Shaq joins Papa John’s to help chain’s image
Papa John’s has a new pitchman: Shaquille O’neal.
The chain says the pro basketball hall-of-famer will appear on TV commercials and promote Papa John’s in other ways. He will also join the company’s board of directors and invest in nine of its restaurants in the Atlanta area.
Papa John’s is trying to revive its image after the company’s founder and namesake, John Schnatter, was reported to have used a racial slur during a media training session. Schnatter has apologized for the slur and is still the Louisville, Kentucky, company’s biggest shareholder.
Papa John’s International Inc. says it will pay O’neal more than $8 million in cash and company stock for a three-year endorsement deal.
Center Street Market starts to rise in Hilliard
Construction is expected to begin Monday on Center Street Market, a 16,000-square-foot, open-air center in Hilliard that will be anchored by Crooked Can Brewing Co., said Robert Fry, one of four partners opening the market.
The Center Street Market is expected to be completed by the middle of September and will open “as soon as we can brew the beer,” Fry said.
Fry has identified nine of the market’s 11 full-time vendors: Bakes by Lo, the Cheesecake Girl, Dumplings of Fury, Meatball Mafia, Pokebap, Rime Time Pops, Serendipity, Women that Farm and Wicked Lobstah.
Crooked Can will have a taproom at the market.
Nike’s North American sales showing hurts
The world’s largest sportswear company delivered strong third-quarter earnings Thursday but missed on one important metric: North American sales.
The latest sales miss sent the shares down 6.6 percent Friday. That’s the stock’s largest drop since Christmas Eve.
Third-quarter sales in Nike’s home market, by far its biggest, totaled $3.81 billion in the period ended Feb. 28, short of the $3.85 billion average of estimates. Nike outpaced expectations in each of its other regions — Europe, Middle East and Africa, greater China, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
The Beaverton, Oregon, company suffered three straight quarters of lower North American sales in 2017 and 2018, with rival Adidas gaining ground. That narrative reversed in recent months, with Nike recovering in North America and posting significant growth in Adidas’ home region.
Brazilian considers buying all of Avon
Avon Products Inc. gained after a report that it’s in early talks with rival Natura & Co. about a potential sale that could put the cosmetics maker and pioneer of direct-sales into Brazilian hands.
Brazil’s Natura, which bought the Body Shop retail chain in 2017, is considering buying both Avon’s private-equity-owned North American business and the London-based publicly traded company, the Wall Street Journal said Friday, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter.
Natura’s news department didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The beauty industry has been facing new challenges as personal-care trends shift rapidly. Hip startups ranging from venture capital-backed American brands to Korean beauty companies have eaten away at market share held by industry incumbents. While L’oreal SA and Estee Lauder Cos., the world’s two largest beauty businesses, have managed to acquire hot brands and use them to attract new young customers, Avon hasn’t been as successful on that front.