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    in Finance

    China’s biggest shopping festival is set for a tepid 2023, survey finds

    Most consumers in China are planning to keep a lid on spending during this year’s Singles Day shopping festival, according to a survey from Bain and Company.
    Excitement has waned, and nearly half of consumers surveyed this year also said they were turning to cheaper brands or private label products, the Bain study found.
    This year, “we expect that there is probably going to be more stocking up of consumables,” James Yang, partner at Bain, said in a phone interview.

    Workers at an e-commerce logistics industrial park sort parcels on an express delivery line in Lianyungang, East China’s Jiangsu Province, Nov 5, 2023.
    Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    BEIJING — Most consumers in China are planning to keep a lid on spending during this year’s Singles Day shopping festival, which ends Nov. 11.
    That’s according to a survey of more than 3,000 consumers in the country by Bain and Company, released Tuesday.

    Originally launched by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Singles Day has expanded from a one-day shopping festival into a multi-week period of shopping promotions across different online platforms in China.
    Excitement has waned, and nearly half of consumers surveyed this year also said they were turning to cheaper brands or private label products, the Bain study found. Private label products tend to be cheaper than those from comparable big name brands.
    For this year’s festival, more than three-fourths of consumers surveyed — or 77% — said they did not plan to increase spending, according to the report.

    That’s a touch higher than the 76% reported last year, and up significantly from 49% in 2021, the report said.
    Slowing economic growth and worries about future income have weighed on consumer spending over the last few years.

    “Look at the broader macroeconomy. The consumer sentiment remains a bit lower than where it was pre-Covid,” James Yang, partner at Bain, said in a phone interview.
    “There is more cost [consciousness] among consumers in where and how they want to spend their money.”
    This year, “we expect that there is probably going to be more stocking up of consumables,” Yang said.

    Keeping quiet on total numbers

    Last year, both Alibaba and online retail giant JD.com for the first time declined to disclose Singles Day gross merchandise value, an industry measure of sales over time.
    Bain estimates that including other platforms, Singles Day e-commerce GMV rose by 3% to 934 billion yuan ($128.25 billion) in 2022.

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    When factoring in another 181 billion yuan in livestreaming and content-led e-commerce, the total GMV for last year’s festival topped 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion), the report said.
    For context, those China market figures are still multiples larger than the $35.3 billion that Adobe Analytics said U.S. consumers spent online in 2022 for the local equivalent: the week of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
    Livestreaming and posting videos or photos on social media as a way to sell products has taken off in China. Alibaba and JD.com both offer livestreaming functions. Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has become a major platform for people and retailers selling to consumers via livestreams.
    “The expectation is that the livestreaming share is going to continue to increase,” Bain’s Yang said.
    He added that different kinds of consumers are also spending differently. Those with higher incomes are generally still spending, while the blue-collar segment of the population are cutting back, he said.
    “Middle class, they fluctuate in between,” he said. “People are more cautious in how they trade off, what they want to buy.” More

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    SAG-AFTRA says studios’ latest offer falls short of union’s AI demands

    Hollywood actors aren’t totally on board with the latest labor agreement pitch.
    SAG-AFTRA said there were still “several essential items” that it was not in agreement with, including AI guidelines.
    It is unclear if the AMPTP will return to the table to continue bargaining or if talks will officially shutdown.

    NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 31: Rebecca Damon joins SAG-AFTRA members on strike during Halloween on October 31, 2023 in New York City. The strike, which began on July 14, entered its 100th day on October 21st as the actors’ union and Hollywood studios and streamers failed to reach an agreement. (Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images)
    John Nacion | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

    SAG-AFTRA actors aren’t totally on board with Hollywood studios’ latest labor agreement pitch.
    The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said there were still “several essential items” that they couldn’t agree with during their negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, including artificial intelligence guidelines.

    Studios put forth this “last, best and final offer” over the weekend, with top executives making clear that they would not make further concessions. SAG-AFTRA spent time Sunday and Monday evaluating the deal.
    It is unclear if the AMPTP will return to the table to continue bargaining or if talks will officially shutdown.
    Representatives from the AMPTP did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
    Hollywood actors initiated a work stoppage in mid-July as initial negotiations broke down with studios including Disney, Paramount, Universal, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. They resumed talks for a short period of time in early October, but those broke down for several weeks.
    Later in the month, talks resumed again, but so far, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP have been unable to reach a deal.

    Television and film performers were looking to improve wages, working conditions, and health and pension benefits, as well as establish guardrails for the use of AI in future television and film productions. Additionally, the union sought more transparency from streaming services about viewership so that residual payments can be made equitable to linear TV.
    The 116 day strike has disrupted marketing campaigns and prevented production from commencing on a significant portion of Hollywood’s film and television projects.
    Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. More

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    Wall Street is asking how weight-loss drugs will affect consumer giants — but it may be too early to tell

    Delta Air Lines, Pepsi , Philip Morris International and Darden Restaurants are among the companies facing questions about how GLP-1s are affecting their bottom lines.
    Only a fraction of people with obesity in the US currently take a GLP-1. That could rise to 13% by the end of the decade, creating a $100-billion market, according to one analyst estimate.
    Unpleasant side effects and insurance coverage could influence how many people actually take the drugs and how long they stay on them.

    A worker organizes cans of PepsiCo Inc. soda on a shelf inside a grocery store in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Thursday, July 6, 2017. PepsiCo Inc. is scheduled to release earnings figures on July 11. Photographer: Caitlin O’Hara/Bloomberg via Getty Images
    Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    If you listen to third-quarter corporate earnings calls, it might seem like everyone is taking weight-loss drugs. 
    Delta Air Lines, PepsiCo, Philip Morris International and Darden Restaurants are just some of the companies that faced questions from analysts about how the drugs are affecting their bottom lines. Executives are mostly brushing off the effects, saying it’s too early to quantify any real changes. Some – like Hershey, Conagra and Nestle –  are assuring investors they’ll adapt, if necessary. 

    While some analysts are making sweeping claims about how obesity drugs will reshape the industries they cover, the medicines are still in the early days. It’s not yet clear how many people will actually take them and for how long, or what long-term effect they will have on food producers, restaurants and other industries. 
    Known as GLP-1s, the drugs were first approved for diabetes and are now also being used for obesity. Demand has spiked, as Novo Nordisk can no longer make enough of its drug Wegovy to keep up.
    But even so, only a sliver of eligible people are actually taking the drugs at this point, said Goldman Sachs analyst Chris Shibutani. 
    That number could rise to 13% of the roughly 100 million Americans with obesity by the end of the decade, Shibutani estimates, which would translate to about $100 billion in sales. The actual total could end up being higher or lower depending on multiple factors, including one especially important one: how long people stay on the drugs.

    Hershey’s and other brands of chocolate bars.
    Dondi Tawatao | Reuters

    That question “is very much at the forefront of thinking about the size of the market, as well as what might be the material changes that we see in other industries that might be affected, such as food and beverage industries, consumption, even the competition for discretionary spending and luxury goods,” Shibutani said. 

    A month’s supply of Wegovy costs around $1,400, and insurance coverage varies, a lofty expense for many potential users. Wegovy and similar drugs can also cause some unpleasant side effects like vomiting and diarrhea that can turn some people off. 
    Only about one-third of people who start the drugs still take them one year later, according to data provided by RBC Capital Markets. That suggests the effects of the drugs on other industries might not be as far-reaching as some people expect, said RBC analyst Brian Abrahams. 
    “Sometimes people go in with the idea that you have these drugs that seem like a miracle cure and what if 50 million or 100 million people take them and everybody loses a quarter of their body weight. What does that mean for all these sectors? The reality is pharmaceutical products have limitations – reimbursement, compliance – and the reality often ends up not exactly matching,” Abrahams said.
    At the same time, the story is just beginning to unfold. Wegovy was approved only two years ago.
    Dozens more weight-loss drugs are in development, and Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide is expected to be approved before the end of this year. 
    “Let’s see how these drugs really play out as the manufacturing progresses, the next-generation mechanisms come through and payers make decisions,” Shibutani said. “For all practical purposes, I think this theme is going to be with us for awhile.”
    — CNBC’s Patrick Manning contributed to this report. More

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    Fenway chairman confirms talks with PGA Tour as doubts grow about LIV Golf deal

    Fenway Sports Group Chairman Tom Werner confirmed that the company has had “conversations” with the PGA Tour.
    The talks between Fenway and the PGA Tour raise concerns about the golf organization’s proposed business combination with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.

    Fenway Sports Group Chairman Tom Werner on Monday acknowledged that the company has held talks with the PGA Tour as the golf organization’s framework agreement with Saudi-backed LIV Golf faces new doubts.
    “We confirm that we’ve had conversations,” Werner told CNBC’s Scott Wapner during “Halftime Report.” He declined to comment further.

    Werner, who spoke alongside PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy, said that the players “will decide the direction the tour goes.”
    There’s growing speculation that Fenway, which owns the MLB’s Boston Red Sox and soccer team Liverpool FC, could come through with an offer that could top the Saudis’ bid. The PGA Tour-LIV Golf combination was never finalized beyond a framework agreement. Veteran golf journalist Alan Shipnuck last week posted on X that Fenway Sports Group has put in a “monster bid to usurp the PIF.”
    Monday’s interview with Werner and McIlroy came days after a Endeavour Group Holdings executive said the PGA Tour turned down a strategic partnership with the company, which owns a majority stake in WWE and UFC parent TKO.
    The PGA Tour-LIV deal was announced in June. It was a surprising development that came after months of bitter legal feuding and lobbying. The agreement triggered its own share of anger and criticism, triggering Senate hearings to investigate the deal. Critics claimed that the deal was a means for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to gain influence in the U.S. through sports investments. Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman controls the PIF.
    McIlroy had been outspoken in his disdain for LIV Golf, saying in July that if LIV Golf was “the last place to play golf on earth, I would retire.”

    Speculation mounted that Mcllory’s efforts to launch the PGA Tour-blessed TGL golf league with Tiger Woods was a response to LIV Golf’s encroachment on the sport. LIV lured PGA Tour players, like Phil Mickelson, to with deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Last month, Disney’s ESPN snagged the broadcast rights for TGL. Fenway backs McIlroy’s TGL team, Boston Common.
    McIlroy sounded a friendlier note Monday, when asked about the potential for a renewed rivalry between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
    “I feel like we’ve got a fractured competitive landscape right now,” McIlroy told CNBC. “But hopefully when this is all said and done, I sincerely hope the PIF are involved and we can bring the game of golf back together.” More

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    A meteoric rise in worker health costs has slowed — but they’re already ‘egregious,’ advisor says

    The cost of important health insurance components, like deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, has risen at a more muted pace in recent years.
    For example, the average deductible has grown by 10.3% in the past five years. That’s down significantly from 38.6% growth during the 2013-2018 period, and 54.4% from 2008 to 2013, according to data from KFF, a nonprofit health-care data provider.
    Workers can potentially save money by ensuring they’re picking the best plan for their circumstances.

    Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images

    Costs for some key health insurance components have slowed for workers in recent years. While the deceleration is a positive trend, many workers likely still find current prices unaffordable, experts said.
    “Yes, it’s slowed,” said Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and certified financial planner, and founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida. “But it’s already egregious for the average person.”

    Employer-sponsored health plans have many moving parts that can affect workers’ wallets. For example, workers get premiums deducted from each paycheck. Visiting the doctor generally comes with cost-sharing, like co-payments, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.
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    The rise in worker premiums has somewhat mitigated.
    Workers pay $1,401 in total premiums in 2023, up 18% from 2018, according to KFF, a nonprofit health-care data provider. They increased by an equivalent amount from 2013 to 2018, but had swelled by 39% from 2008 to 2013.
    The dynamic is more pronounced for deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

    A deductible is the annual sum a consumer must pay out of pocket before a health insurer starts to pay for services.

    Single workers have a $1,735 average deductible in 2023, according to KFF. (This cost is for employer-sponsored health plans and assumes consumers receive in-network care.)
    The average deductible has grown by 10.3% in the past five years, up from $1,573 in 2018. However, that rate has slowed significantly relative to the recent past: Deductibles rose by 38.6% from 2013 to 2018, and by 54.4% from 2008 to 2013, for example, according to KFF data.
    Prior to 2018, deductibles “were taking off,” said Matthew Rae, associate director of KFF’s health-care marketplace program and co-author of its annual health benefits survey.  

    How out-of-pocket maximums have changed

    The dynamic is similar for out-of-pocket maximums, the annual limit on a worker’s cost-sharing for the year. After hitting this limit, insurers can’t ask for more co-pays, co-insurance or deductibles, for example.
    The out-of-pocket maximum is “what really matters for people who spend a lot” on health care, Rae said.
    In 2023, 13% of single workers have an out-of-pocket maximum of less than $2,000, while 21% of these workers have one above $6,000, KFF said. That’s hardly changed in the past five years.

    It’s already egregious for the average person.

    Carolyn McClanahan
    founder of Life Planning Partners

    However, the dynamic changed a lot during the prior five-year period. In 2013, 29% of workers had an out-of-pocket maximum below $2,000, while only 4% had one of $6,000 or more, according to KFF. In other words, the share of people with a relatively low limit was halved from 2013 to 2018, and the share with a high limit jumped fivefold.
    After years of both the maximum and deductibles increasing rapidly, “that’s not the story anymore,” Rae said.

    Strong labor market is a big factor

    Solskin | Digitalvision | Getty Images

    A reduction in the growth of worker cost-sharing requirements is largely attributable to a strong labor market in recent years, Rae said. That has led employers to make their health plans more competitive to attract and retain staff. But it’s unclear how long that strength will last; indeed, it’s been cooling in recent months.
    However, consumers shouldn’t necessarily “throw up [their] hands and celebrate,” Rae added. Families with multiple dependents trying to meet an annual deductible may be enough to put middle class households in debt, he said.
    One in four employers report being highly concerned about the affordability of cost-sharing within their health plans, according to KFF.
    And while cost-sharing costs may have slowed, insurers may be tweaking certain aspects of health plans that make them relatively less valuable to consumers — by narrowing a plan’s roster of in-network providers, for example, said McClanahan, a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council.

    How to keep costs down

    Choosing the most cost-effective health plan for you generally comes down to picking “only the plan you need,” McClanahan said.
    In other words, a plan with comprehensive coverage but high monthly premiums may not be the best choice for someone who doesn’t get frequent medical care.

    For example, an HMO plan will generally be best for consumers who don’t have significant health problems and rarely go to the doctor, she said. Find a good primary care doctor and ask what network the doctor is on for HMOs so you can get the doctor you want, she recommended.
    Of course, most employees only get a few choices during open-enrollment season, so there’s not much they can do on an individual level, McClanahan said. At the family level, however, there may be other variables: If both spouses work, the most efficient option may be electing one plan for the whole family, or putting a spouse and kids on one plan and the remaining spouse on the other, she said. More

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    Klarna, Europe’s $6.7 billion buy now, pay later firm, sets wheels in motion for eventual IPO

    Buy now, pay later firm Klarna has begun a legal entity restructuring to set up a new holding company in the U.K., as a precursor to an eventual IPO.
    Klarna has no immediate plans to go public, a spokesperson said, and setting up its new legal entity in the U.K. does not necessarily mean that the company will list there.
    The company last raised cash at a valuation of $6.7 billion, which marked a massive 85% haircut to its previous valuation of nearly $46 billion.

    “Buy-now, pay-later” firm Klarna aims to return to profit by summer 2023.
    Jakub Porzycki | NurPhoto | Getty Images

    Buy now, pay later firm Klarna has established a holding company in the U.K. that will sit at the top of its corporate structure, in a symbolic move that paves the path for an eventual listing.
    A Klarna spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the Stockholm-based business, which lets shoppers defer payments over a period of installments, has begun a legal entity restructuring to set up the holding company.

    Preparations for the new company have been agreed with some of Klarna’s largest shareholders, including Sequoia and Heartland, the spokesperson said.
    The Klarna spokesperson said the move was a precursor to a formal listing, but added these are still “very early days,” and the company has no immediate-term plans to go public.
    Klarna also hasn’t decided on where it would opt to list, the spokesperson said, and setting up its new legal entity in the U.K. does not necessarily mean that the company will go public there.
    It does, however, give Klarna flexibility over which stock exchange it decides on.
    The restructuring “is an administrative change that has been in the works for over 12 months and does not affect anyone’s roles, nor Klarna’s Swedish operations,” the Klarna spokesperson told CNBC via email.

    “Klarna Holding will continue to be the regulated financial holding company under the direct supervision of the SFSA [Swedish Financial Services Authority] and we will continue to hold a Swedish banking license.”
    Klarna is a big player in the European payments industry, worth $6.7 billion.
    Like PayPal and Stripe, it allows merchants to add checkout functionality to their online stores. It differs from these competitors in its flexible payment plans, known as buy now, pay later.
    At the height of the Covid-driven boom in e-commerce, Klarna was worth a whopping $46 billion, onboarding SoftBank as an investor. Its valuation was slashed by 85%, to $6.7 billion after the pandemic-fueled boom in technology valuations deflated.
    Klarna, which was included in CNBC and Statista’s list of the top 200 fintech companies, has raised more than $4 billion in funding to date from investors including Sequoia, Silver Lake and China’s Ant Group.
    The U.K. was originally set to enforce tough new regulations on the buy now, pay later industry, with plans to require affordability checks and clearer communication in the advertisement of such services.
    Britain has reportedly been considering shelving those plans after a number of the biggest players said, in talks with the government, that they may be forced to leave the U.K. if they are subjected to “heavy-handed” regulation.
    Bosses at Klarna and Block, which owns buy now, pay later service Clearpay, had lashed out at certain aspects of the U.K.’s regulation plans, including a measure which would have exempted e-commerce giant Amazon from being subjected to the rules.
    Klarna has since been pushing aggressively toward profitability, reporting its first month of profit earlier this year for the first time since 2020.
    Klarna has been investing heavily in artificial intelligence products, most recently launching an AI image recognition tool that can identify certain products, like a jacket or a pair of headphones.
    Separately this weekend, Klarna also reached a deal with workers in Sweden to put an end to plans to go on strike.
    WATCH: Klarna’s buy now pay later losses are 30% below industry standard, says CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski More

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    LVMH buys eyewear brand Barton Perreira as it looks to rebound from luxury slowdown

    LVMH is buying luxury eyewear brand Barton Perreira.
    LVMH is trying to expand its portfolio in a growing segment.
    The global luxury business has seen a recent downturn.

    Barton Perreira sunglasses are displayed during ‘A Good Time At Goodman’s’ held at Goodman’s Men’s Store in New York City.
    Astrid Stawiarz | Getty Images

    LVMH is buying luxury eyewear brand Barton Perreira, famed for making James Bond’s shades, as it taps into the fast-growing designer sunglass market.
    LVMH’s Thelios eyewear division agreed to acquire Irvine, California-based Barton Perreira for an undisclosed sum. The deal is Thelio’s second big acquisition in two months, after it bought French Alpine brand Vuarnet in September.

    Luxury eyewear, which includes sunglasses and optical eyewear, is growing rapidly across the world. Luxury houses see eyewear as a lower-priced entry point to their brands for younger consumers, and now make a wider array of stylish, higher-quality frames. Sunglasses are becoming more popular in Asia, while demand for optical frames is growing as people spend more time on their computer and phone screens, analysts say.
    Global eyewear sales topped $107 billion in 2022, according to EssilorLuxottica, with growth expected to be in the mid single digits in the coming years.
    “For the maisons of luxury, eyewear is in many cases the first contact point with consumers,” said Alessandro Zanardo, CEO of Thelios. “There has also been a shift in the relevance of this category in the whole universe of the maisons. The product is not just something that is made in a factory, to put a logo on and sell. It is something that is really created and designed in the maison environment. The quality is really increasing so customers are developing a sensibility for what luxury eyewear is.”
    The deal for Barton Perreira highlights the growing importance of eyewear for LVMH and the luxury industry. LVMH launched Thelios in 2017 to produce eyewear for LVMH’s in-house brands, including Louis Vuitton, Celine, Loewe and Berluti. Zanardo said that as Thelios developed its own design, manufacturing and distribution expertise, it decided to acquire outside brands that it could further develop, starting with Vuarnet.
    Barton Perreira has a cult-like following among Hollywood stars and collectors of high-end sunglasses and frames. Its models typically retail for $500 or $600, and its limited edition designs, made in small quantities, are especially coveted. Daniel Craig wore a pair of Barton Perreira “Joe” sunglasses in “No Time to Die,” and Demi Lovato, Sandra Bullock and Ryan Gosling are also reported to be fans.

    Zanardo said Barton Perreira was an ideal fit for LVMH because of its commitment to quality.
    “Barton Perreira has a very strong founding principle, which is design and quality without compromise,” he said.
    Since Barton Perriera only has a handful of stores in the U.S., LVMH can use its global reach to take the brand overseas, with better distribution in Europe and Asia, Zanardo said.
    Barton Perreira was founded in 2007 by Bill Barton and Patty Perreira, after they left Oliver Peoples when it was acquired by Oakley. Zanardo said the two founders will stay at the company after the acquisition and “make sure the DNA of the brand remains in tact.”
    LVMH’s acquisition shows that despite a global slowdown in the luxury business, the company is seeking acquisition targets that fit its long-term ambitions. LVMH’s stock price is down 20% over the past six months as its growth slows, especially in the U.S. wine and spirits market. LVMH executives often say downturns offer an opportunity to gain market share and make acquisitions, as competitors cut spending and valuations become more attractive.
    For now, Thelios said it will focus more on integrating Vuarnet, Barton Perreira and a recently acquired manufacturing facility in Italy, rather than making more deals.
    “This year has been very intense for us,” Zanardo said. “I think this is a moment for us to focus on what we have added to our organization, and start the path together.”
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    The new Bed Bath & Beyond’s CEO is out, days after activist firm called for his ouster

    The new Bed Bath & Beyond announced it was parting ways with its CEO, Jonathan Johnson, as the company faces activist pressure from hedge fund JAT Capital.
    Two weeks ago, the company had been soliciting meetings with Johnson for Monday.
    Johnson had been with the company, previously known as Overstock.com, for more than 20 years and led its acquisition of Bed Bath & Beyond out of bankruptcy.

    Overstock.com CEO Jonathan Johnson, June 29, 2023.
    Scott Mlyn | CNBC

    The new Bed Bath & Beyond announced Monday its CEO, Jonathan Johnson, is immediately stepping down from his position just days after activist hedge fund JAT Capital called for his ouster.
    JAT Capital, which has a 9.6% stake in the company, sent a letter to the board dated Thursday that blamed Johnson for the company’s poor financial performance and said he needs to be “removed immediately.”

    “He has performed poorly (as demonstrated by the company’s financials relative to its peer group), he has communicated poorly with investors and the sell-side community and he has recently taken actions that give the appearance that his own interests are being prioritized,” said the letter, which was revealed in a securities filing.
    In the letter, JAT said Marcus Lemonis, the Camping World CEO and TV personality who starred in CNBC’s “The Profit,” should take over management of the company. He joined the Overstock board last month and has cheered its transition to Beyond Inc., which took effect Monday.
    Johnson had been Overstock’s chief executive since 2019. He led the company through its acquisition of Bed Bath & Beyond earlier this year.
    David Nielsen, Beyond’s president and a former Payless ShoeSource executive, has taken over as interim CEO while the board undergoes a search for a permanent candidate. 
    “Following the recent acquisition of the Bed Bath & Beyond brand and our corporate renaming as Beyond, Inc., the Board and Jonathan determined that this is the ideal time for a transition in leadership to guide the company forward,” Allison Abraham, Beyond’s board chair, said in a statement. 

    Beyond said Johnson’s departure “follows mutual agreement” between him and the board to transition the company to new leadership, but the move came on suddenly. About two weeks ago, the company had told reporters Johnson would be in New York on Monday – the same day its corporate name change went into effect – and said he would be available for meetings that afternoon. 
    The company and Johnson didn’t immediately return a request for comment seeking additional information.
    “As the company turns the page to become Beyond, now is the right time for me to also turn the page to the next chapter in my career,” Johnson said in a statement. “It has been an honor to work with such an exceptional team. I am confident the company is well-positioned to achieve broader popular reach as a bigger and better Beyond.”
    Johnson had been with the company for more than 20 years and took over as chief executive after its founder and former CEO, Patrick Byrne, disclosed he had a relationship with a Russian spy.
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