Bloomberg Businessweek (Europe)
Briefs: A fight in the cockpit at United; the Sharapova fallout
●● The cockpit is under siege at United Continental. Days before CEO Oscar Muñoz was slated to return to work after a heart transplant, two hedge funds pushed to elect six directors to the company’s 12-person board and name as chairman former Continental CEO Gordon Bethune. United called the move by PAR Capital Management and Altimeter Capital Management “a hostile action.” ●● TPG Capital cut the value of its J.Crew stake by 84 percent, to $76 million. The private equity firm, along with Leonard Green & Partners, led the 2011 buyout of the company, a bet on a turnaround that is looking increasingly unlikely. Sales at J.Crew’s established stores have declined for five straight quarters. ●● Nike, Porsche, and Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer suspended sponsorship ties with Maria Sharapova after the tennis star failed a drug test. She said the substance in question was prescribed by a doctor, and she didn’t notice when it was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency in January. ●● Vivint Solar broke off a deal to be bought by SunEdison for $2.2 billion. The scrapped acquisition illustrates some of the turmoil that’s swept through the solar industry in recent months. Since it agreed to buy Vivint in July, SunEdison’s shares have slid by more than 90 percent. ●● Inditex, the Spanish apparel empire behind Zara, said it would speed Web sales and slow store expansions. A growing share of its square footage will be in big flagships, the company also said. Inditex has about 7,000 stores, but it still doesn’t offer products online in several European countries.
“The consumer’s appetite for fashion seemed to be inversely related to price.” ——Richard Hayne, CEO, Urban Outfitters, describing the challenges for retailers in 2015