A Vincent Black Lightning and Steve McQueen bikes lead the lots at the Barber Motorsports Museum.

Apparel suppliers continue to bear the brunt of poor purchasing practices, according to first findings from the next Better Buying report, with a majority of apparel buyers not paying for samples, and one in ten never broaching the issue of factory conditions.

US sporting goods giant Nike will continue to invest in speeding up its supply chain capabilities during fiscal 2019, a group of investors has been told, in the wake of the company’s first-quarter results.

The expansion of the Central American Customs Union into a three-country bloc – with El Salvador joining Guatemala and Honduras to forge a light border trading zone of more than 32m people – has been welcomed by the industry association representing the Honduras clothing sector.

US apparel giant VF Corp is allowing consumers to track the supply chain footprint for ten of its brands most “iconic” products through a new online traceability tool.

A group of unions in Bangladesh have called for an immediate review of the new minimum wage, saying it fails to meet workers’ expectations, with a demand the new rate be doubled.

EL SEGUNDO — The in-game IQ of LeBron James is known to be lofty, but the most impressive thing to Luke Walton has been seeing it firsthand in practice.

As the Lakers ran a 5-on-0 drill in Tuesday morning’s shootaround, Walton called out plays and actions from the sideline. James, who was on the floor, was shouting the same plays and actions, almost at the same time as Walton, without the benefit of seeing the playcard.

“He sees where it’s going and he starts calling it out at the same time,” Walton said. “I have the sheet in front of me. He hasn’t seen the sheet yet. So that’s something he’s doing all the time.”

The challenge for James and the Lakers will be to apply that to tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets after falling to the same team two nights earlier. In that game, they fouled too much, lost Nuggets on closeouts and gaps in defensive coverage, and played (at times) too sloppy on offense.

The happy news is they have five more preseason games to get it right.

“I think we’re a new group, we’re not at the level a lot of teams are as far as cohesiveness and chemistry,” James said. “So every day is another opportunity for us to get better and not take a step back.”

It will be the first time James plays in Staples Center as a Laker. He’ll likely have a similar arrangement as the first preseason game: starting and playing mostly in the first half, then resting for the second. How much fans are clamoring to see him won’t be a factor in his playing time.

“They will see a lot of him, he’ll be in the building,” Walton quipped. “But as far as on the court, he will get him out there again to start the game and take it from there.”

Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee and Brandon Ingram will also be starting Tuesday night.

There will be a change in the starting lineup: Josh Hart takes the spot of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, whom Walton wants to see in second-unit rotations. The Lakers plan to have about a 10-man rotation this year, so the preseason is the time when Walton wants to see all the different configurations.

“No matter who we end up starting, they’re going to be playing with different groups throughout the game,” he said. “So, it can’t just be one group and then another group comes out. We got to get guys comfortable playing with each other.”

Going to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights is scary fun, but it can be a bit of an exhausting blur.  Between the theme park crowds, which obviously surge on weekend nights, making the the trek on foot to the back lot, standing in line and having the adrenaline spike as you scream your head off in all of the mazes, it can be quite the physical challenge.

This year’s event, which kicked off on Sept. 14 and runs on select evenings through Saturday, Nov. 3, features mazes based on the popular Netflix series, “Stranger Things,” the cult-classic “Trick ‘r ‘Treat,” the 1982 supernatural thriller, “Poltergeist,” horror icon Michael Myers is back in “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers,” “The Purge” franchise is back this year with “The First Purge,” The Horrors of Blumhouse: Chapter 2 features scenes from the “Unfriended” and “Truth or Dare” films and there’s an attraction dedicated to classics in the Universal Monsters maze featuring music by Guns N’ Roses guitarist, Slash.

While Universal offers several ticket options, Universal Express Passes and Frequent Fear Passes it also has a luxurious R.I.P. Tour option. The park has taken its daytime V.I.P. Tour and turned it into the ultimate splurge for serious horror fans. It’s a guided tour with groups of up to 14 that lasts anywhere from 5 to 5 1/2 hours, with check-in hours from 5-8 p.m., and it costs between $299-$409 per person depending on the evening of the reservation.

WHAT YOU GET TO DO

With an R.I.P. Tour ticket you basically get treated like a king or a queen for the evening and it’s a nice way to Trick-or-Treat-yo-self. When you arrive, you get valet parking in the Frankenstein parking structure and your very own swanky V.I.P. entrance at the front gate where you’re ushered up into a lounge filled with movie posters, props and awards from Universal Pictures films. Each group is assigned a tour guide and from there, you just kick back and enjoy complimentary water and snacks until the tour departure.

These guides are pros and can navigate groups quickly through even a dark and crowded walkway and they take out the guesswork as to what to do first. They set up a strategic plan of attack for the evening and guests are encouraged to ask questions about the theme park, the rides and attractions along the way.

The tour includes dinner at the Moulin Rogue, an exclusive V.I.P. restaurant located on the upper lot. Guests can load up plates at a the buffet, which features a meat carving station, salads, roasted vegetables, beef sliders, chicken strips, fries, tater tot casserole and adorable horror-themed desserts. Soda, bottled water and other non-alcoholic beverages are included and those 21 and older can enjoy two complimentary alcoholic beverages in the V.I.P. areas. Halloween Horror Nights is recommended for those 13 and older.

There’s a lounge with exclusive “Stranger Things” experiences including a themed photo op room with props just outside the Moulin Rouge that’s only for the R.I.P. Tour and a scareactor make-up demonstration in the secondary R.I.P. Tour lounge on the lower lot. The second lounge also has sweet treats and other snacks as well as a full bar and private restrooms.

Each person is given a Universal Express Unlimited pass that includes unlimited front-of-line access to mazes and available rides even after the tour is over. Guests can choose to branch off and explore the park on their own at anytime or stick with their guide and revisit some attractions after the tour. The tour guides arrange a time and premium viewing seating at The Jabbawockeez Halloween Horror Nights-themed dance performance and a private V.I.P. trolley escorts R.I.P. Tour guests down to the Backlot mazes as well as to the Terror Tram.

WHAT ACTUALLY MAKES IT WORTH THE MONEY

With valet parking and dinner included in the R.I.P. Tour ticket price, the other amazing amenity is the private trolley. During Halloween Horror Nights, the Terror Tram skips the regular back lot tour, but the R.I.P. Tour takes groups through some of the studio’s most famous movie sets — in the dark. It also cuts out a ton of walking, which is worth the ticket price alone and reserves energy to do and see more.

Guests will get to walk thru all of the mazes and have front-of-line privileges. The tour guides ensure that each group doesn’t get corralled in with other theme park guests and taking your time and really experiencing the sets and detail within each attraction is encouraged. Having a little bit of wiggle room between your group and the others, there’s a better chance of getting the good scares and the time to notice things that otherwise might have been missed.

Another nice perk is that the tour guides makes sure there are ample water, snack and potty breaks. It sounds like an elementary school field trip, but with a long night ahead you can appreciate the quick breaks and the feeling of not being rushed.

Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights

When: 5-8 p.m. check-in on select nights through Saturday, Nov. 3

Where: 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City

Tickets:  The R.I.P. Tour $299-$409 per person and reservations can be made at HalloweenHorrorNights.com.

Walmart is moving further into the plus-size market.

The world’s biggest retailer plans to acquire Eloquii, a fashion brand that was shuttered by the Limited five years ago only to be revived the following year as an independent company. Terms weren’t disclosed, although the website Recode reported that Walmart is paying $100 million for the business, which has tripled its sales since 2015, according to a Walmart announcement.

The deal is the latest move by Walmart to improve its dowdy apparel business and follows the launch earlier this year of a new plus-size store brand, Terra & Sky, as well as last year’s acquisitions of fashion sites ModCloth and Bonobos and a partnership with Lord & Taylor. Walmart wants apparel to be a bigger part of its burgeoning online business, and last year hired Denise Incandela, a veteran of Ralph Lauren and Saks, to run its e-commerce fashion team.

Eloquii focuses exclusively on sizes 14 and above, catering to a market that Walmart says is $21 billion and “historically underserved.” The business began as an online-only merchant, though has since opened five stores and employs about 100 people.

Historically, retailers have given short shrift to plus-size fashions, hiding them far away from the rest of their womenswear. But lately, the segment has garnered more attention and investment, inspired partly by celebrities like Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson.

“As retailers are looking for growth, they’d be hard pressed not to consider this customer,” Mariah Chase, Eloquii’s chief executive officer, said in 2015. Chase will retain her position after the acquisition, Walmart said.

It was less than six months ago that the Kings were swept by Vegas in the first round of the playoffs. Although they did not make the playoffs the previous season, short stays in the postseason are not satisfactory for a franchise that won Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014.

The loss to Vegas was difficult to take because the Kings scored a measly three goals in four games. With that early exit comes questions entering this season, which begins Friday against San Jose at Staples Center.

Here they are:

Can Ilya Kovalchuck produce at 35?

The Kings signed the Russian forward to a three-year, $18.75 million contract in July. He has 417 goals and 399 assists in 11 NHL seasons – that’s 816 points in 816 games. But he hasn’t played in the NHL since 2012-13 when he was with New Jersey. Kovalchuk played five seasons for SKA St. Petersburg in Russia after leaving, and scored 120 goals with 165 assists – that’s 285 points in 262 games. That means he was still at least a point-a-game player. But can he continue do that in the NHL at the age of 35? With Dustin Brown going out indefinitely with a broken finger sustained Saturday against Anaheim, there will be even more pressure on Kovalchuk to pick up the slack.

Can the Kings improve their secondary scoring?

That’s a big question. “Yup, I think our secondary goal-scoring is a concern and was in the playoffs for sure,” general manager Rob Blake said just days after Game 4 against Vegas. Forwards Tyler Toffoli, Adrian Kempe and Tanner Pearson scored 24, 16 and 15 goals, respectively. But they were inconsistent. Kempe went the final 29 games of the regular season without a goal. The good news is Toffoli and Pearson are both just 26, Kempe is 22. The more they play, the more consistent they could become. Another young player, Alex Iafallo, had nine goals and 16 assists in 75 games. That’s nothing to write home about. But Iafallo, 24, showed flashes of brilliance in his first NHL season.

Can defense carry the team?

It’s easy to look at Kings’ fairly low goal output from this past season – their 2.89 goals-per-game average was 16th out of 31 teams – and blame that for their woes. But keep in mind: the Kings didn’t score much in ’12 and ’14, either, when they won the Cup. They averaged only 2.29 goals in 2011-12, which was second to last. They averaged 2.41 goals in 2013-14. The question is, can they find the magic they had in those title-winning seasons, while being a team that relies so much on defense? The Kings in 2012 allowed only 2.07 goals, second lowest. They were a league-best 2.05 in 2014, and they were also No. 1 this past season when they gave up 2.46 goals per game.

Can the Kings avoid a slow start without Dustin Brown?

The Kings a season ago had to do without Jeff Carter for more than four months after he sustained a lacerated ankle in the sixth game of the season. They still made the playoffs. Not only was Brown the team’s second-leading scorer a season ago with a career-high 61 points, the 14-year veteran plays in all situations, making his absence even more scary.

Is Father Time going to start catching up to the Kings?

Forward Anze Kopitar is 31, and coming off his best season with 92 points (35 goals, 57 assists) while also winning the Selke Trophy for the second time. But Brown, who had 28 goals and 33 assists in ’17-’18, will be 34 a month into the season. Carter, who ended up with 22 points in 27 games after leading the team in points the previous season with 66, is 33. Forwards Trevor Lewis and Nate Thompson are 31 and 33, respectively, with Thompson turning 34 the day the season begins Friday. Defensemen Alec Martinez and Dion Phaneuf are 31 and 33, and goaltender Jonathan Quick is 32. Then there’s Kovalchuk, the oldest on the team. These guys aren’t ancient, but they aren’t kids, either.