French sport retailer Decathlon, owned by the Mulliez group, has been accused by investigative journalism NGO Disclose and French TV programme “Cash Investigation” of having as a subcontractor in China a company exploiting Uighur labour, which Decathlon denies, and of sourcing cotton from the Xinjiang region, the AFP agency learnt on Thursday.
Mulliez-owned Decathlon has been accused by Disclose and French TV programme Cash Investigation of having as a subcontractor in China a company exploiting Uighur labour – Martin LELIEVRE / AFP/Archives
Decathlon has been accused by the two media outlets of sourcing textiles from Qingdao Jifa Group, a company that “relies on a forced labour network in China,” reported Disclose in an article published on Thursday morning.
In the Cash Investigation documentary to be broadcast Thursday evening, which AFP was able to view, a local executive stated that cotton stored at the warehouse of a company producing for Decathlon might come from Xinjiang, the region where the Muslim Uighur people are the main ethnic group.
Decathlon’s communication department confirmed it is sourcing goods from Qingdao Jifa, while also stating to AFP that “we strongly condemn all forms of forced labour. We are committed on a daily basis to ensuring integrity and respect for fundamental rights in our business operations and value chain, and we will not hesitate to react and take all the necessary measures if the facts were to be proven.”
The same source said that “100% of the cotton used by Decathlon in manufacturing its products comes from sources committed to sustainable practices, guaranteeing the absence of any form of forced labour, and including organic and recycled cotton.”
In the past, Xinjiang has been hit by bloody attacks attributed by the authorities to Islamists and separatists, and China has launched a huge security campaign in the region, labelling it as counter-terrorism. According to claims by NGOs and Western studies, which AFP wasn’t able to verify, Uighurs are being subjected to forced labour practices.
In 2020, the United Nations published an alarming report on the plight of the Muslim minority in Xinjiang. A publication that came in the wake of an alert issued in 2020 by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and was followed the same year by a document from the Center for Global Policy denouncing a more serious involvement of fashion industry players than previously reported. Amnesty International hammered the point home in 2021, after more than 180 associations and trade unions had formed the Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uighur Region.
Cash Investigation mentioned products bearing the logo of the US pro basketball league, the NBA, of which Decathlon has been a partner since 2021. Decathlon claims to be licensed to sell products “in the livery of the NBA and its franchises,” and to do so “in over 1,700 Decathlon stores worldwide and online,” in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
The US Congress passed a law in December 2021 prohibiting all product imports from the Xinjiang region, unless companies in the region are able to prove that their manufacturing activity does not involve forced labour.
Cash Investigation is also interested in the legal status of the Mulliez family’s empire, which includes retailers such as Leroy Merlin, Kiabi, Flunch, Boulanger and Auchan, all controlled by the Association familiale Mulliez (AFM), a collective body that doesn’t identify as a consolidated group.
At the end of 2024, Auchan announced an extensive redundancy plan threatening 2,400 jobs in France, but other AFM-controlled retailers, like Decathlon, enjoy a more solid financial position, and the unions have called for redeploying Auchan employees in them.
Given the situation, Decathlon shocked its employee representatives by distributing €1 billion in shareholder dividends at the end of 2024.
Amazon.com posted sales in last year’s final quarter that topped Wall Street estimates, but investors initially drove shares down due to weakness in the cloud computing unit and a lower-than-expected revenue estimate.
Reuters
Amazon’s shares fell as much as 4% in extended trade after the report, erasing about $90 billion worth of stock market value, and were last down about 2%.
The tech company’s sales estimate for the first quarter failed to meet analysts’ expectations, even if a negative impact of $2 billion from last year’s Leap Day is included. The company said it anticipates between $151 billion and $155 billion, compared with the average estimate of $158 billion.
The company’s cloud unit, Amazon Web Services, reported a 19% rise in revenue to $28.79 billion, falling short of estimates of $28.87 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Amazon joins smaller cloud providers Microsoft and Google in reporting weak cloud numbers.
The cloud weakness occurs as investors have grown increasingly impatient with Big Tech’s multibillion-dollar capital spending and are hungry for returns from hefty investments in AI.
“After very strong third-quarter numbers, this quarter the growth rates all missed. That’s what the market doesn’t want to hear,” said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust. He said this is particularly true after the emergence of new competitors in artificial intelligence such as China’s DeepSeek.
Like its rivals, Amazon is investing heavily in artificial intelligence software development. At its annual AWS conference in December it showed off new AI software models that it hopes will draw new business and consumer customers. Later this month, it is set to release its long-awaited Alexa generative artificial intelligence voice service after delays over concerns about the quality and speed, Reuters reported earlier this week.
Competitors Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet both posted slowing cloud growth in last year’s fourth quarter, sending shares lower. The companies, along with Meta Platforms, said costs to develop infrastructure for artificial intelligence software contributed to sharply higher anticipated capital expenditures for 2025, a total of around $230 billion between them.
Amazon’s retail business helped offset the cloud weakness, with the company reporting online sales growth of 7% in the quarter to $75.56 billion. That compared with estimates of $74.55 billion.
Amazon forecast operating profit of $14 billion to $18 billion for the first quarter of 2025, missing an average analyst estimate of $18.35 billion.
The company reported revenue of $187.8 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of $187.30 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Advertising sales, a closely watched metric, rose 18% to $17.3 billion. That compares with the average estimate of $17.4 billion.
Net income nearly doubled to $20 billion from $10.6 billion a year earlier. The Seattle retailer reported earnings of $1.86 per share, compared with expectations of $1.49 per share.
Kenvue Inc. announced on Thursday net sales increased 0.1% to $15.5 billion for the full year ended December 29, 2024, on the back of softer-than-expected sales growth.
Kenvue reports flat 2024 sales. – Neutrogena
Fourth quarter, net sales decreased 0.1%. By segment, the self-care segment and the skin health and beauty segment climbed 2.1% year-over-year to $1.59 billion in net sales, and 1% to $1.01 billion, respectively. Meanwhile, the essential health segment recorded a 4.1% drop in fourth-quarter net sales to $1.08 billion.
Kenvue-owned brands include Neutrogena, Aveeno, Band-Aid Brand, Johnson’s, Listerine, and Tylenol.
“We delivered on our 2024 profit commitments despite headwinds that resulted in softer than expected sales growth and we enter 2025 as a more competitive company with stronger foundations,” said Thibaut Mongon, chief executive officer.
“We remain focused on leveraging our increased brand investments to accelerate growth and deliver long-term value creation centered around profitable growth, durable cash flow generation, and disciplined capital allocation.”
Looking ahead, the company expects a 2025 net sales change of -1% to +1% year-over-year, with organic sales growth of 2% to 4%. Kenvue projects flat to 2% year-over-year growth in adjusted diluted earnings per share for 2025,
“As Kenvue enters our next chapter, we expect to accelerate performance throughout the year, while navigating the dynamic external environment contemplated within our outlook,” added Paul Ruh, chief financial officer.
“We expect to drive further productivity and operational efficiency gains, which will fund our planned increase in brand investments, positioning us to grow adjusted operating margin for the year.”
France’s L’Oreal said on Thursday that Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, granddaughter of the company’s founder and one of the world’s richest women, planned to step down from the board, with her son Jean-Victor to take over her role as vice-chair.
Reuters
Jean-Victor Meyers, 38, and younger brother Nicolas Meyers are already directors on the board.
Bettencourt Meyers has also proposed the family-owned holding company Tethys, L’Oreal’s largest shareholder, join the board, alongside her sons.
The proposal will be voted on at the annual general meeting on April 29, the company said in a statement.
Entertainment8 years ago