THG Ingenuity Launches Gift With Purchase Channel
THG Ingenuity has launched an external Gift‑With‑Purchase (GWP) channel, extending its proven retail‑media solution to third‑party brands. The service integrates curated gifting offers into key moments of the shopper journey across beauty, nutrition and lifestyle sites. Early campaigns on LOOKFANTASTIC and Myprotein lifted add‑to‑basket rates by 77% and drove a 67% rise in new brand partnerships. CPA‑driven revenue grew 6% year‑over‑year, positioning the channel as a scalable growth engine for partners.
The Perfume Shop Unveils ‘The Perfume Shop Scent Sanctuary’ as Part of National Fragrance Week
The Perfume Shop launched the Scent Sanctuary pop‑up in London during National Fragrance Week, offering 30‑minute guided scent sessions that blend perfume discovery with meditation, yoga and breathwork. Tickets for the customer days sold out within two hours, underscoring strong...
BuytoGive Launches £500,000 Funding Round
BuytoGive, a UK e‑commerce marketplace that converts regular online purchases into charitable donations, announced a £500,000 seed round, the first half of a £1 million raise at a £3 million pre‑money valuation. The company recently secured access to 1.2 million products via a...
ABOUT YOU Opens Its Marketplace to New Sellers
ABOUT YOU, a Zalando Group fashion retailer, has opened its marketplace to any fashion seller, removing minimum product‑count and revenue thresholds. The new self‑service Seller Center lets brands launch in as little as four weeks, with no onboarding fees. In the...
GoTo Foods CEO Declares Rebranding a Success
GoTo Foods CEO Omer Gajial announced that the two‑year rebranding from Focus Brands has delivered strong results, unifying seven restaurant concepts under a single digital infrastructure. The shared omnichannel platform has nearly tripled system‑wide digital sales since 2019 and added...
Gong Cha Takes Control of 170 US Franchises
Gong cha has purchased the rights to 170 U.S. franchise locations, spanning thirteen states, to bring those territories under direct company control. The move is part of a broader plan to standardize operations, strengthen supply chains, and accelerate the brand’s...
What Last Year’s Receipts Say About the Year Ahead
The 2025 CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor reveals that U.S. consumers remained engaged but grew more selective, keeping essential categories robust while trimming big‑ticket purchases. Holiday‑season sales stayed positive, driven largely by middle‑income households and a surge in Gen Z discretionary spending. Durable‑goods...
Wayfair Launches Loyalty Program in Canada
Wayfair has rolled out its Wayfair Rewards loyalty program in Canada, marking the first international expansion after a successful U.S. debut. Canadian members pay $39 per year to receive 5% back in reward dollars, free shipping on all orders, exclusive...
Dog Haus Plots Its Next Growth Phase
Dog Haus Worldwide is launching an aggressive expansion, targeting 50 new U.S. locations—primarily in the Midwest—and three stores in Mexico within the next year. The chain has secured high‑profile influencer partnerships, notably Jake Paul’s 25‑store franchise and board role, generating...
John Lewis Invests in TikTok Shop Launch and AI-Powered Shopping
John Lewis has launched a 90‑day TikTok Shop trial ahead of Mother’s Day, offering a curated selection of beauty and gifting items that can be bought directly on the platform. The move is part of an £800 million multi‑year transformation programme...
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[ EVENT ] CDO Retail Exchange 2026
CDO Retail Exchange 2026 convenes 70 senior retail data, analytics and AI executives from brands such as Adidas, IKEA and Shiseido. The closed‑door forum is designed to move AI projects from pilot to profit, focusing on real‑time decisioning, margin‑boosting use...
EXCLUSIVE: Loewe Just Opened Its Second ‘Casa’ Flagship in Paris
Loewe has opened its second Paris Casa flagship on Rue Saint‑Honoré, a 4,400‑square‑foot, two‑level space that blends luxury retail with art and design. The store showcases the brand’s new collection by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, and has generated unprecedented pre‑reservations for...
Australian Retailer Cotton On Eyes 40-50 Stores Across India with Apparel Group Partnership
Australian fashion retailer Cotton On Group announced a franchise partnership with India’s Apparel Group to launch 40‑50 stores across the country over the next five to six years. The rollout will begin in Delhi NCR before expanding to other metros and select...
CHAGEE Ventures Into South Korea as Part of Regional Expansion
CHAGEE announced the opening of three flagship stores in Seoul—Gangnam, Yongsan and Sinchon—scheduled for the second quarter of 2026. The rollout follows a soft launch in Macau and marks the brand’s first East Asian entry beyond its home market. CHAGEE...
Japanese Brand Beams to Open US Flagship
Japanese fashion and lifestyle retailer Beams will open a 1,250 sqm flagship store on a single floor in Los Angeles, establishing a central hub for its U.S. operations. The store will showcase Beams’ own labels alongside curated global brands, reflecting its...
Bulletproof Sheds Biohack Coffee Image for a Simpler Wellness Rebrand
Bulletproof, the functional coffee brand founded by Dave Asprey, is shedding its decade‑old biohacker image in favor of a streamlined wellness positioning. Under new CEO Harry Lewis and following Bia Food’s acquisition, the company is trimming its portfolio to focus...
Authentic Taps NewRee Sports to Lead Reebok in Greater China
Authentic Brands Group has named NewRee Sports as the core operating partner for Reebok across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. NewRee will manage production, import, distribution and sales of Reebok footwear and apparel for adults and children in these...
Why Do Brands Go Silent in the Fitting Room?
Retailers pour resources into a distinctive brand voice, yet fitting rooms remain a silent, brand‑free zone. This gap is critical because the fitting room is the moment when shoppers decide to buy or walk away. Brands like Urban Outfitters and...
Zara Unveils Revamped Store in Japan’s Yokohama
Zara has reopened its 2,000 sqm Minatomirai Tokyu Square store in Yokohama, moving it to the second level with dual mall and street access. The interior features boutique‑style rooms framed by structural beams, natural light from glazed facades and skylights, and...
Buc-Ee's New Gas Pump Rule Sparks drama...and It's Not About Parking
Starting March 1, 2026 Buc‑ee’s will require customers using credit or debit cards to pay for fuel at the pump, while cash payments can still be pre‑paid inside the store. The new rule, posted on pump signage, aims to streamline traffic flow...
Princess Polly Expands Into New Markets with Eight New US Stores
Princess Polly announced eight new U.S. store openings, with four locations slated for the second half of 2026 and four more slated for early 2027. The new stores will debut in Houston and Frisco, Texas; Orlando, Florida; Edina, Minnesota; Jacksonville,...
Puma Bets on Direct Sales Playbook of New Top Shareholder, China’s Anta
Puma reported a record €645.5 million net loss for 2025, driven by a 13% sales decline and heavy discounting in its wholesale‑dominant model. CEO Arthur Hoeld blamed over‑exposure to retail channels and has begun pulling inventory back from stores, while cutting...
Levi's Sets Sights on Women, High-End Market
Levi Strauss & Co. is accelerating its shift toward women’s apparel and premium denim, aiming to raise the women’s share from 38% to 50% of sales. Direct‑to‑consumer channels now generate 49% of total revenue, reflecting a rapid move away from...
Busy Month for N Brown: Adds Six Brands to Its Platforms with North Face the Key Highlight
N Brown Group announced a busy month of brand expansions, most notably adding The North Face to its Jacamo, JD Williams and SimplyBe platforms. The partnership launches an 85‑piece collection supported by a nationwide out‑of‑home campaign from 8‑31 March, with special projection ads in...
East Coast Vibe Comes to Manchester as Gant Opens Selfridges Pop-Up
Gant has launched a temporary pop‑up shop inside Manchester’s Selfridges, running until late May. The space showcases the brand’s Spring‑Summer 2026 menswear line, highlighted by striped rugby shirts, chinos, and Harrington jackets that blend classic American sportswear with modern sophistication. A...
The AI Attribution Blind Spot
Artificial intelligence assistants are emerging as a primary channel for product discovery, compressing the traditional list of search results into a single answer. This upstream shift moves the consumer decision point into a system retailers cannot control or directly measure....
Zurich Airport to Further Develop Commercial Experience in Expanded Partnership with Avolta
Zurich Airport has renewed its duty‑free and retail concession with Avolta until 2035, covering 17 locations and all food‑and‑beverage, convenience and duty‑free segments. The extension provides long‑term planning certainty and unlocks targeted capital for upgrading commercial spaces. Avolta will expand...
Modern Retail Podcast: The New Rules of Product Pricing
In a Modern Retail Podcast episode, Newell Brands’ learning and development chief Kris Malkoski explains how Graco is reshaping its pricing playbook amid AI‑driven insights, tariff volatility, and price‑sensitive shoppers. The discussion reveals Graco’s use of artificial intelligence to fine‑tune...
Fugazi Is Opening a Los Angeles Store
Fugazi, the Los Angeles‑born streetwear label founded by Trevor Gorji in 2017, is launching its second brick‑and‑mortar shop in West Hollywood. The brand’s first flagship opened in New York’s Lower East Side in 2024 and includes the le Gaz café, blending retail...
Marx Realty Launches Expansion at Yonkers’ Cross County Center
Marx Realty has broken ground on a 58,000‑square‑foot expansion at Cross County Center in Yonkers, adding a 14,000‑sq ft single‑story building and a 44,000‑sq ft two‑story structure. The project includes a four‑acre park and boardwalk that will serve as the mall’s new...
Larger Retailers Are Launching Their Own Beauty Brands, While the Luxury Fashion Market Gap Widens
Listrak’s 2026 Beauty and Fashion Benchmarks report, analyzing 130 billion emails and SMS messages from 1,000 e‑commerce clients, forecasts major shifts in retail. Larger retailers such as Gap and Old Navy are launching proprietary beauty brands to capture growth, while AI‑enabled...
Nike Teamed Up With IRAK To Drop An Air Force 1 “City Hero”
Nike has teamed with renowned graffiti artist Kunle Martins, known as IRAK, to release an all‑black Air Force 1 "City Hero" featuring a scratch‑away heel emblazoned with his hand‑style lettering. The sneaker is being sold exclusively through a SNKRS Stash...
Fischersund Stages First Scented Concert in Paris
Fischersund, the Icelandic art‑perfume collective, staged its inaugural scented concert in Paris at Dover Street Market, unveiling the new fragrance Faux Flora No. 1. The immersive event blended live music, projected visuals, and a 5‑ml perfume vial to create a multisensory narrative inspired...
Saks Global Sets Second Wave of Luxury Store Closings
Saks Global announced a second wave of store closures, shuttering 12 Saks Fifth Avenue locations and three Neiman Marcus stores by the end of May. Combined with earlier cuts, the company has now announced the closure of 20 Saks and four...
5 Things: Aldi Sass Is What We Live For
Aldi’s cheeky Instagram reply to McDonald’s recent product flop highlighted the grocer’s aggressive digital tone. Meanwhile, Oregon City launched the nation’s first 600‑sq‑ft micro‑grocery, echoing New York bodegas’ compact model. H‑E‑B swiftly corrected a false closure rumor, Iceland settled a...
What Is As Ever? Meghan Markle’s Lifestyle Brand, Explained
Meghan Markle’s As Ever launched in March 2025 as an artisanal food‑focused lifestyle brand, quickly gaining a cult following with sell‑out jam drops, candles, wine, and limited‑edition chocolates. After a year of partnership with Netflix, the brand announced it is now...
Kroger Is Closing Stores: See the Updated List that Shows Shuttered Locations Across the Country
Kroger announced a footprint‑optimization plan in June 2023 to close roughly 60 stores nationwide. To date, 33 locations have shuttered and three more are confirmed for 2024, spanning the Kroger banner and subsidiaries such as Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, and King Soopers....
How Brands Are Leveraging Live Commerce to Move Excess Inventory
Brands are turning to live commerce to liquidate excess inventory, gaining real‑time pricing, product visibility, and storytelling that traditional bulk liquidation lacks. Platforms such as Whatnot, eBay Live, and Poshmark Live let sellers showcase condition and price instantly, targeting niche...
Pete Nordstrom on the Enduring Power of Retail’s ‘Best Mousetrap’ | The BoF Podcast
Nordstrom celebrated its 125th anniversary while navigating a turbulent U.S. department‑store landscape. The family partnered with Mexico’s Liverpool to take the retailer private, preserving a 51% stake and freeing the business from quarterly market pressures. Pete Nordstrom highlighted the company’s...
Liquidation Vs. Markdown: What Retailers Get Wrong
Retailers habitually rely on successive markdowns before considering liquidation, harming profitability. The article explains that markdowns shift sales to low‑margin items and occupy valuable space, while liquidation, when executed via vetted platforms, recovers capital and restores assortment mix. It argues...
Understanding Hermès Resale: Scarcity, Strategy, and the Birkin Market
Hermès deliberately limits Birkin supply, turning scarcity into a brand advantage and driving strong resale premiums. The company’s boutique‑level allocation relies on client relationships rather than sheer spend, reinforcing exclusivity. A vibrant secondary market, exemplified by platforms like Rome Station,...
DSG Expands AI and Ecommerce Across Its Distribution Brands
Distribution Solutions Group (DSG) is embedding ecommerce and AI across its three main brands—Lawson Products, Gexpro Services and TestEquity—to boost sales efficiency and capture new customers. In Q4, Lawson’s online channel posted an 18% revenue increase, with over 30% of...
Flexible Footprints: Using Modular Construction To Adapt to Changing Retail Formats
Retailers are turning to modular construction to keep pace with rapidly shifting consumer habits and the rise of pop‑up, dark‑store, and hybrid formats. Off‑site fabrication slashes build times, allowing stores to open in weeks rather than months while meeting code...
Swift Moves Ahead with Retail Cross-Border Payments Network
Swift has introduced a new framework for retail cross‑border payments, with over 25 banks slated to process transactions under the rules by June. The initiative expands Swift’s traditional focus on interbank and commercial transfers to consumer‑level payments, targeting faster settlement,...
Best Buy Online Marketplace Gains Traction as New Profit Driver
Best Buy’s U.S. online marketplace generated roughly $300 million in gross merchandise value in fiscal Q4 2026, supported by more than 1,100 third‑party sellers. The platform earns commissions and advertising fees, helping lift the retailer’s gross profit rate despite a 1% dip...
Voomi Supply Raises $10 Million to Expand B2B Ecommerce Platform for HVAC
Voomi Supply announced a $10 million financing round led by Asymmetric Capital Partners, with participation from Highmount Capital, David Hawkins, and existing backer Operator Partners. The capital will accelerate development of its AI‑driven B2B ecommerce platform, broaden its supplier network, and...
Amazon Website, App Glitch Impacts Online Customers
Amazon’s website and mobile app experienced a six‑hour outage on March 6, 2026, after a software code deployment went awry. The disruption prevented customers from accessing product pages, checking out, and viewing account information, prompting more than 20,000 issue reports. Amazon’s...
Von Dutch Plots U.S. Comeback Under WSG Brands
Von Dutch, the early‑2000s celebrity‑driven label, has been relaunched in the United States after its 2024 acquisition by brand‑development firm WSG Brands. WSG has rebuilt the brand’s infrastructure, expanded wholesale and direct‑to‑consumer channels, and secured high‑visibility collaborations with Gen Z influencers....
Supermarkets Hit by Falling Demand for Nitrite-Cured Bacon Due to Cancer Fears
UK supermarkets are experiencing a notable decline in nitrite‑cured bacon sales, dropping 7.3% over the 12‑week period to January 25, equating to a £18.7 million loss. At the same time, nitrite‑free bacon is gaining traction, with sales rising 21.7% to £9.4 million....
Aldi Expands Long-Term Supply Deals with British Growers
Aldi UK is expanding long‑term supply agreements with British growers, aiming to secure at least 50 % of its domestic produce by the end of 2027. The contracts, lasting two years or more, will be open to both large and small...