Amazon’s $2.5 Billion FTC Settlement

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order approving a framework for TikTok’s U.S. operations, setting the stage for a majority transfer of ownership to American investors.

According to the order, ByteDance and its affiliates would retain less than a 20% stake, while a group of American and allied investors would control the remaining 80%. The structure is intended to meet the “qualified divestiture” requirements under U.S. national security law, which mandated ByteDance either sell TikTok’s U.S. arm or face a ban.

Who are the investors? According to reports, Oracle, investment firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi–based MGX are expected to hold the largest stakes in the new entity, with additional backing from ByteDance’s existing U.S. investors.

Did China approve the deal? The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it “respects the company’s decision” and welcomed TikTok’s efforts to reach a commercially negotiated solution that complies with Chinese law. But public approval is pending.

How much is TikTok worth? Vice President JD Vance said the TikTok deal values its U.S. business at $14 billion. According to analysts, the figure is far too low — TikTok’s U.S. revenue alone topped $16 billion in 2023, implying a much higher worth.

Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle Federal Trade Commission claims that it misled customers into unwanted Prime memberships. The agreement includes a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds to an estimated 35 million customers, who will receive up to $51 each within 90 days.

📦 Prime Users: The FTC’s lawsuit, filed in June 2023 during the Biden administration, accused Amazon of misleading tens of millions of consumers into enrolling in Prime and deliberately making the cancellation process difficult.

Who will receive refunds? Customers who signed up for Prime through disputed enrollment flows — such as the Universal Prime page, checkout, shipping options, or Prime Video — and used three or fewer Prime benefits in their first year will automatically receive refunds, according to the FTC’s final order. Anyone who submits a valid claim to Amazon and is approved will also be paid up to $51.

📈 Bigger Problem: Amazon still faces a larger federal case, with the FTC accusing it of wielding monopoly power to harm competition. The trial, overseen by U.S. District Judge John Chun in Washington, is set for early 2027.

Starbucks said it will shutter hundreds of underperforming cafés in North America and cut nearly 900 corporate jobs as part of CEO Brian Niccol’s push to revive the struggling coffee chain.

The closures, set to be completed this month, amount to roughly 1% of its 18,734-store footprint. Starbucks expects to finish September with about 18,300 locations.

The restructuring, projected to cost $1 billion, follows a review of its retail footprint. Stores being closed were deemed unable to deliver the customer experience or financial performance the company targets. This is the second round of corporate layoffs in 2025, following 1,000 job cuts earlier this year. In addition, “many” open positions will be scrapped, Starbucks said.

The ODP Corporation, owner of Office Depot and OfficeMax, has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Atlas Holdings for $28 per share in cash. The deal values the company at about $1 billion, a 34% premium to its last closing price. The board of directors approved the transaction unanimously.

Once the deal is completed, ODP will become a privately held company, and its stock will no longer be traded on public markets. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2025, subject to approval from shareholders and relevant regulatory authorities.

ODP’s CEO, Gerry Smith, said the acquisition will accelerate the company’s B2B growth initiatives and strengthen its role as a customer partner.

ODP is increasingly focused on its business-to-business operations, including ODP Business Solutions and Veyer, a distribution and logistics services provider. The company had earlier abandoned a plan to spin off its retail arm in 2022, citing unfavorable macroeconomic conditions.

Amazon is shutting down all 14 of its Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the UK after the “just walk out” technology failed to gain traction with shoppers. The closures, concentrated in London, mark the end of a four-year effort to introduce Amazon’s cashierless retail model to Britain, where it has struggled to compete with established grocers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s on price, range, and convenience.

The Fresh stores used machine vision to automatically bill customers as they left, but consumer adoption lagged, and operational costs remained high. Amazon announced that it will expand its online grocery delivery partnerships with chains including Morrisons, Iceland, Co-op, and Gopuff.

Aldi is overhauling nearly its entire private-label lineup, marking its most ambitious packaging refresh to date.

The grocer this week announced a packaging refresh that will consolidate its private-label brands—from 90 down to 26—by uniting them under either the “Aldi” name or the “An Aldi Original” label. The redesign, covering 90% of its merchandise, has already begun appearing on shelves and will roll out across all products over the next few years, the company said.

The change, shaped by years of shopper feedback, is designed to make Aldi’s exclusive brands easier to recognize. Popular sub-brands like Simply Nature and Specially Selected will now carry an “An ALDI Original” label, while some products will adopt the Aldi name directly.

The rollout coincides with Aldi’s aggressive 2025 expansion plan to open more than 225 U.S. stores, its largest single-year growth in nearly five decades.

Fashion giant H&M is ramping up expansion in emerging markets as sales stagnate in its core regions of Europe and North America. CEO Daniel Erver said that Brazil and India present the “biggest opportunities for growth” as the retailer looks to revive profitability and sharpen its brand appeal.

The Swedish fast-fashion group opened its first Brazilian store in São Paulo in August and plans to add two more by November, with four more locations slated for 2026, including one in Rio de Janeiro. The push marks H&M’s first major step into Latin America.

In India, H&M’s premium label Cos will launch a store in Delhi this quarter, tapping into rising demand for “affordable luxury” as global rivals compete for fashion-conscious consumers.

The new growth drive comes after years of retrenchment. Since the pandemic, H&M has sharply reduced its global footprint, closing hundreds of stores and shrinking its network by nearly a fifth compared to 2019. With 4,118 locations worldwide — the lowest since 2016 — the retailer plans another 200 closures in 2025, mostly in European and U.S. markets.

Costco beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter revenue and profit, buoyed by strong gains in membership income and double-digit growth in its online business. Net income rose to $2.61 billion, or $5.87 per share, up from $2.35 billion a year earlier, while revenue climbed to $86.16 billion.

Same-store sales increased 6.4% when excluding fuel and foreign exchange, marking the second straight quarter of slower growth. Yet digital sales rose 13.5% in the quarter and more than 15% for the year, topping $19.6 billion, or just over 7% of Costco’s total sales.

Membership fees — a critical revenue stream — jumped 14% in the quarter, aided by the company’s first fee increase since 2017. CEO Ron Vachris said Costco added 27 new warehouses this year and plans 35 more in fiscal 2026

Several major UK retailers are closing branches this week as mounting operational costs and shifting consumer habits squeeze physical stores. Chains including Hobbycraft, The Original Factory Shop, Sony Centre, and Poundland are among those affected.

Hobbycraft shut its Crayford outlet on 20 September, following earlier closures in Maidenhead and Chichester, as part of a broader restructuring. The Original Factory Shop is closing its Market Drayton branch, part of plans to shut down 28 outlets in 2025. Sony Centre’s Falkirk store, open since 2003, is also closing after citing rising costs and online competition.

The Centre for Retail Research predicts that as many as 17,350 retail sites could close in 2025, putting around 202,000 jobs at risk.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, the national vacancy rate in U.S. shopping centers climbed to 5.8% in Q2 2025, creating more openings for small businesses to secure prime retail locations. The increase has eased pressure on asking rents, with landlords offering more competitive lease terms.

Health practitioners, artists, and independent retailers are among those benefiting from lower barriers to entry, though opportunities vary by geography. Cities with strong consumer migration and economic growth are proving most attractive, while weaker regions still face sluggish demand.

According to the report, store closures have outpaced openings since H2 2024, and while asking rents averaged $24.99 psf in Q2, up 2.3% YoY but still below inflation.

Dollar Tree has begun construction of a one-million-square-foot distribution center in Marietta, Oklahoma, to replace a facility destroyed by a tornado in April 2024. The site is expected to be fully operational by spring 2027.

The hub will serve about 700 Dollar Tree stores across the western and southwestern U.S. and create 400 local jobs. CEO Mike Creedon said the project reflects the company’s “commitment to the region, inspired by the community’s strength and resilience.”

The facility will be Dollar Tree’s 19th distribution hub, strengthening its supply chain network after last year’s disruption. Chief supply chain officer Roxanne Weng called it “a critical investment for long-term growth.”

The announcement comes on the heels of strong Q2 results: net sales rose 12.3% to $4.6 billion, same-store sales grew 6.5%, and adjusted EPS hit $0.77 — nearly double analyst expectations.

Heineken announced it will acquire the beverage and retail businesses of Costa Rica’s Florida Ice and Farm Company (FIFCO) for $3.2 billion in cash, strengthening its footprint in Central America.

The deal includes FIFCO’s iconic Imperial beer brand, its soft drinks unit, a PepsiCo bottling license, and more than 300 outlets in Costa Rica, along with operations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Heineken will also take full control of FIFCO’s “beyond beer” business in Mexico, a 75% stake in Nicaragua Brewing Holding, and 25% of Heineken Panama. The acquisition builds on Heineken’s 2002 minority investment in Distribuidora La Florida, FIFCO’s beverage and retail division. In 2024, that unit generated $1.13 billion in revenue and $278 million in operating profit.