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China’s Anta Sports has offered to buy Pinault family’s 29% Puma stake, sources say 

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19 hours ago

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Reuters

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January 8, 2026

China’s Anta Sports Products has offered to buy 29% of struggling German sportswear firm Puma from France’s Pinault family, three people with knowledge of the talks said.

Inside Puma’s Oxford Street store in London – Puma

Anta made the offer a few weeks ago and has secured financing for the acquisition ⁠should a deal go ahead, said two of the sources. However, the situation had stalled, one added.

Artemis had been expecting any offer for its Puma stake ⁠to exceed 40 euros a share, a fourth person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. All four sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.

Artemis is run by Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman of Kering , which includes fashion house Gucci among its ‍brands. The Pinault ‌family acquired its Puma stake from Kering when it transformed the conglomerate into a pure luxury ⁠player in 2018.

Artemis and Puma declined ‌to comment. Anta did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Puma’s market capitalisation was ‌3.3 billion euros ($3.85 billion) at Wednesday’s close, down around 50% from the same date last year as the brand faced a steep decline in sales.

Puma’s new CEO Arthur Hoeld set out his turnaround strategy in October after sneaker releases like the Speedcat failed to generate the hype executives hoped for, while ‍sales have fallen as shoppers opted for rivals such as Adidas, On and Hoka.

Hong Kong-listed Anta, which has a track record of acquiring and revamping Western sports and lifestyle brands, had been exploring a bid ‌for Puma, a source ⁠close ​to the matter said in November. In 2019, it led a consortium to ⁠buy Amer ​Sports, owner of racquet maker Wilson and mountain sports specialist Salomon.

A senior source close to Artemis said in September the Pinault family would not sell their Puma stake at the then current market valuation but ​conceded the stake was “non-strategic.” Puma shares have since risen by 15%.

Artemis, which controls Kering as well as auction house Christie’s and Hollywood talent agency CAA, has ⁠been under investor scrutiny due to the debt it built ⁠up as Pinault sought to diversify away from Gucci during a slide in luxury sales.

© Thomson Reuters 2026 All rights reserved.



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THG chief upbeat about Ingenuity a year after demerger

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29 minutes ago

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January 9, 2026

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January 9, 2026

THG’s commerce arm Ingenuity has made “significant progress” in the 12 months since the tech company’s demerger from its THG Beauty and THG Nutrition operation to become a standalone business.

THG Ingenuity

That’s the view of THG CEO and founder Matt Moulding on the separation’s first anniversary.

Writing on LinkedIn, Moulding said it’s been a busy year that has witnessed a “reduced headcount’ from 3,350 to 2,900 by rolling out more robots and AI; increasing FY25 revenue by 17% to $912m; FY25 EBITDA expected to be around $58m, up 42% year-on-year; new partnerships secured, including Google, Microsoft, Disney and Mondelez; capex reduced by 30% year-on-year; and ending the year with net cash and liquid investments of around $192.2m (£142.4m).

Moulding also wrote: “We put the business through some chunky changes in 2025. A lot of the decisions were difficult, uncomfortable, and not always obvious at the time – but they were possible because we could step away from the glare of the [London Stock Exchange].

“Looking back now, the progress at Ingenuity is one of many reasons 2025 turned out better than it felt.

“That’s been the rhythm through the 21 years since we started THG, and I’m not sure it ever really changes. This is just founder life.”

He added: “Since demerging at 42.3p, THG Ingenuity has steadily risen through the year, with small holders now trading shares between each other at 125p: trebling in the first 12 months of being private.

“Strategic stakes obviously attract a higher valuation again, as seen with the Google partnership we announced in H2 25, but it’s great to see smaller shareholders being active in the share register.

“And so, yes, it’s fair to say 2025 ended up being a great year, even if THG Ingenuity caused a few sleepless nights along the way.”

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Sainsbury’s hails strength of Tu offer in weak market

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2 hours ago

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January 9, 2026

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January 9, 2026

The Sainsbury’s Q3 trading update on Friday came with news that its Tu clothing offer was “strong” in a tough market. The weakness of the market was amply demonstrated by a number of retailers reporting sluggish discretionary sales for the season.

Sainsbury’s Tu Clothing

As for Sainsbury’s it said that its overall approach in the 16 weeks to 3 January saw it making “significant Christmas market share gains”.

Its total sales excluding fuel rose 3.9% in the quarter and 3.3% in the six weeks to 3 January. But while grocery was up 5.4% and 5.1%, respectively, across those periods, General Merchandise and Clothing combined dipped 1.1% in Q3 and 1% in the six weeks. And the Argos operation fell 1% for the quarter and 2.2% for the six weeks.

But Sainsbury’s said that “despite softer demand and milder weather, Tu clothing achieved a strong performance within a weak market and delivered an exceptional performance in Christmas categories, including record sales of Christmas pyjamas. Our volume growth outperformed the clothing market by 10 percentage points, reflecting a step up in style and quality perceptions and improved availability both in-store and online”.

It didn’t give a specific percentage for Tu, however, so we don’t know whether its strength against a tough backdrop meant its sales rose, flatlined or even dipped.

If the Sainsbury’s experience was anything like that of rival Tesco, chances are that fashion sales will have risen. On Thursday Tesco had reported unimpressive combined Clothing and Home sales for the festive season but at Clothing alone, its said its like-for-like sales rose 4.4% with fashion continuing its outperformance compared to the weaker home operations.

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Next sales and marketing chief Shields to retire, Barnes steps up

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3 hours ago

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January 9, 2026

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January 9, 2026

Next said Friday that Jane Shields, its group sales, marketing and HR director, is planning to retire from the company in May.

Next

She’ll step down from the board on 21 May with the company saying she retires “after 40 years of outstanding service”. She actually joined as a sales assistant way back in 1985, was promoted to sales director 14 years later, then group sales & marketing director in 2010. She joined the board three years after that.

So who’s taking her role? Matt Barnes will be promoted to the role of group sales and marketing director and “will take on most of Jane’s operational remit”. That means e-commerce, brand marketing, retail stores and online customer services.

Barnes is another company veteran who joined in 1999. He’s currently online customer service director and won’t be joining the board “at this stage”.

Meanwhile the company also announced some non-exec director board changes with Jonathan Bewes, senior independent director and chairman of the Audit Committee, set to retire from the board on 21 May after a nine-year tenure.

Annette Court and digital specialist Jeni Mundy will be appointed as independent non-executive directors with effect from 1 March and 1 April, respectively. Court will be appointed as senior independent director from 21 May. Soumen Das is also being appointed Audit Committee chair at the same time.

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