Weekly Insights Apr 21, 2017

Executive Summary

• This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” discusses the state of the British consumer and how the recently announced general election on June 8 may impact consumer spending in the UK.
• Walmart is in talks to buy men’s clothing retailer Bonobos for about $300 million, according to people familiar with the situation. It would be Walmart’s fourth purchase of a small, online-focused retailer since it bought Jet.com for $3.3 billion last September.
• British grocery retailer Sainsbury’s has opened 50 Argos digital stores across its supermarkets, and it intends to open a total of 250 over the next three years. The retailer also plans to update 60 existing Argos stores to a new digital format.
• Alisports, the sports affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced that it is partnering with the Olympic Council of Asia to bring e-sports (competitive computer gaming) to the 2018 and 2022 Asian Games, to be held in Jakarta and Hangzhou, respectively.