Joining a number of other retailers with in-house investment vehicles, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced the launch of DSG Ventures, a $50 million fund that will initially focus on companies that directly serve athletes and their communities, or that help Dick’s better serve its customers. What should Dick’s Sporting Goods hope to gain from its launch of DSG Ventures?
Victoria’s Secret & Co. (VS&Co.) has agreed to buy Adore Me, the digital-first intimates brands, for $400 million. The acquisition is expected to provide a technology boost, a new growth vehicle and perhaps some goodwill. Is the Adore Me acquisition a good fit for Victoria’s Secret & Co.?
The restaurant industry is debating the merits of dynamic pricing as the expansion of digital menus over the pandemic has made instant price changes easier. The big unknown is how patrons will react. Do you see more potential benefits or drawbacks to dynamic pricing at restaurants and other foodservice establishments?
Aldi and Walmart are running Thanksgiving meal promotions that promise to help their customers save as though grocery prices haven’t spiked 13 percent in 2022. Are Americans significantly more price sensitive heading into this year’s Thanksgiving Day feasts than they were in 2021?
Facing a heightened promotional environment amid elevated inventories in the marketplace, VF Corp. has rejiggered its near-term plans to drive higher revenue and profit in the second half of its fiscal year ending March 2023. What do you think is key to preserving profitability in an environment marked by elevated promotions and inventories?
Few, if any, of the transactions BrainTrust Panelist Bob Amster has witnessed on a wide array of systems have been frictionless. Each has an interruption of some form. Where does grocery self-checkout currently fall short?
Consumers can now walk into any of the 500+ DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse stores with their old shoes and get them repaired. The retailer has partnered with Cobblers Direct, an online service that repairs shoes, boots, belts and handbags. Will the repair services throughout DSW stores encourage more consumers to repair their shoes, boots, belts and handbags instead of discarding them?
Home Depot is partnering with a short-term rental platform so that when people are on vacation at one particular location, they’ll see what a trip or two to the retailer can do for them when they get home. Will customers staying at the Vrbo rental property make the connection to Home Depot and shop the retailer accordingly?
at a time when customers and retailers have sustainability on the mind more than ever, a major environmental group is saying that the practice of plastic recycling just does not work. What do the findings about the inefficacy of plastic recycling mean for retailers and brands trying to pursue more environmentally sustainable operations?
Shein is moving closer to launching its first permanent brick and mortar store in Tokyo. The store, which measures about 2,163 square feet over two stories, will open November 13 in the city’s Harajuku fashion district. How likely is Shein to open showroom stores in the U.S. similar to the one it is opening in Tokyo?
