Financial News

SEATTLE — A growing beauty brand led by a former executive from Starbucks has secured more than $10 million in financing from a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.

Julep Beauty, founded by Jane Park, said it received $10.3 million in Series B financing from Andreessen Horowitz, led by former Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen. Maveron — the venture capital firm co-founded by investor Dan Levitan and Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz — participated in the funding.

NEW YORK — Publix may join Royal Ahold later this month in making a bid for the more than 200 Harris Teeter supermarkets, according to a report published Friday by Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the situation. 

Virginia and North Carolina would represent new markets for Publix if the Florida-based grocer acquired Harris Teeter. Publix has already marked North Carolina for expansion with plans to open two stores in the state in 2014. 

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Kmart's comps declined 3.7% for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012, while parent company Sears Holdings' integrated online business grew by 25% for the quarter and 17% for the year, Sears Holdings said Thursday.

Sears' U.S. stores, on the other hand, posted a 0.8% increase in comps for the fourth quarter and a 1.4% decrease for the year, while the company's Canadian stores saw comps decline by 3.8% for the quarter and 5.6% for the year.

PITTSBURGH — Mylan had sales of $1.72 billion in fourth-quarter 2012 and $6.8 billion for fiscal year 2012, the generic drug maker said.

Those figures compared with $1.53 billion in fourth-quarter 2011 and $6.13 billion for fiscal year 2011.

The latest sales figures include $1.58 billion in generics sales and $155.1 million in branded drug sales.

"2012 was an outstanding year for Mylan, with top-line growth of 11% and bottom-line growth of 27% versus last year," Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said.

Canadian generic drug makers expressed dismay over a new plan to reduce reimbursements for a half-dozen generic medications in most of the country's provinces. According to published reports, a group of premiers had reached a coordinated deal to reduce the prices their governments paid for six generic drugs, hoping to save the provinces nearly $100 million.

AMSTERDAM — Keeping stores open during Hurricane Sandy was one of the factors that contributed to an increase in total store sales and comps in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 for Ahold USA, the supermarket operator's Dutch parent company said Thursday.

Ahold attributed its 4.3% increase in sales in the fourth quarter, to $6.1 billion, partially to the Hurricane Sandy effort. The quarter also saw comps increase by 2.4%, while full year sales were $25.8 billion, a 3.1% over 2011, as comps increased by 1.4%.

PITTSBURGH — Mylan has bought a manufacturer of generic injectables for $1.6 billion, the company said.

Mylan announced the acquisition of Bangalore, India-based Agila from Strides Arcolab, which Mylan said would allow it to strengthen its injectables business and enter new markets around the world.

Are doctors needlessly raising the costs of America's healthcare system through their prescribing habits? Absolutely, say researchers. A new report appearing in the Jan. 7 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine highlighted the powerful role played by branded drug advertising on consumer preferences and physicians' prescribing habits, and asserted that many doctors ignore the cost-saving benefits of generic drugs when writing prescriptions by acceding to patients' wishes.