Nike Names Insider New Converse CEO After Jared Carver Steps Down
Nike is in the midst of realigning its business by sport across its Nike, Jordan and Converse brands.
It has faced sluggish sales growth and mounting competition in the global athletic wear market, prompting cost-cutting measures and a strategic pivot toward performance-focused sports segments.
Carver spent 15 years at Converse, including in leadership roles in North America and EMEA.
Cain, a 21-year Nike veteran and currently vice president and general manager of Nike Global Men's, will relocate to Boston and take charge as president and CEO after a transition period through the end of July.
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Al Arabiya
11 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Less selection, higher prices: How tariffs are shaping the holiday shopping season
With summer in full swing in the United States, retail executives are sweating a different season. It's less than 22 weeks before Christmas, a time when businesses that make and sell consumer goods usually nail down their holiday orders and prices. But President Donald Trump's vacillating trade policies–part of his effort to revive the nation's diminished manufacturing base and to reduce the US deficit in exported goods–have complicated those end-of-year plans. Balsam Hill, which sells artificial trees and other decorations online, expects to publish fewer and thinner holiday catalogs because the featured products keep changing with the tariff–import tax–rates the president sets, postpones, and revises. The uncertainty has led us to spend all our time trying to rejigger what we're ordering, where we're bringing it in, when it's going to get here,' Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill parent company Balsam Brands, said. 'We don't know which items we're going to have to put in the catalog or not. Months of confusion over which foreign countries' products may become more expensive to import has left a question mark over the holiday shopping season. US retailers often begin planning for the winter holidays in January and typically finalize the bulk of their orders by the end of June. The seesawing tariffs already have factored into their calculations. The consequences for consumers? Stores may not have the specific gift items customers want come November and December. Some retail suppliers and buyers scaled back their holiday lines rather than risking a hefty tax bill or expensive imports going unsold. Businesses still are setting prices, but say shoppers can expect many things to cost more, though by how much depends partly on whether Trump's latest round of reciprocal tariffs kicks in next month. The lack of clarity has been especially disruptive for the US toy industry, which sources nearly 80 percent of its products from China. American toy makers usually ramp up production in April, a process delayed until late May this year after the president put a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods, according to Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of the Toy Association, an industry trade group. The US tariff rate may have dropped significantly from its spring high–a truce in the US-China trade war is set to expire on Aug. 12–but continues to shape the forthcoming holiday period. 'Manufacturing activity is way down from a year ago for small- and medium-sized US toy companies,' Ahearn said. The late start to factory work in China means holiday toys are only now arriving at US warehouses, industry experts said. A big unknown is whether tariffs will keep stores from replenishing supplies of any breakout hit toys that emerge in September,' said James Zahn, editor-in-chief of the trade publication Toy Book. In the retail world, planning for Christmas in July usually involves mapping out seasonal marketing and promotion strategies. Dean Smith, who co-owns independent toy stores JaZams in Princeton, New Jersey, and Lahaska, Pennsylvania, said he recently spent an hour and a half running through pricing scenarios with a Canadian distributor because the wholesale cost of some products increased by 20 percent. Increasing his own prices that much might turn off customers, Smith said, so he explored ways to maintain a reasonable margin without raising prices beyond what consumers would accept. He ordered a lower cost Crazy Forts building set so he would have the toy on hand and left out the kids' edition of the Anomia card game because he didn't think customers would pay what he would have to charge. 'In the end, I had to eliminate half of the products that I normally buy,' Smith said. Hilary Key, owner of The Toy Chest in Nashville, Indiana, said she tries to get new games and toys in early most years to see which ones she should stock up on for the winter holidays. This year, she abandoned her product testing for fear any delayed orders would incur high import taxes. Meanwhile, vendors of toys made in China and elsewhere bombarded Key with price increase notices. For example, Schylling, which makes Needoh Care Bear collectibles and modern versions of nostalgic toys like My Little Pony, increased prices on orders by 20 percent, according to Key. All the price hikes are subject to change if the tariff situation changes again. Key worries her store won't have as compelling a product assortment as she prides herself on carrying. 'My concern is not that I'll have nothing because I can bring in more books. I can bring in more gifts or I can bring in just things that are manufactured in other places,' she said. 'But that doesn't mean I'm going to have the best stock for every developmental age for every special need. The retail industry may have to keep taking a whack-a-mole approach to navigating the White House's latest tariff ultimatums and temporary reprieves. Last week, the president again reset the rates on imports from Brazil, the European Union, Mexico, and other major trading partners, but said they would not take effect until Aug. 1. The brief pause should extend the window importers have to bring in seasonal merchandise at the current baseline tariff of 10 percent. The Port of Los Angeles had the busiest June in its 117-year history after companies raced to secure holiday shipments and July imports look strong so far, according to Gene Seroka, the port's executive director. 'In my view, we're seeing a peak season push right now to bring in goods ahead of potentially higher tariffs later this summer,' Seroka said Monday. The pace of port activity so far this year reflects a tariff whipsaw effect–imports slowing when tariffs kick in and rebounding when they're paused, he said. For us consumers, lower inventory levels, fewer selections, and higher prices are likely as we head into the holidays. Smith, who co-owns the two JaZams stores with his partner Joanne Farrugia, said they started placing holiday orders two months earlier than usual 'for certain items that we felt were essential for us to have at particular pricing.' They doubled their warehouse space to store the stockpile. But some shoppers are trying to get ahead of higher prices just like businesses are, he said. He's noticed customers snapping up items that will likely be popular during the holidays like Jellycat plush toys and large stuffed unicorns and dogs. Any sales are welcome, but Smith and Farrugia are wary of having to restock at a higher cost. 'We're just trying to be as friendly as we can to the consumer and still have a product portfolio or profile that is gonna meet the needs of all of our various customers which is getting more and more challenging by the day,' Smith said. Balsam Brands' Harman said he's had to resign himself to not having as robust a selection of ornaments and frosted trees to sell as in years past. Soon it will be too late to import meaningful additions to his range of products. 'Our purpose as a company is to create joy together and we're going to do our very best to do that this year,' Harman said. 'We're just not going to have a bunch of the items that consumers want this year and that's not a position we want to be in.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Karachi markets strike today over new tax measures seen as ‘anti-business'
KARACHI: Businesses in Pakistan's commercial capital of Karachi are observing a strike today, Saturday, to protest tax provisions in the country's new Finance Act, as a growing number of trade bodies express frustration over what they say are 'anti-business' measures that threaten to paralyze economic activity. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which spearheaded the strike call, said dozens of major trade and market associations from across the city had endorsed the shutdown, including those representing restaurants, motorcycle spare parts, iron and steel merchants and packaging manufacturers. 'All of Karachi will be closed,' KCCI President Muhammad Jawed Bilwani said at a news conference on Friday after an emergency meeting with market leaders. 'This is just a one-day strike for now,' he added. 'But if we do not get written assurances before the next meeting, we will escalate, striking once a week, twice a week or even for entire weeks.' Bilwani said KCCI had already conveyed its concerns to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and called on the government to roll back provisions that authorize the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to arrest traders, impose penalties on cash transactions above Rs200,000, and enforce mandatory digital invoicing for goods transport. 'We are the ones who keep the economy running,' he said. 'If our issues are not resolved, there will be no industry left in this country and we will take our businesses to Dubai.' Saturday's strike follows a previous warning issued by the chamber earlier this week, when it said over 50 trade associations across Pakistan had endorsed the protest. It also described the level of support as unprecedented in the country's history. Despite the broad show of unity in Karachi, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), the country's top business body, said on Friday it had postponed its own plans to participate in the strike after what it described as successful talks with the government. 'FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh has announced the July 19 strike has been deferred following positive engagement with the government,' a statement from the federation said. The split reflects a growing divide within the business community, with some factions seeking negotiation while others escalate their protest campaign. Traders and transporters say the new tax provisions will burden already-struggling businesses and increase harassment by tax officials, especially in cities like Karachi, where law and order challenges, inflation and declining purchasing power have hurt commercial activity. The KCCI has insisted that only written guarantees from the government will convince traders to call off the broader strike campaign. Until then, Bilwani said, the protest will continue.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Trump signs stablecoin law as crypto industry aims for mainstream adoption
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a law to create a regulatory regime for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins, a milestone that could pave the way for the digital assets to become an everyday way to make payments and move money. The bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 308 to 122, with support from nearly half the Democratic members and most Republicans. It had earlier been approved by the Senate. The law is a huge win for crypto supporters, who have long lobbied for such a regulatory framework in a bid to gain greater legitimacy for an industry that began in 2009 as a digital Wild West famed for its innovation and speculative chaos. 'This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and pioneering spirit,' said Trump at a signing event that included dozens of government officials, crypto executives and lawmakers. 'It's good for the dollar and it's good for the country.' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a statement, said the new technology would buttress the dollar's status as the global reserve currency, expand access to the dollar economy and boost demand for US Treasuries, which back stablecoins. Stablecoins are designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 US dollar peg, and their use has exploded, notably by crypto traders moving funds between tokens. The industry hopes they will enter mainstream use for sending and receiving payments instantly. The new law requires stablecoins to be backed by liquid assets — such as US dollars and short-term Treasury bills — and for issuers to disclose publicly the composition of their reserves monthly. Crypto companies and executives argue such legislation will enhance stablecoins' credibility and make banks, retailers and consumers more willing to use them to transfer funds instantly. The stablecoin market, which crypto data provider CoinGecko said is valued at more than $260 billion, could grow to $2 trillion by 2028 under the new law, Standard Chartered bank estimated earlier this year. The law's passage culminates a long lobbying effort by the industry, which donated more than $245 million in last year's elections to aid pro-crypto candidates including Trump, according to Federal Election Commission data. The Republican president, who has launched his own coin, thanked executives for their support during the 2024 presidential campaign, saying, 'I pledged that we would bring back American liberty and leadership and make the United States the crypto capital of the world, and that's what we've done.' Democrats and critics have said the law should have blocked big tech companies from issuing their own stablecoins, which could increase the clout of an already powerful sector, contained stronger anti-money laundering protections and prohibited foreign stablecoin issuers. 'By failing to close known loopholes and protect America's digital dollar infrastructure, Congress has risked making the US financial system a global haven for criminals and adversarial regimes to exploit,' said Scott Greytak, deputy executive director of Transparency International US Could boost demand for T-bills Big US banks are internally debating an expansion into cryptocurrencies as regulators give stronger backing to digital assets, but banks' initial steps will focus on pilot programs, partnerships or limited crypto trading, Reuters reported in May. Several crypto firms including Circle and Ripple are seeking banking licenses, which would cut costs by bypassing intermediary banks. Backers of the bill have said it could potentially give rise to a new source of demand for short-term US government debt, because stablecoin issuers will have to purchase more of the debt to back their assets. Trump has sought to broadly overhaul US cryptocurrency policies, signing an executive order in March establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve. The president launched a meme coin called $TRUMP in January and partly owns crypto company World Liberty Financial.
