Retailers and automakers showed varied performance today as Kroger beat second-quarter profit estimates while Nissan announced a £170 million investment in a UK hybrid SUV plant. Meanwhile, consumer pressures surfaced as Costco raised Kirkland motor oil prices to $57.99 and limited purchases, and Haynes Furniture planned to close six stores.
01Company specific
Costco Rations Kirkland Motor Oil and Raises Price to $57.99
Rationing DIY mainstays signals that refiner yield shifts toward transport fuels are breaking the private-label price umbrella that warehouse clubs use to drive member retention.
Costco has raised the price of its Kirkland Signature full-synthetic motor oil to $57.99 per 10-quart case and capped purchases at two units per member each week. The product previously sold for roughly $30 to $35. Refiners have diverted away from lubricants and toward more profitable gasoline and diesel fuels as Middle East conflicts disrupt global shipments and push above $109 a . The rationing also covers Mobil 1 six-packs, which are limited to five per membership at roughly $44. Higher regulatory testing standards and General Motors dexos1 Gen 3 licensing fees have added to production costs. Driveway mechanics now face oil change expenses comparable to rates charged by local independent shops.
Apple Drops as Redesigned Siri AI Launches Under Beta Label
Shipping flagship software features under a trial tag exposes how hardware-dependent revenue models risk margin compression when AI processing relies on third-party cloud compute.
Apple released its redesigned Siri through operating-system updates on Monday, bringing the long-delayed assistant to users under a label. Shares slipped 1% to $329.76 on Tuesday afternoon as investors weighed whether the phased rollout can close the company's perceived AI gap. The software launched in English across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27, though some users face a download waitlist and initial availability excludes the European Union and China. The financial stakes remain high for a hardware giant that generated $109.4 billion in fiscal third-quarter , with $54.3 billion driven by the iPhone. Apple plans to introduce paid tiers for expanded cloud usage limits on features that rely on its Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, which utilizes Google Cloud alongside Nvidia and Intel chips.
Apple Financial and Valuation Metrics (USD)
Apple trades above its estimated value while generating over half its revenue from iPhones.
Nissan to Build New Hybrid SUV for Europe at UK Plant
Expanding Sunderland's lineup with e-POWER serial hybrids leverages existing engine-assisted assembly lines to preserve European market footprint while deferring the higher capital expenditure of full electrification.
According to channelnewsasia.com, Nissan will build a new hybrid small SUV for Europe at its UK plant in Sunderland, committing £170 million or $229 million in assembly investments. The Kicks e-POWER hybrid will join the Qashqai, Juke, and electric Leaf models on the Sunderland lines, though the company has not published a production timeline. The announcement follows a broader restructuring effort at the Japanese automaker to reduce costs by closing facilities, reducing headcount, and cancelling certain future vehicle programs. Britain's largest car assembly plant previously faced questions over its long-term operations, including discussions earlier in the year regarding a potential partnership with Chinese automaker Chery.
NYC Faces Second Lawsuit Over Proposed City-Run Grocery Stores
Tax-funded operating subsidies and property tax forgiveness undermine the slim-margin unit economics of private grocers by creating a state-backed competitor unconstrained by capital costs.
New York City faces a second lawsuit over Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan to open five government-subsidized grocery stores across the five boroughs by 2029. The latest complaint, filed in federal court by the National Supermarket Association and allied retailers, alleges that the municipal initiative violates federal laws through predatory pricing. It follows an August 24 state-level lawsuit from the Multicultural Business Coalition on behalf of independent bodegas and small grocers. The administration is committing $70 million to launch the stores, covering construction, rent, and property tax forgiveness, with $30 million allocated to build an East Harlem location from scratch. Private operators responding to the city's request for proposals must submit their plans by October 16. The city-run supermarkets will offer a 30 percent discount on produce, meat, and seafood, and a 20 percent discount on milk and bread. Independent retailers argue they cannot compete with tax-supported prices given thin profit margins that typically range from 1 percent to 3 percent. Meanwhile, grocery foot traffic in the New York metro area fell 2.1 percent in the first half of 2025 compared to the prior year, while city food prices climbed 23.1 percent between 2019 and 2024.
NYC Grocery Foot Traffic YoY Change (%)
Grocery foot traffic in New York fell 2.1 percent in early 2025.
Kroger Beats Q2 Earnings but Cuts Full-Year Sales Guidance
Offsetting supermarket sales weakness through e-commerce and pharmacy margins shows how non-grocery revenue streams now dictate traditional grocers' bottom-line resilience during Periods of consumer belt-tightening.
Kroger reported second-quarter adjusted of $1.09 per share, beating the $1.05 consensus estimate on total sales of $34.621 billion. The supermarket chain lowered its full-year identical-sales growth forecast, excluding fuel, to a range of 0.2% to 0.8% down from 1% to 2%. Management pointed to consumer pressures, an unfavorable impact from the Reduction Act, and produce headwinds as drivers of the top-line deceleration. Cost savings, pharmacy margins, and a 20% increase in adjusted sales supported profitability during the period. Kroger maintained its full-year adjusted of $5.10 to $5.30 while trimming its sales outlook.
Gucci Parent Kering Backs Chinese Fashion Brand Icicle
Kering's backing of Icicle validates the maturation of domestic Chinese luxury brands capable of exporting sustainable, high-end tailoring to compete directly with Western incumbents in European fashion capitals.
channelnewsasia.com reports that Kering took a minority stake in Chinese fashion brand Icicle in April. The Shanghai-founded label plans to use the investment to fund global expansion into London, Milan, and the US, alongside scaling its product offerings into handbags and footwear. Icicle operates more than 240 stores in mainland China and five international outlets across Paris and Ireland. Parent company ICCF previously acquired French label Carven out of in 2018. Holding company records filed in Ireland show Icicle sales grew 6.9 per cent year on year in 2024 to reach €293 million.
Icicle 2024 Sales Growth (€M)
Icicle sales grew by 6.9 per cent year on year in 2024.
Furniture Retailer The Dump Closes Atlanta Location
Collapsing housing turnover leaves big-box furniture retailers unable to generate the sales density required to support massive retail footprints outside their core regional markets.
bisnow.com reports that discount luxury furniture retailer The Dump is winding down its Atlanta location and five other stores as parent company Haynes Furniture Co. retreats to its home turf. Haynes CEO Brian Woods stated in a letter to vendors that the closures followed an extensive evaluation of strategic alternatives. The company will shutter locations in Atlanta, Tempe, Deerfield, Lombard, Dallas, and Irving, while keeping two Virginia stores open. Haynes did not disclose when it plans to close the Atlanta property at 815 Sidney Marcus Blvd., a 141,000-square-foot retail space owned by Home Depot. Industry experts attribute the contraction to severe headwinds across the home furnishings sector, including elevated , shifting policies, and intense online competition. Furniture sales track closely with the housing market, where existing home sales dropped 1.2% year-over-year to 4 million units in August, according to the National Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, the average 30-year mortgage rate shifted from 6% to 6.7% over the same period.
Corporate strategies are splitting between strategic investments and cost-cutting operations to protect margins. Whether consumer demand can absorb higher prices and scaled-back retail footprints without triggering broader sales slowdowns remains the key question for markets tomorrow.
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