Weekly News Wrap: Amazon shutters food delivery business in India; Louis Vuitton to launch homeware store in Shanghai

And US-based Fanatics to refurbish retail stores at Tokyo Dome in a deal with Yomiuri Giants.

From Reuters:

Amazon will shut down a food-delivery business it was testing in India, the e-commerce giant said on Friday, a day after it announced the winding down of its online learning platform for high-school students in the country.

Amazon Food, a business the company was trialling in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, would be discontinued, it said.

"As part of our annual operating planning review process, we have made the decision to discontinue Amazon Food," a company spokesperson told Reuters.

"We don't take these decisions lightly. We are discontinuing these programs in a phased manner to take care of current customers and partners."

The Economic Times earlier reported that the business would be discontinued from Dec. 29 onwards, citing a communication from the company to its restaurant partners.

READ MORE: Weekly News Wrap: China pledges growth support on spending; Amazon India to waive 50% fee for new sellers

From Reuters:

Louis Vuitton has announced plans to open a dedicated furniture and homewares store in Shanghai, a world first for the French luxury brand as it aims to expand further into lifestyle offerings to affluent Chinese clients.

The appointment-only showroom, which will open on Monday, is located in a century-old three-storey mansion situated just behind Nanjing Road, the city's premier upscale shopping strip.

Louis Vuitton, part of LVMH, said in a statement the showroom will be trialled for several months as a pop-up and if successful will then become a permanent feature.

Whilst no price tags were on show at the store during a media preview, a Louis Vuitton employee said a brightly hued hanging cocoon chair designed by the Campana brothers is priced at more than $97,860 (RMB700,000) and a small lamp resembling a glass milk bottle encased in leather straps cost $5,645 (RMB40,500)

A smaller side building is dedicated to showing designs by Frank Chou, the first mainland Chinese designer tapped by Louis Vuitton to collaborate on the Objet Nomades collection, as the furniture and homewares ranges are known.

From CNBC:

Sports commerce platform Fanatics is expanding a recently signed long-term partnership with Nike to include the manufacturing and distribution of merchandise for the Yomiuri Giants, Japan’s most successful and popular baseball team.

In addition to exclusive merchandising rights, Fanatics will operate e-commerce and physical retail businesses for the Yomiuri Giants and plans to refurbish the retail stores at the Tokyo Dome ahead of the 2023 season.

Nike will become the official uniform supplier of the Yomiuri Giants. Fanatics will make on-field uniforms and player performance items, as well as additional Nike-branded fan jerseys and apparel sold both online and at physical stores. Fanatics is also creating autograph and collectible products for fans of the Yomiuri Giants.