Welcome to Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business, an experimental AI podcast by the New Zealand Herald. Each weekday, we bring you five stories, the best of the New Zealand Herald business journalism, summarised and delivered by an AI voice as an easily digestible recap. It's Friday, October 31, 2025, and here are five stories you should know about. SkyCity Entertainment Group reaffirmed its annual earnings guidance at its Auckland meeting, with chief executive Jason Walbridge confirming expected ebitda for the June 2026 year between 190 million and $210 million. He says trading across New Zealand venues shows little consumer improvement, though visitation remains strong. The firm is pursuing 330 million in legal action against Fletcher Building over delays to the New Zealand International Convention Centre. Chairman Julian Cook acknowledged poor shareholder returns and confirmed plans to sell 200 million in assets, while a 240 million capital raise prompted protest votes against two directors standing for re-election. Meanwhile, hotel giant Accor has opened its latest property, Tribe Auckland Fort Street, featuring 60 rooms and a new street-level restaurant called Sienna. The launch marks Accor's 48th hotel in New Zealand. Chief operating officer Adrian Williams says the brand targets travellers seeking design-led, good-value stays. Accor's next opening, Jo&Joe Auckland, arrives by November 7, offering 293 beds and a rooftop bar. Both properties are developed with CP Group. Occupancy across Accor's New Zealand hotels is up 1.5% on last year, supported by government tourism funding and rising Australian arrivals, particularly in Queenstown and other regional destinations. On the technology front, Straker renewed its artificial intelligence partnership with IBM, valued at an estimated $28 million over three years through December 2028. Chief executive Grant Straker says the new arrangement introduces token-based charging and higher-margin AI revenue. The ASX-listed firm's annual revenue fell 10% to $44.8 million, while its net profit widened to 10.2 million after non-cash impairments. However, adjusted ebitda rose 18% to a record 4.8 million, and the company ended the year with 12.9 million in cash and no debt. Straker says its AI "Verify" tool is now used globally within IBM's Watson X infrastructure. In other developments, DHL has opened its new $90 million temperature-controlled healthcare distribution centre at Auckland Airport's The Landing business park. The 14,100-square-metre facility uses 41 Geek+ robots to automate storage and picking processes. Chief executive Javier Bilbao says the warehouse increases DHL's health logistics capacity in New Zealand by 20%. Built by Macrennie Construction on airport-owned land, the centre supports 80 staff and handles 12,000 pallets in temperature zones from minus 30 to 8 degrees. DHL Holdings (New Zealand) reported 490 million in revenue for 2024 and 19.5 million net profit, down from a previous 25.8 m. And finally today, Victoria's Secret will return to New Zealand with a full-format store opening airside at Auckland Airport in 2026. The project is part of a major duty-free revamp led by new operator Lagardere Travel Retail, which takes over both arrivals and departures from July 2025. Auckland Airport's Mark Thomson says the transformation will modernise the terminal shopping experience. The new Victoria's Secret store follows a smaller outlet that closed in 2019. Construction begins in early 2026, with upgraded fragrance, beauty and wellness sections, and improved lounges and food areas enhancing the overall traveller experience that year. That was Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business - your NZ Herald daily business summary. For the best in business, subscribe to Herald Premium at nzherald.co.nz.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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