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News Stories

Covering the latest news in the retail industry

  • September 25, 2025

    • The U.S. economy exhibited more strength than anticipated in Q2, with an upward revision coming from the Commerce Department estimating an annualized GDP of 3.8%. Higher-than-expected consumer spending drove the latest revision (via CNN Business).
    • Albertsons is expanding its retail media network via a partnership with tech provider Perion Network Ltd. (via Chain Store Age).
    • H&M is pivoting to focus on emerging markets in India and Brazil as consumer spend softens in its core region of Europe, and tariffs harm demand stateside (via Reuters).
    • U.S. retailers are facing growing inventory problems, and cutting staff due to low sales, as a result of tariff pressures, per GreyOrange survey data. More than 75% of retail managers surveyed indicated an increase in stockouts tied to trade concerns (via Chain Store Age).
    • Aldi is launching its first namesake private label, also adding “Aldi original” to the packaging of its existing store brands. “The new look and feel of our products is the next step in our journey to modernize our simpler, quicker shopping experience,” said Aldi CEO Atty McGrath (via Chain Store Age).
    • Starbucks announced a trimming of its stores, with hundreds of cafes (albeit to the tune of ~1% of locations) slated to close down by the end of September. The company expects restructuring efforts to cost approximately $1 billion (via CNN Business).

  • September 24, 2025

    • Black Friday is on the horizon, and e-commerce operations are mostly concerned about technical difficulties when asked about potential failures during that period, per Liquid Web survey data (via Chain Store Age).
    • JD Sports saw a 13.5% fall in H1 profit, citing weakness in the U.S. market as a primary driver. Regardless, the company maintained its full-year guidance (via Reuters).
    • Walmart is now seeing one-fifth (20%) of its referrals originating from ChatGPT. Etsy is seeing more than 20% of referrals from the same LLM, and Target (~15%) and eBay (~10%) are also seeing similar trends (via Modern Retail).
    • Kate Spade CEO Eva Erdmann is banking on a back-to-basics approach to reinvigorate interest in its brand. A new ad campaign, “Spark Something Beautiful,” hinges around friendship, optimism, and storytelling elements to get the message across (via Glossy).
    • Gucci opened up Milan Fashion Week with a short film featuring Demi Moore, Edward Norton, and others all wearing designs from the brand’s new creative director, Demna. French parent company Kering is engaging in an effort to revive Gucci’s label to prominence (via Reuters).
    • Michaels is initiating its planned revival, of sorts, of Joann, bringing “Knit & Sew Shop” store-in-store fixtures bearing the latter’s name into its U.S. and Canadian locations. Fan-favorite Big Twist yarn will be a featured item (via CNN Business).

  • September 23, 2025

    • The $7,500 U.S. EV credit is set to expire on Oct. 1, with analysts expecting sales of EVs to drop significantly following the end of the credit (via CNN Business).
    • Amazon plans to shutter all of its Amazon Fresh stores in the U.K., a total of 19 being on the chopping block. The exit comes less than five years after it entered that market (via Reuters)
    • Build-a-Bear Workshop continues to see record revenue and growth despite macroeconomic headwinds. Onlookers attribute much of the brand’s resilience to nostalgia and extensive diversification strategies (via CNBC).
    • LensCrafters is betting on the continually popular Roblox game to build its online presence, launching a tycoon-like subgame within Roblox to further establish its online footprint with younger generations of consumers (via Chain Store Age).
    • Office Depot and OfficeMax parent company The ODP Corporation has agreed to be taken private by an affiliate of Atlas Holdings for an estimated $1 billion (via Reuters).
    • Roots is opening a Vancouver, BC, Canada flagship store, with the Canadian apparel brand looking to expand its physical presence (via Chain Store Age).
    • Michelob Ultra has topped Modelo Especial in U.S. retail sales, becoming America’s No. 1 beer in terms of sales, per Circana (via CNN Business).
    • Pattern Group, a notable reseller on Amazon’s platform, debuted on the NASDAQ at $13.50 per share, having raised ~$300 million for the company and investors via its IPO (via CNBC).

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