SpotlightAugust2019

IKEA closing only U.S. factory S wedish furniture company IKEA is shuttering its only factory in the United States as the company will cease production in December at their Danville, Virginia plant andmove operations to Europe. The company stated this was a cost-cutting measure and would lead to better cost conditions. Danville’s factory originally opened in2008 andemploys 300 workers. Shelving and storage units are made there. IKEA says raw material prices are lower in Europe, where they operate plants in Poland, Russia and Sweden. The company says they can create 11,500 jobs due to the shift.

A competitive pizza market is slowly Dominos’ rise D elivery services like Uber Eats is pushing down on Dominos’ market share. Their sales have been suffering now that new third-party delivery services are on the scene, says CEO Richard Allison. Shares in Dominos fell 6 per cent in midday trade on July 16th. The chain has been rapidly opening new locations to try to boost sales. In the second quarter, they opened 42 new stores in the U.S. alone. It opened its 16,000th location in March and has grown by 50 per cent in five years. They fell short of $836.6 million revenue expectations, only bringing in $811.6 million. •

Oil prices tank as Iran tensions flutter U nited States oil prices fell July 16th after the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointed toward Iran and the U.S. working out their differences. Crude went down 4.2 per cent after Pompeo said Iran was ready to negotiate about their missile program. It finished the day at $57.62 a barrel, down 3.3 per cent. Supplies near the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East may be back on the rise. Iranian officials, however, have said they didn’t have any conversations about the missile program with the states.

Tesla deliveries beat forecasts S econd quarter deliveries at Tesla Inc. hit records, showing electric cars still have value. The automaker’s beat on deliveries and levels of inventory at the end of the quarter helped. Tesla shares went up 7.6 per cent to $242 on July 3, 2019. This is amid concerns that the cheap Model 3 cars are causing lucrative vehicles’ sales to drop. The Model 3 handed over 95,200 cars to customers in the quarter ending in June, but the stock had fallen 33 per cent for the year through the end of July 2, 2019.

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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2019

35 AUGUST 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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