Making history

MARKETS

• U.S. markets: The S&P broke above the key 2,900 level for the first time in six months to clinch its third weekly gain. Did you celebrate accordingly?

RETAIL

Retail Passes a Key Benchmark. Not the Good Kind.

U.S. retailers have announced more store closures so far this year (5,994) than they did in the entirety of 2018 (5,864), Coresight Research reports. We’ll save you a calendar check: It’s April 13.

Two mall mainstays have accounted for more than half of the yellow tape:

• Payless ShoeSource said it will close all 2,500 of its U.S. stores when it filed for bankruptcy in February.
• Gymboree announced closings of 800 stores when it, too, filed for bankruptcy in January.

Curious about the record? It was set in 2017, when nearly 8,000 retail store closures were announced.

But records are made to be broken

In a report this week, UBS estimated that 75,000 stores selling furniture, electronics, and clothing will close by 2026—nearly 11,000/year. The projection doesn’t account for a recession or a dramatic surge in nudist living: It’s a result of growth in consumer spending online.

• Online shopping is expected to comprise 25% of total U.S. retail sales in 2026, up from 16% of overall sales currently.
• For every 1% increase in online penetration, 8,000-8,500 stores will be forced to close.

It’s the weekend, so let’s talk about store openings

After all, there have been 2,641 announced so far this year, per Coresight. So what types of retailers are braving the apocalyptic conditions we just described?

• Discount chains, including Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and TJ Maxx.
• Internet retailers, such as Casper and Warby Parker. These stores, which litter a few square blocks of SoHo, serve as showrooms first and functional places to shop second.
• Grocers. Openings in the sector were up 29.4% in 2018, JLL said. H/t to the surging Publix, supermarket choice of Florida Man.

Bottom line: Brick-and-mortar retail isn’t dying. But it’s clear there’s just too much of it given our changing shopping habits.

ENERGY

"Ultra Major" Status Is Within Chevron's Reach

Very big Chevron (-4.94%) has announced plans to acquire very medium-sized Anadarko Petroleum (+31.98%) for $33 billion in the energy industry’s largest deal since 2016.

Chevron is the No. 2 energy producer in the U.S. behind Exxon Mobil. But Chevron’s beefing up its presence in high-growth areas to gun for that top spot and the title of…*drumroll please*...“ultra major.”

Enter: Anadarko, with its wide-ranging oil and gas fields and a name straight out of Marvel. A deal gives Chevron a stronger position in the southwestern U.S.’ Permian Basin—the world’s most productive oil field. As a result of the acquisition, Anadarko and Chevron will claim a 75-mile stretch of contiguous acreage in the basin.

But...that’s not the entire story. 36 hours ’til Thrones? Maybe this drama will tide you over. Occidental Petroleum reportedly also made a bid for Anadarko, per CNBC. It offered upwards of $70/share to Chevron’s $65 (a 39% premium over Anadarko’s Thursday closing price), but apparently money cannot buy you love. Now, Occidental is “considering its options.”

MUSIC

Coachella, but Make It K-Pop

If yesteryear’s Coachella is known for one thing, it’s photos of young people dressed as if the California desert were the only habitable clime in the world.

But this year’s Coachella, which kicked off yesterday, shows the festival’s increasingly cosmopolitan view of music and art. Exhibit A: Blackpink.

The four-member, all-female K-pop group performed at Coachella last night—and their set made waves far outside Indio. YouTube livestreamed the performance on the biggest billboard in NYC’s Times Square.

Haven’t seen Blackpink’s hit on YouTube yet? You might be the only one...

• The South Korean group just broke YouTube’s record for most-viewed music video debut with “Kill This Love,” which got 56.7 million views in its first 24 hours. It dethroned Ariana Grande's "thank u, next."
• The song also set the YouTube record for fastest music video to hit 100 million views (under three days).

Zoom out: Blackpink’s enormous success is further evidence the $5 billion global K-pop industry has legs well outside its home peninsula.

E-COMMERCE

Welcome to New York, Jumia

Africa’s largest e-commerce operator and rare $1 billion startup, Jumia, went public yesterday on the NYSE.

History was made. Jumia’s IPO raised $196 million and marked the first time an African-focused, VC-funded tech company went public on a major global exchange. Investors celebrated by sending shares more than 75% higher yesterday.

What you need to know about Jumia: For starters, it’s often called the “Amazon of Africa.” But to be fair, its status as “African” has been hotly debated. Its numbers have not.

• Jumia has 4+ million customers in 14 African countries.
• It isn’t profitable, and losses total nearly $1 billion since its 2012 founding.
• But sales climbed about 40% last year to $147.3 million.

Zoom out: Africa’s consumer spending is slated to reach $2.1 trillion by 2025, and Jumia is making the most of the opportunity to capture those dollars. It’s beat bigger e-commerce incumbents to the punch by laying down roots in countries where the likes of Amazon have close to no infrastructure, such as Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Bristol-Myers Squibb (-1.13%) shareholders put aside some of their hesitations and approved its $74 billion acquisition of Celgene (-0.10%), a cancer drugmaker.
• Tesla (-0.27%) has halted online sales of its $35,000 Model 3. By telephone or in-store it is.
• JPMorgan (+4.63%) reported "strong performance across each of our major businesses," recording a 5% profit increase in Q1.
• Delta (-0.60%) is reducing the amount that seats on some planes can recline by about two inches. That'll make business travelers happier.
• Scott Rogowsky is leaving as host of HQ Trivia for a gig at sports streaming service DAZN. Thanks for the memories, Quiz Daddy.

BREAKROOM

Saturday Headlines
Fair warning: The story we made up this week is ultra-believable. Can you tell which of the four it is?

• "First-ever ‘slapping championship’ comes to Siberia"
• "WeWork rolls out standing-only coworking spaces in six U.S. cities"
• "Deputies surround burglar in Oregon home, find out suspect is Roomba trapped in bathroom"
• "Landlocked Mongolia has become the latest country to join the International Surfing Association"

Breakroom Answers