Jewellery Maker Pandora Cuts Sales Growth Forecast 

The charm bracelet maker said comparable sales grew 4% in October, a stronger start to the crucial holiday shopping season. (Getty Images for Pandora Jewellery)
The charm bracelet maker said comparable sales grew 4% in October, a stronger start to the crucial holiday shopping season. (Getty Images for Pandora Jewellery)
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Jewellery Maker Pandora Cuts Sales Growth Forecast 

The charm bracelet maker said comparable sales grew 4% in October, a stronger start to the crucial holiday shopping season. (Getty Images for Pandora Jewellery)
The charm bracelet maker said comparable sales grew 4% in October, a stronger start to the crucial holiday shopping season. (Getty Images for Pandora Jewellery)

Danish jewellery brand Pandora on Wednesday cut its comparable sales growth forecast for the full year and reported weaker than expected sales growth for the third quarter as they declined in Europe.

Operating profit was 880 million Danish crowns ($137.4 million), down from 980 million in the same quarter a year ago. Analysts had on average forecast an operating profit of 873 million, according to a poll provided by Pandora.

Comparable sales growth of 2% was slower than the expected 3%. In Europe, comparable sales fell 1% as they slowed in Germany, Britain, France and Italy.

Pandora shares are down 38% since the start of this year as US tariffs on imports and the surging price of silver, a key material in its jewellery, add to its costs, while shoppers have grown more cautious about spending on non-essentials.

Pandora cut its comparable sales growth guidance for this year to 3-4%, from 4-5% previously, but stuck to an organic growth forecast of 7-8%.

The charm bracelet maker said comparable sales grew 4% in October, a stronger start to the crucial holiday shopping season.



Primark to Open First Dubai Store

A woman speaks on her mobile phone as she browses a shop for new clothes ahead of the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival in Dubai on March 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A woman speaks on her mobile phone as she browses a shop for new clothes ahead of the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival in Dubai on March 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Primark to Open First Dubai Store

A woman speaks on her mobile phone as she browses a shop for new clothes ahead of the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival in Dubai on March 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A woman speaks on her mobile phone as she browses a shop for new clothes ahead of the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival in Dubai on March 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Budget fashion retailer Primark has confirmed it will press ahead with opening its first Dubai store on Thursday despite the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, during which the emirate has been hit by Iranian missiles and drones.

Primark, owned by London-listed Associated British Foods, and its ⁠franchise partner Alshaya ⁠Group will open the store in Dubai Mall.

Primark and Alshaya plan to open two more stores in Dubai - at City Centre ⁠Mirdif in April and Mall of the Emirates in May.

Dubai's malls have seen a sharp fall in visitors since the Iran war began, reflecting a collapse in tourism.

Primark and Alshaya plan to open stores in Bahrain and Qatar by ⁠the ⁠end of the year.

Primark entered the Middle East with a store in Kuwait in October last year.

As of the end of January, Primark traded from about 475 stores in 18 countries across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and the US.


ASOS Posts 50% Profit Jump as Cost Cuts Overshadow Merchandise Value Dip

FILE PHOTO: People walk past the ASOS pop-up store in London, Britain, November 12, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk past the ASOS pop-up store in London, Britain, November 12, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo/File Photo
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ASOS Posts 50% Profit Jump as Cost Cuts Overshadow Merchandise Value Dip

FILE PHOTO: People walk past the ASOS pop-up store in London, Britain, November 12, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk past the ASOS pop-up store in London, Britain, November 12, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo/File Photo

ASOS reported a nearly 50% jump in first-half adjusted core profit on Wednesday, as cost cuts overshadowed a 9% decline in gross merchandise value, and helped lift gross margins.

The online fashion retailer has been trying to revive its fast-fashion ⁠appeal among its ⁠core twenty-something shoppers, while sharpening its focus on profitability through tighter cost control amid intensifying competition from cheaper Chinese rivals.

British retailers have ⁠been squeezed by weaker consumer spending as high inflation has curbed discretionary purchases.

UK inflation held steady at 3% in February, official figures showed on Wednesday, ahead of a likely uptick as the Middle East war pushes prices higher.

According to Reuters, ASOS said ⁠its ⁠GMV decline improved sequentially through the reported period, with its largest market - the UK - outperforming the group with a 5% decline.

The company also reiterated its annual profit guidance of 150 million pounds ($200.7 million)-180 million pounds.


Paris Appeals Court Rejects Government's Request for Suspension of Shein's Marketplace

(FILES) This photograph shows the logo of Asian e-commerce giant Shein in its stall at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows the logo of Asian e-commerce giant Shein in its stall at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP)
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Paris Appeals Court Rejects Government's Request for Suspension of Shein's Marketplace

(FILES) This photograph shows the logo of Asian e-commerce giant Shein in its stall at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows the logo of Asian e-commerce giant Shein in its stall at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP)

A Paris Court of Appeal on Thursday rejected the French government's request to suspend Chinese online platform Shein's marketplace, defeating an appeal by the state after a Paris court ruled against the government in December.

Shein has ⁠been embroiled in ⁠a scandal since France's consumer watchdog DGCCRF found sex dolls resembling children and banned weapons for sale ⁠on its marketplace last year, prompting the government to attempt to suspend the platform.

In December, a Paris court had rejected the government's request to suspend the Shein site in France as a ⁠whole ⁠for three months, saying it would be "disproportionate", prompting the government to appeal the ruling.

Shein banned all sex dolls and suspended the adult products category from its marketplace globally on November 3 after the consumer watchdog's findings.