Danish toymaker also scores success with KPop Demon Hunters, Star Wars and botanicals products

Lego sales have risen by more than a fifth as tie-ups with the football World Cup, Formula One and the hit film KPop Demon Hunters as well as its flower-based and Star Wars kits drive demand.

The toymaker said its revenues had increased by 21% to 41.9bn Danish kroner (£4.8bn) in the first six months of 2026, driven by strong growth in the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions, offsetting stalled sales in China.

Retailer removes kid’s clown costume after people said it resembled a racist caricature used in minstrel shows

Target, the US retail corporation, said it pulled a controversial Halloween costume off its shelves after criticism across social media that it resembled a racist caricature.

The ad image for the costume, sold as the “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume,” depicted a Black child in a bright orange and black top with solid black gloves and a mask with a wide, toothy smile. Both the child’s pose and the costume’s gloves and mask were likened to caricatures of Black people used in minstrel shows.

China-based retailer swung to $99m loss in first quarter and faces scrutiny over its environmental footprint

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Shein, which built a fast-fashion empire on what seemed like impossibly low prices, has been forced to lower its own valuation in a cut-price stock market float, after falling into the red earlier this year.

The online retailer will list on the Hong Kong stock exchange on 1 September at a valuation of close to $27bn (£19.8bn), significantly down from a near-$100bn private market peak four years ago.

Michael Jeffries is ruled mentally competent to stand trial after being hospitalized for months for dementia symptoms

The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch has been ruled mentally competent to stand trial as he faces sex-trafficking charges after being hospitalized for months for dementia and Alzheimer’s symptoms.

Michael Jeffries, who is 82 and free on bond for now, is scheduled to be tried in late October, alongside two co-defendants: his partner Matthew Smith and staffer James Jacobson. A pretrial hearing was slated for Thursday.

Christine Hunsicker, former CEO of CaaStle, gave investors falsified documents that overstated profit and cash reserves

A fashion tech founder was sentenced to five years in federal prison for her involvement in a $300m “fraud scheme” spanning from 2019 to 2025, the Manhattan US attorney’s office announced on Thursday. Christine Hunsicker, 49, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Hunsicker, the founder and ex-CEO of CaaStle Inc, had pleaded guilty this March to one count of securities fraud in relation to a scheme that “defrauded hundreds of investors”, authorities said. Her attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Inflation fuelled by Iran conflict deterring shoppers, especially in the US, says high street chain

• JD Sports boss is still struggling to turn up the heat

The sports fashion retailer JD has cut £50m from its profit forecast as cost of living pressures, fuelled by the US war on Iran, weighed on sales of trainers.

JD Sports, which sells brands including Nike and Adidas, said widespread inflation had hit shoppers’ wallets, particularly its core young shoppers, resulting in a drop in sales across important markets such as the US, where it struggled to shift trainers and other footwear.