Sneaker site StockX valued at $2.8 billion in new funding roun
a fast-growing web destination of hard-to-find sneakers — said Wednesday it had raised $275 million in a new funding round that values the company at $2.8 billion.
The latter figure, which includes the value of the fresh pile of cash, follows an exclusive report by The Post on Dec. 7, which said the company was looking to raise about $250 million at a valuation of $2.5 billion.
The fast growing auction house has more than doubled its valuation from its January 2019 last major fund-raising round that valued it at a little over $1 billion.
The Detroit-based company is currently planning to file for an initial public offering in mid-2021, according to sources close to the situation. Proceeds are expected to fuel growth in Asia for the site, which assigns ticker symbols to sneakers in a scrolling feed that displays bids, offers and green and red arrows to show how prices are moving.
Cleveland Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert is a cofounder and rapper Eminem is an early investor.
StockX, which authenticates all the sneakers it resells, charges a 9 to 14 percent commission on transactions.
While many of the sneakers on the site are being offered for resale after being snatched up in limited edition sales, most have never been worn. The pandemic has helped the business as it is harder now to shop at stores for sneakers, executives have said.
The average sale on the site is about $230, according to an investor presentation reviewed by The Post.
Despite its growth, it still projects losing $56 million this year, according to its presentation.
MacKenzie Scott gives nearly $4.2B to charity in 4 months amid pandemic
the ex-wife of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos — gave nearly $4.2 billion to charity over the last four months to support struggling Americans during the coronavirus crisis.
In a blog post Tuesday, the world’s third-richest woman said she doled out the money to 384 organizations across the country, including food banks, social services programs, civil rights groups, colleges and universities.
Scott, 50, said she decided to “accelerate” her giving to help people suffering from the pandemic’s devastation following her July announcement that she’d donated almost $1.7 billion to dozens of nonprofits. Her latest donations bring her total giving for the year to roughly $5.8 billion.
“This pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling,” Scott said in her blog post, noting that the crisis has also “substantially increased” the wealth of billionaires like herself.
“It would be easy for all the people who drew the long demographic straws in this crisis to hole up at home feeling a mix of gratitude and guilt, and wait for it to be over — but that’s not what’s happening,” she added.
Scott said her team of advisers selected the recipients of her gifts from an initial pool of nearly 6,500 organizations based on their ability to use the money effectively. The advisers conducted extensive research into the charities that involved hundreds of emails and phone interviews and “thousands of pages of data analysis,” she said.
Each donation will be paid upfront and left unrestricted so the organizations have plenty of flexibility in how to use the funds, Scott said.
“The responses from people who took the calls [from Scott’s team] often included personal stories and tears,” she wrote. “… Their stories and tears invariably made me and my teammates cry.”
Scott is still a long way from fulfilling her goal of giving away more than half her wealth, which has surged by about $24 billion to roughly $61 billion so far this year, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. Her roughly 4 percent stake in Amazon makes up the bulk of that fortune, Bloomberg says.
Scott set her charitable goal by signing onto the Giving Pledge in May 2019 after announcing her divorce from Bezos, who is not among the more than 200 signatories to the pledge despite being the richest man in the world.
Google reportedly could be hit with second antitrust lawsuit this week
A group of states is preparing to file a second antitrust lawsuit against Google this week — setting the tech titan up for a tough court battle, according to new reports.
The coalition of states, led by Colorado and Nebraska, is putting the finishing touches on the antitrust complaint against Google that could be filed as soon as Thursday, Politico reported, citing two people close to the investigation.
The suit is expected to focus on Google’s dominance in the online search market, particularly changes it has made to the designs of its signature search engine that put rivals at a disadvantage, according to the outlet.
The complaint would come about two months after the US Department of Justice filed its own antitrust case accusing Google of maintaining “unlawful monopolies” in its search and advertising businesses. That suit criticized deals Google made to ensure that its search engine was set as the default on iPhones and Android smartphones.
The states will bring their lawsuit in the same Washington, DC federal court where the feds filed theirs, according to Politico. The state attorneys general hope to eventually consolidate their case with the Justice Department’s, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton’s office has hired two outside law firms — Keller Lenkner and the Lanier Law Firm — to represent the Lone Star State in a lawsuit against Google, which could also be filed this month.
Texas’ trial team may be led in part by Kenneth Starr, the Lanier lawyer known for his roles in the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton and President Trump, according to Bloomberg News.
Google declined to comment Wednesday. The Silicon Valley giant has pushed back against claims that it abuses its market power and called the federal antitrust lawsuit “deeply flawed.”
“People use Google because they choose to, not because they’re forced to, or because they can’t find alternatives,” Kent Walker, the company’s senior vice president of global affairs, said in an October blog post.
Marriott axes more than 800 workers at Times Square hotel
Marriott Marquis in Times Square
Getty Images
Marriott plans to permanently lay off more than 800 workers at its Times Square hotel as the coronavirus crisis keeps New York City’s hospitality industry in a chokehold.
The 852 workers at the New York Marriott Marquis will be axed for good on March 12 — almost exactly a year after they were put on temporary layoff as the pandemic bore down on the Big Apple, the hotel giant said in a notice filed with the state Department of Labor.
“These are actions we never thought would become necessary at our location,” the hotel’s general manager told the laid-off staffers in a Dec. 9 letter, according to The Wall Street Journal. “The unprecedented severity of the COVID-19 crisis, however, has forced the location to make these difficult decisions.”
The Times Square Marriott initially furloughed 1,265 employees this past March as the state shut non-essential businesses and the city emptied of tourists and business travelers who would normally fill hotel rooms, according to the labor notice.
Marriott did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday, but a company spokeswoman told the Journal that the staffers who remain employed have either returned to work or are expected to come back soon.
The pandemic has kept New York City’s hotel industry under pressure even though officials have lifted some of the strict lockdown measures that were imposed this spring.
Hotel occupancy was still about 80 percent below normal levels last month as the city and state battled an uptick in infections, the Associated Press reported, citing data from the Hotel Association of New York City.
Maryland-based Marriott, meanwhile, saw its net profits for the July-to-September quarter plunge 74 percent to $100 million from $387 million in the same period last year.
The company’s shares were trading up about 2.4 percent at $129.63 as of 3:48 p.m. Tuesday, a price that puts the stock down about 14 percent for the year.
Warren Buffett and Goldman Sachs boss call for small business relief
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett
REUTERS
Warren Buffett is warning Congress that it needs to stop dithering on economic stimulus or risk the future of American small business.
The Oracle of Omaha teamed up with Goldman Sachs chief David Solomon Tuesday morning to put the screws to politicians who have yet to put through a second round of pandemic relief funding despite the fact that the coronavirus is ravaging the nation and pushing many small businesses over the brink.
“It’s an economic war,” exclaimed the totemic 90-year-old investor during an interview with CNBC. “We’ve shut down a lot of people in this induced recession and others are prospering, and I think the country owes it to the millions of small business people.”
Solomon echoed Buffett’s message, expressing optimism in the release of vaccines this week but cautioning that 50 percent of the participants in Goldman’s “10,000 Small Businesses” program have stopped paying their staff.
“While you can see the finish line, I think a lot of these small businesses need help getting across the finish line,” Solomon said.
The power pair are part of an increasingly strident chorus of Wall Street bigwigs pushing on Washington to get a new bill done.
JPMorgan Chase honcho Jamie Dimon sounded off on the stalled stimulus talks during a Nov. 18 appearance at a financial conference.
“Now we have this big debate “Is it $2.2 trillion, $1.5 trillion?” You gotta be kidding me!” Dimon said. “I mean just split the baby and move on! This is childish behavior on the part of our politicians.”
Congress does appear to be listening. On Monday, leaders from both chambers released a new plan that would extend some benefits from the first round relief funding while also putting $700 million in the hands of small businesses.
But Buffett made it clear on Tuesday that any proposal needs to be acted on immediately.
“It’s gotta happen soon,” he warned “I mean, their boat’s going down.”
Honda recalls 1.4M vehicles in US for software, overheating problems
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Honda is recalling over 1.4 million vehicles in the US to repair drive shafts that can break, window switches that can overheat and a software flaw.
The software recall includes 737,000 Accords from 2018 to 2020 and Insights from 2019 and 2020. A programming flaw in a control computer can cause the rear camera, turn signals and windshield wipers to malfunction. Owners will be notified in late January about when they should take their vehicles to a dealer for repairs.
Two drive shaft recalls cover 430,000 Honda Civic Hybrids from 2012, the 2007 through 2014 Honda Fit, the 2013 through 2015 Acura ILX and the 2013 through 2015 Honda Accord. They’re in 22 states where salt is used to clear roads in the winter. The drive shafts can break due to corrosion. Dealers will inspect the left and right drive shafts and replace them if needed. Parts aren’t available yet. Owners will get an initial notification in February and will be told later when to go to a dealer.
About 268,000 CR-Vs from 2002 through 2006 are included in the power window switch recall. Water can get into an open driver’s window and cause an electrical short, possibly touching off a fire. It’s the second recall for the same issue. The cars were recalled starting in October of 2012, but the repairs didn’t work. Honda says it has reports of 16 fires but no injuries.
Honda says owners should take the SUVs in for repairs as soon as they get a recall notice. Those will be mailed starting in late January. Owners can also check https://owners.honda.com/service-maintenance/recalls or call (888) 234-2138 to see if their CR-V is affected.
[단독] 롯데네슬레코리아 대표이사에 김태현 롯데네슬레코리아 대표이사 상무 내정 내년 2021년부터 임기 시작
김태현 롯데네슬레코리아 대표이사 상무
롯데그룹은 2021년 정기 임원인사에서 김태현 롯데칠성 글로벌사업본부장을 롯데네슬레코리아 대표이사에 내정했다고 26일 밝혔다.김태현 신임 대표이사는 1965년생으로 영동고등학교를 졸업하고 명지대학교에서 전자공학을 전공했다.1992년 롯데칠성에 입사해 2001년까지 생산, 생산관리, 감사부문에서 경력을 쌓았다. 2001년부터 2012년까지 롯데정책본부 개선실에 자리했으며 2012년 롯데칠성 구매부문장, 2018년 글로벌경영부문장을 역임했다. 2019년부터 현재까지는 롯데칠성 글로벌사업본부장직을 수행하고 있다.
[단독] 벤츠코리아, 신임 사장에 토마스 클라인 벤츠 중동 대표 선임. 2021년 1월1일 부터 임기 시작
벤츠코리아가 토마스 클라인 메르세데스-벤츠 중동 대표이사 사장이 오는 2021년 1월 1일부로 한국 신임 대표이사 사장에 임명될 예정이라고 밝혔다.
토마스 클라인 신임 대표이사 사장은 지난 1999년 대학 재학 중 산학협력 프로그램을 통해 독일 뒤셀도르프의 메르세데스-벤츠 상용차 부문과 인연을 맺었다. 또 2003년부터는 베를린 소재 독일 영업 조직(MBVD)에서 다임러의 경영부문 인재 양성 프로그램인 커리어(CAReer) 프로그램에 참여한 후, 2013년까지 독일 마인프랑켄 지역의 승용 부문 영업 및 서비스를 총괄하는 업무를 수행했다.이어 지난 2014년부터 2016년까지 메르세데스-벤츠 남아프리카공화국의 메르세데스-벤츠 직영 유통망 승용 부문의 매니징 디렉터(Managing Director)를 역임했으며, 2017년부터 2019년까지 벤츠 독일 본사 해외 지역 총괄 조직에서 지역 내 영업 및 주요 프로젝트를 관리하는 중책을 맡았다. 2019년 7월부터는 메르세데스-벤츠 중동 대표이사 사장을 맡고 있다.토마스 클라인 신임 사장은 세일즈와 마케팅을 아우르는 다양한 국제 경험을 토대로 중동 지역에서 메르세데스-벤츠의 판매 및 서비스 성과를 높였다. 특히, 지역 내에 디지털 요소를 대폭 적용한 새로운 형태의 전시장 컨셉을 선제적으로 도입하며 고객 경험을 강화하는 한편 미래 모빌리티 솔루션을 성공적으로 소개하는 등의 공로를 인정받고 있다.한국 부임이 확정된 토마스 클라인 신임 사장은 “고객의 신뢰와 사랑 속에서 지속적인 성장을 거듭하고 있는 메르세데스-벤츠코리아의 사장으로 부임하게 돼 기쁘게 생각한다”며, “전 세계적으로 자동차 산업이 큰 격변기를 맞고 있는 이 시기에 벤츠와 함께 하는 새롭고, 놀라운 경험을 통해 한국 고객들의 브랜드 만족도를 더욱 높여 나갈 것”이라고 포부를 전했다.한편, 신임 사장의 임기가 시작되기 전인 올해 12월 말까지 메르세데스-벤츠코리아는 고객서비스 부문을 총괄하고 있는 김지섭 부사장이 대표이사 사장 직무대행을 지속 수행하게 된다.
벤츠코리아의 대표이사 사장 직무대행을 겸임하고 있는 김지섭 고객서비스 부문 총괄 부사장은 “신임 사장의 부임 전까지 공백이 발생하지 않도록 맡은 바 책임을 다해 최고의 제품과 서비스를 제공하는데 만전을 기할 것”이라고 말했다.
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