Global Vibes

 

Gates opened for JJB
UNITED KINGDOM: Shares in listed UK retail group JJB Sports jumped more than 15 per cent after multi-millionaire Bill Gates purchased a stake in the company. The Microsoft founder bought 800,000 shares in the company – equating to about 3.14 per cent – through a foundation he runs with his wife Melinda. The troubled group told British media it plans to raise at least £50 million ($A100.7 million) in new capital to fund a turn-around of its operations, with the company also considering selling parts of the business.

Italy most fashionable
ITALY: Milan has beaten reigning champion New York as the world’s top fashion city, according to a US-based not-for-profit company that tracks media reporting about fashion between different cities. The Big Apple, which has held the top post for the past five years, was placed second in this year’s rankings with Paris, Rome and London rounding off the top five. The survey ranks cities partly based on how fashion terms like “haute couture” are used to describe them in both traditional and online forms of media.

Gap’s in Thailand
THAILAND: US high street chain Gap has signed an agreement to launch a series of its stores across Thailand. Under the terms of the deal with retail group Armin Systems, the leisurewear brand will open its first stores in Thailand in the northern hemisphere spring in 2010. The stores will stock Gap’s womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and babywear collections. In all, Gap operates more than 100 Gap and 34 Banana Republic franchise stores across 17 different countries.

Footwear causes choking
UNITED STATES: American footwear distribution company Buster Brown & Co and its Hong Kong affiliate Pagoda International have been forced to issue a global recall of more than 1.4 million pairs of shoes after a range of its children’s styles were found to pose a “choking hazard”. The shoes, made from plastic and manufactured in China, have a decorative wheel that was found to detach from the shoe. The two companies, whose stockists include JC Penney, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart, recalled a further 73,000 pairs back in April.