Tag: Retail

Canada’s BMO to close indirect retail auto finance business, flags job losses

by  on  in Business Financial News
FILE PHOTO: A Bank of Montreal logo is seen outside of a branch in Ottawa

A Bank of Montreal (BMO) logo is seen outside of a branch in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

TORONTO, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Bank of Montreal (BMO) (BMO.TO) is winding down its indirect retail auto finance business and shifting focus to other areas in a move that will result in an unspecified number of job losses, Canada’s third-largest bank said.

The bank, which announced the move on Saturday, has conducted this business in Canada and the United States. The move comes after BMO’s overall bad debt provisions rose to C$492 million, compared with C$136 million a year earlier, for the quarter ended July 31 in a sign of growing stress consumers face from a rapid rise in borrowing costs.

Under the indirect retail auto finance business, the bank works with car dealerships to arrange financing for buyers, who make monthly payments to the lender.

“By winding down the indirect retail auto finance business, we have the ability to focus our resources on areas where we believe our competitive positioning is strongest,” BMO said in a statement to Reuters.

The bank is working closely with employees who will be affected by job cuts to provide support, it said.

In a letter sent to car dealers and seen by Reuters, the head of the business Paul Hunsley said the termination of the dealer agreement would be effective as of Sept. 15, but the bank would fund all contracts submitted and approved prior to the date.

At the end of July, BMO’s consumer installment and other personal loan portfolio stood at C$104 billion, and included C$54.7 billion in home equity loans.

The remaining loans in this portfolio are primarily auto loans, but also include other loans, including loans for boats, recreational vehicles and motorcycles, Edward Jones

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KKR raises stake in Indian billionaire Ambani’s Reliance Retail with $250 mln

by  on  in Business Financial News

[1/3]A worker pushes shopping baskets next to packets of Nestle’s Maggi noodles and Reliance’s Snac tac noodles inside a Reliance supermarket in Mumbai, India, March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Niharika Kulkarni Acquire Licensing Rights

NEW DELHI, Sept 11 (Reuters) – KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) has increased its stake in Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ventures by investing an additional $250 million at a valuation of $100 billion, adding to its bet on the country’s biggest retailer.

The private equity firm’s follow-on investment translates into an additional equity stake of 0.25% in Reliance Retail on a fully-diluted basis, taking KKR’s total equity stake in the Indian company to 1.42%, the retailer said in a statement on Monday.

The investment marks growing interest in Ambani’s retail operations that stretch from groceries to electronics, and include foreign partnerships with brands such as Jimmy Choo, Marks & Spencer and Pret A Manger. It has more than 18,000 stores and also competes with Amazon (AMZN.O) and Walmart’s (WMT.N) Flipkart.

In 2020, Reliance Retail raised $5.71 billion by selling a 10.09% stake to investors including KKR, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, General Atlantic and the United Arab Emirates’ Mubadala.

That year, KKR had invested 55.5 billion rupees ($669.65 million) in Reliance Retail. Ambani recently said the 2020 fundraising valued the business at around $52 billion, and “in less than three years, the valuation of retail has almost doubled.”

KKR’s latest investment comes primarily from its Asian Fund IV and the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, Reliance said. Morgan Stanley acted as financial adviser to Reliance Retail.

Reuters exclusively reported this month Reliance was in advanced talks with global investors to raise around $2.5 billion by the end of September, ahead of a potential stock market listing. Ambani said in 2019 that the group planned

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Kroger Precision Marketing Builds In-House Advertising Platform to Power the Future of Retail Media

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

The retail media business of Kroger is expanding talent and capabilities to improve shopping experiences and increase advertising performance.

CINCINNATI, OH / ACCESSWIRE / June 28, 2023 / Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), the retail media business of Kroger powered by 84.51°, is building the next generation of advertising technology in-house. The new KPM advertising platform will accelerate the ability for retail data to improve shopping experiences while also making it easier for advertisers to activate, measure, and optimize campaigns.

The new self-service platform will initially encompass Kroger’s existing product listing ads and onsite display advertising. It will later power KPM’s entire retail media service portfolio.

“Retailers are creating the consumer-first future of advertising,” said Cara Pratt, Senior Vice President of Kroger Precision Marketing. “We know we need to remove friction from the retail media buying process. Building a new foundation of integrated technology empowers brands and agencies to maximize retail media’s potential. Together, we will deliver a more convenient, personalized, and inspirational shopping experience.”

Retail media emerged with fragmented advertising systems for different media channels. By building an in-house advertising platform, KPM will offer a more unified marketing strategy between various on-site and offsite media channels. The new platform will also pave the way for greater interoperability with other media activation and management software.

As a self-service advertising platform, initial capabilities will allow clients to:

  • Reach relevant audiences using search-based insights and custom ad groups.
  • Design, iterate, and activate creative messages within the platform.
  • Customize and save multiple creative templates by brand and product.
  • Optimize all campaign elements including budgets, messaging, and flighting.
  • Build reports and boost performance against deterministic retail data – including sales lift, household penetration and unit lift.

All advertisers will be able to transition to the new platform before the end of 2023. Advertisers using

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