Nike has taken its game to the next level in the women’s market, boasting a reported business of around $9 billion — excluding Jordan and Converse. “Our women’s business has grown high single digits on average over the past three years,” Nike President and CEO John Donahoe said during an earnings call with analysts on Thursday (Dec 21). Donahoe highlighted that approximately 40% of Nike’s members are women consumers — and this group is growing, representing a rising portion of new members. This trend indica ...

Apple stopped selling its latest smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, in its online store Thursday (Dec. 21) due on to an ongoing patent dispute.The company will no longer provide repair services for out-of-warranty watch models either, Bloomberg reported Thursday.The sales ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 was imposed by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) after ruling that Apple had infringed upon two health-technology patents related to blood oxygen sensing ...

Alternative asset manager Blackstone is reportedly set to acquire an 80% stake in Sony Payment Services, a payment service provider under Sony Group. The deal, valued at approximately $280 million, is expected to be announced as soon as Friday (Dec. 22), Bloomberg reported Thursday (Dec. 21), citing an unnamed source. Neither Blackstone nor Sony Payment Services immediately replied to PYMNTS’ request for comment. Sony Group, renowned for its electronics and entertainment offerings, also operates a financial ...

The federal government will not let Apple delay an upcoming ban on Apple Watch imports.The International Trade Commission (ITC) on Wednesday (Dec. 20) denied the company’s appeal of an earlier ruling that would block sales of the two latest iterations of its smartwatch. That ban will likely go into effect on Christmas Day, barring intervention from the White House.Apple had said earlier this week that it will cease sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.That move came after the ITC ruled ...

Cloud banking firm nCino has expanded its 12-year-old collaboration with Salesforce.“Our strategic partnership with Salesforce has enabled nCino to transform the financial services industry by providing industry-specific solutions that drive efficiencies, deliver intelligence, and help institutions modernize for a more agile future,” nCino Chairman and CEO Pierre Naudé said in a Thursday (Dec. 21) press release. “We’re glad to again be expanding our work with Salesforce and are committed to utilizing each o ...