Gucci owner Kering to sell beauty division to L’Oréal for €4bn

The Gucci owner, Kering, is selling its beauty division to L’Oréal for €4bn (£3.5bn), as its new chief executive, Luca de Meo, seeks to turn around the French luxury company.The deal will give the French beauty group L’Oréal Kering’s fragrance line Creed, which was founded in 1760. The deal also includes rights to develop fragrance and beauty products under Kering’s fashion labels Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga under a 50-year exclusive licence.In a significant shift in strategy, de Meo is trying to reduce Kering’s debt burden and refocus on its core fashion business

B&M ousts finance chief as it warns again on profits after £7m accounts error

The discount retailer B&M has ousted its finance chief after reporting a £7m accounts blunder that will cut its annual earnings – its second profit warning within two weeks.The company told investors it looking for a successor to Mike Schmidt, who is stepping down as chief financial officer, after the accounting error.The company, which sells things ranging from DIY, electricals and garden products to toys, pet food and everyday essentials, discovered that £7m of overseas freight costs were not “correctly recognised in cost of goods sold,” after an update to its operating system earlier this year.This means that adjusted profits for the year to March 2026 are now expected to be between £470m and £520m, down from its previous estimate of between £510m and £560m. For the first half, B&M expects profits of £191m, down from £198m

‘The wire began to smoke’: how to avoid counterfeit scams on Vinted and other resale sites

When Maheen found a brand-new Dyson Airwrap for the bargain price of £260 on the resale website Vinted, she was thrilled. The seller’s reviews were all five-star, and she trusted in the buyer-protection policy should something go wrong.Sold new, an Airwrap costs between £400 and £480, but Maheen did not suspect anything was amiss. “I had used Vinted many times and it was simple and straightforward. Nothing had ever gone wrong,” she says

‘I lost 25 pounds in 20 days’: what it’s like to be on the frontline of a global cyber-attack

The security chief of SolarWinds reflects on the Russian hack that exposed US government agencies – and the heart attack he suffered in the aftermathTim Brown will remember 12 December 2020 for ever.It was the day the software company SolarWinds was notified it had been hacked by Russia.Brown, the chief information security officer at SolarWinds, immediately understood the implications: any of the company’s more than 300,000 global clients could be affected too.The exploit allowed the hackers remote access to the systems of customers that had installed SolarWinds’ network software Orion, including the US treasury department, the US department of commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, along with thousands of companies and public institutions.Brown says he was “running on adrenaline” in the first few days after the attack

Sumo wrestling at the Royal Albert Hall – picture essay

Athleticism, power and ceremonial splendour were all on display at London’s Albert Hall last week as sumo wrestling returned to the storied venue for the first time in 34 years. The ancient Japanese sport has roots tracing back more than 1,500 years, but this was only the second time that a major event had been hosted abroad. It was a remarkable spectacle inside and outside the sacred dohyo ring.A sumo wrestler, wearing the traditional topknot hairstyle called the oicho, pictured outside the Royal Albert Hall.Before the start of the five-day Grand Sumo Tournament, the wrestlers, known as rikishi, visited several London landmarks dressed in their silk kesho-mawashi robes

With his top weapon sidelined, Sean McVay proves the ultimate chameleon

Missing star receiver Puka Nacua, Sean McVay reinvented the Rams’ offense with heavy 13 personnel as Matthew Stafford threw five TDs in a Wembley rout of the JaguarsWhen the Los Angeles Rams took the field on Sunday at Wembley Stadium to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, they did so without their best offensive weapon in receiver Puka Nacua, who was out with a sprained left ankle. Given that the Jaguars’ defense has been spicy at times under first-year coordinator Anthony Campanile, perhaps Jacksonville could come out with a win that would send them to 5-2 on the season.That was … not how things transpired. The Rams won going away, 35-7, and Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 21 of 33 passes for 182 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 117.7