August 14, 2025
- Walmart is extending its 10% employee discount to include groceries. Approximately 1.6 million U.S. staff will be entitled to avail of this program (via Quartz).
- Wawa will open its very first travel center as it expands into new markets. An 8,000-square-foot location is slated to open in Hope Mills, North Carolina, on Aug. 28 (via Chain Store Age).
- Ulta announced the wrap-up of its mini-store partnership with Target as soon as the contract ends in August 2026. No further detail was given as to reasoning behind the ending of the partnership (via Reuters).
- New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued Zelle operator Early Warning Services over allegations that the company was aware of substantial susceptibilities for fraud impacting users, but did nothing to ameliorate these (via CNN Business).
- Tapestry estimated annual profit levels falling below estimates. The parent company behind the popular Coach brand saw share prices tumble by 14% in morning trading, potentially as a result (via Reuters).
- U.S. female consumers are slowing discretionary spending more significantly than their male counterparts, per Circana data. In H2 2025, American women exhibited flat YoY discretionary spending, while men saw discretionary spending growth of 3% (via Circana).
- Claire’s U.K. and Ireland business has followed in the footsteps of its U.S. business counterpart, entering administration as it fails to find a buyer. The potential failure of the enterprise puts more than 2,150 jobs at risk (via Forbes).
- Birkenstock topped Q3 expectations, citing strong demand and positive positioning versus the ongoing tariffs on European imports (via Reuters).
- eBay announced the upcoming release of new seller tools, including an opt-in AI assistant chat tool and a “your cost” field including in-line via listing. Improved seller protections around tracked and delivered products are also coming online (via Chain Store Age).