% 5 %
 #*

      3&& 8
 5  &$%     5  "



      
 8
     $%    *& %%  8
*% *    **  5 % %
& &  !5 *  ! *677 **  %
7 % 4  %% ! *A* !
%   B?? ;" 8 "B%% & 
??8
"B    %E  %*   *

& %   !* %     *  **&
& 5 $" 3'  6  677:::***! 5 

      
  
  *  5    * !
% *  4 %   C   %  5 8
* * " %K999&$% 

      $% 
 * 5 * *    !  *
'* *'* L+% !
 +%  & %   9 *  *
+% A**  5   *******
 ** !*:   
%  
9 *&*+%  *9    $% 
 :  *+%  5    
$% 

      $% 
 
        5 8
* *   &&   !*E   8
!   5 :$%   
    
  
  6  5  " 
 :E :E
 
 $ -  #  )+*
$
    9 
    9 
   
"
, 4 !"5
:E :E
 2 %  6 

" 8 B= *  % 6 
" 8 


"
# 

 
 


 : ;


  
< 

 =>>?=

(^2) %  &!  & % 4 
3   ) 5 H 9 A  4
     
?;   % !
 &     &
: C         < 
 %%
&      
%
&! & &  % 4    

  5   " %% &
 &        : 
& A )%    "!   677
   %7 % 4  2 %   &
A  5  *&  &
    6;G )) 


J $% 
:E
""
 % (  :    
 5   !    $%  

     * %  %
AUCTIONS





 3  4  5  67  68  9 7
:;
 8
<= > 5
?8@@@35
; 8   ; 6 
9A 6  7  8 7> 5
 86 7 ;9  8 ;86 7 > B 78   96 B  86  7  5 CC@4 5  7  8   6

78  9 


 6  7 
5 66 96 
9  7  9 ; 6 
9 @44! 5
;76 65  6 5D4"# 9  D4 4 = $ 7 ; 6 
9 % 5

 5 
$  7
 76  8  86 
9E 8  8 A 7 8F 8  8 A 6  9
7  7  8  96  6 
98
7A 77  96  8 G 7  88 
7 


786  6  968
7 
9  6 
98
$ 9B 9   9 ; 9 ;6 9
6  6  6
A 77  96  8
$  7  96 6B  6 6B
9> 7
9  96  
9  6 
9
7 & 69  88 $
7  76 ; 7 ;7
8  5 '
6 
9  8  6  5   ;86 9 ; 6 
$

A 9 ;B7? 8   9  
7    96 6B:; 7  9  9 < 9  7  88    7  88 B6 6 
9 () 7  6
(  9  9
$$7C 7  8  9 6;7
$;7 8  7  9 ; 9 6  6  $ 7  7  8  96  9     96 6B 9  7


$
$ > 8 $;9 8
6 ;  5 )
H 78 $
7   7 A  9
6 & B6
9 
7  B  86 
95 C"C@4  9  8 
6
8; 6  86 & 9   9  9
$$ 7 B  86  5 C@4C@4 5  99  9 78 A  9
6 & B 7 
9  
 86  7  5 C@@C@4  9  7 :; 7  6

8  69
9  7 $;9 
8  6   76 & <
$ 4I
$  9  9 ;7 8  7  B
9


9  86 ); 85 C@DC@45 88;+ 66  78  7



 5  9  
8  9  6  6
;6;B 7 ;
9 B;B 7
 9  8  7 ;6 99
 8  6  76  99



9  86  7  54 CHC@4@4=) 7  6  @H5H3 5 ,   8  '
76  86 - ; 76  7 
9 A 6 
 76
$ '
76 A 86 - ; 76  7
$ 
;6 86 - ; 76  7  9 
 76
$ ! 86 .$
$ '
76 A 86 - ; 76  7   9  5 H)
A98
@D '
76 / 9    86
$ 
9 
7  9   7  9 0 9  7  )A 5 7
:;
 8
5 5=
'?8 @H 44 44H H 5  4 5= @
H@44 44  4 " 5  5= @H@4444H D 5 @5<=) 7 6@ D5D"5=,   8  
;6 .$
$ '
76 A86 :; 76  7 

;6 86 - ; 76  7
$'
76  86 - ; 76  7  9 '
76 A 86 - ; 76  7
$ 
;6 86 - ; 76  7
$ 5@)A5@3'
76  / 9 

 86
$ 
9 
7  9   7  9  9 $
76 )A 5 7
:;
 8
5 5=
'?8 3 4@ 44 44@"5DD 7 8= 3 4@@4444@
454@5= 3 4@ 44  44  4544 5<=) 7 6H @H" 5  5 ,   8  
;6 86 - ; 76  7 G; 9 ; 9 8  6  9 
;6
.$
$ '
76  86 - ; 76  7
$ 5@@)A5@3'
76  / 9   * 86
$ 
9 
7  9   7  9  9 $
76 )A 5  7
:;
 8


5 5=
' 3 @@@4444@" 4 5=
'  3 @@ 44 44@" 5  5<=) 7  6  D5@ 5 ,   8 
 76 B 9 
;6 9 ! 86


$  96  7  9 
$  9
 8  967  1;$ / 7
 G; 9 ; 9 8  6  9 
;6 86 
79  7  9  5 )A5@D'
76  / 9   4
! 86
$ ) 7 
7  9   7  9 
;  8 )
A98 7
:;
 8
5 5=
'@@ 4  44 443<5
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES








 
%



 







 



 
 
 




 
 


Free download pdf