Despite its reputation for gastronomy, France has become an American fast-food mecca. Between 2019 and 2023, more than 1,300 fast-food restaurants opened in the country, and over the past decade, sales increased by 61%. McDonald’s has the biggest stronghold because of its first-mover advantage. But Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, KFC and Five Guys are expanding their reach. New players like Popeyes and Krispy Kreme moved in for the first time in early 2024 as French consumers continue to seek affordable and convenient food options.
CNBC goes inside the shadowy world of organized retail crime, revealing how a crime ring stole millions of dollars of beauty items that ended up for sale on Amazon, according to authorities. For months, we got exclusive access to major investigations by the California Highway Patrol, making arrests and serving search warrants. Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell, in a first in-depth interview by a corporate leader about organized retail crime, says more needs to be done by the online marketplaces to curb the sale of stolen items.
Shopback, PropertyGuru, Meta, eBay and Dell. These are just a handful of companies that carried out mass layoffs in the first quarter of 2024 alone.
What are the sure signs that a retrenchment is headed your way? How to tell if your job is safe? If you do get laid off, should you hide it from your next potential employer? We find out the answers from an HR professional who agreed to bare all the facts on condition of anonymity.
The Sony PlayStation changed the gaming industry’s landscape when it was introduced to players 30 years ago. The PlayStation 2 went on to become best-selling console of all time, a title it still holds today. But the company has its fair share of challenges ahead with the ever-changing gaming sector. Just last year, Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard threatened the landscape of gaming exclusivity. And Sony faces some headwinds with lower demand and industry-wide layoffs. Sony has continually adapted and evolved over the span of the past three decades, but can it continue to hold strong in the console wars? CNBC spoke with Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan, former SIE Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden and other experts to find out.
Athletic Brewing Co. is a mid-sized craft brewing company based out of Milford, Connecticut. Like most craft brewing operations Athletic Brewing pumps out IPAs, Dark Beers, Lite Beers, Hazy, some special edition, maybe even a fruity offerings during the summer. Like other breweries you’ll find huge industrial barrels of hops and wheat, maybe a couple brewing awards displayed. But, the one thing you won’t find at Athletic Brewing is alcohol.
Fisker, the EV startup founded by renowned Danish car designer, Henrik Fisker, is struggling. The Fisker name became a cautionary tale for much of the automotive world after his first company, Fisker Automotive, ended in bankruptcy. Now, he is trying again, with a new company bearing an almost identical name and logo. The company and its founder are taking steps to strengthen the financials and reputation by selling cars through dealers, by licensing technology, and negotiating a potential investment from an unnamed large automaker. But so far, executive turnover, delivery bottlenecks, cash burn and other challenges have hampered the growth the EV maker was hoping for.
CNBC Marathon explores the decline of electric vehicle sales and its implications.
In August 2023, it took about twice as long to sell an EV in the U.S. as it did the previous January. Prices of EVs are down 22% year-over-year and that's mainly driven by Tesla. About two thirds of EVs sold are Elon Musk's brand. Companies like Ford have ramped up hybrid production as demand has leveled off.
Used EV prices are falling. Studies show that used EV prices fell somewhere around 30 percent in September and October 2023 from the same period in 2022. Used overall vehicle prices including internal combustion engines (ICE), hybrid and EVs declined by only around 5 percent.
In October 2021, Hertz publicly announced it intended to buy 100,000 Tesla vehicles. Newly emerged from bankruptcy, Hertz had a bold plan to lead the EV revolution in car rental. Shares of Hertz soared, as did Tesla’s - its market value hit $1 trillion. First mover advantage aside, it would help Hertz distinguish itself in an industry plagued by commoditization. But only a couple of years in, the rental company’s EV strategy is facing some serious challenges: pricing troubles, skyrocketing repair costs and low resale values. Meanwhile big rental rivals are holding back on EVs.
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