Retail News

Here are our picks for top news impacting retailers today:

• Ulta Beauty has lifted its full-year guidance after outperforming Q3 estimates, with fragrances, skincare products, and other cosmetics items bolstering its bottom line. The company now anticipates annual revenue of ~$12.3 billion, an upward revision from a previous estimated range of between $12 billion to $12.1 billion. “Our third quarter results exceeded our expectations, reflecting the steady progress and momentum our team is building as we execute our Ulta ‘Beauty Unleashed’ strategy. Exciting assortment newness, improved in-store and digital experiences, and bold marketing efforts are resonating with our guests and drove strong sales results, market share gains, and growth across all categories and channels, with notable strength in ecommerce,” said Kecia Steelman, Ulta Beauty president and CEO (via Forbes).
• Kroger plans to push even more new store builds in 2026 as it reports sales increases — including an e-commerce figure of sales growth topping 17% — and a net loss of $1.32 billion, largely tied to one-time costs as expansion continues apace. “We expect to break ground on 14 new stores in the fourth quarter, marking a meaningful acceleration in activity. When you look at 2026, we expect to increase new store builds by 30%,” CEO Ron Sargent told analysts (via Chain Store Age).
• Costco is adding Gina Raimondo, former Commerce secretary for the Biden administration, to its board of directors. “We are very pleased to nominate Secretary Raimondo for election to our Board. Her vast experience in global business, politics and international security at the highest level will add an important dimension to our current expertise,” Costco Chairman Tony James said in a statement (via CNBC).
• Dollar General likewise announced significant store expansion plans. The discount retailer indicated plans to open 450 new U.S. locations over the course of 2026, alongside 10 in Mexico. A whopping 4,250 store remodels were also slated as being part of the strategy. “Our first priority is investing in the business, including our existing store base, as well as other high-return growth opportunities such as new store expansion, remodels, and other strategic initiatives,” Donny Lau, CFO for Dollar General, told investors (via FOX Business).
• Netflix has announced a deal to purchase Warner Bros. Discover that would be worth $72 billion, plus debt, if concluded. Paramount and Comcast, known competitors in the bidding war for WBD, may intend to pursue the purchase regardless — and many industry insiders warn that opposition to the deal is mounting already (via CNN Business).

• Small Business Saturday sales figures underwhelmed this year, according to American Express Consumer Insights data. Spending at U.S. small businesses was pegged at an estimated $18 billion on Saturday, Nov. 29, a figure which is ~20% lower than 2024’s statistic of $22 billion. “Despite consumers’ good intentions—American Express found 77% of consumers strongly agree it is important to support the small businesses in their good community—harsh economic reality trumped their goodwill,” Forbes contributor Pamela N. Danziger wrote (via Forbes).
• Fanatics has landed a major deal to run retail and merchandising for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. “There is no larger sporting event in the entire world than the World Cup… we’ve been doing a lot of events; this is the biggest one we’ll have done yet,” Andrew Low Ah Kee, CEO of Fanatics Commerce, said (via CNBC).
• U.S. consumers are finding holiday promotions confusing, misleading, or unclear, according to Relex Solutions survey data. An overwhelming majority (84%) indicated as much, and nearly half (45%) indicated they will curtail spending, or stop shopping entirely, with retailers they no longer trust based on this metric. “There’s a massive gap between promotional strategy and execution. Marketing teams can design compelling campaigns, but if supply chains can’t deliver inventory or pricing systems can’t clearly communicate savings, the promotion becomes a trust-breaking moment instead of a sales driver,” said Thom Iddon-Escalante of Relex Solutions (via Chain Store Age).
• Micron, manufacturer of Crucial-branded memory in the consumer marketplace, is exiting the consumer market due to increased demand for its products from the AI industry. “The AI-driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage. Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments,” Sumit Sadana, Micron business chief, said (via press release).
• A massive cheese recall has been enacted by the FDA, based on a voluntary recall from Great Lakes Cheese Co. The recall was issued “because the products may contain metal fragments,” per the FDA, and affects brands ranging from Great Value to Aldi and H-E-B private labels (via Axios).

• Holiday weekend sales drew a record 202.9 million consumers to spend, according to data from the National Retail Federation (NRF). That figure is significantly up from last year’s number of 197 million, and also breaks the previous record of 200.4 million set in 2023. “Consumers continue to take advantage of the extended holiday shopping weekend with online deals on Cyber Monday. While mobile devices now lead as the most popular way to shop online for Cyber Monday, laptops also remain popular,” said Prosper EVP of strategy Phil Rist (via Chain Store Age).
• Macy’s delivered its third quarterly Wall Street beat in a row, with the retailer now expecting an EPS of between $2 and $2.20 versus previous projections of between $1.70 and $2.05. Net sales are now anticipated to come in at between $21.48 billion to $21.63 billion, versus previous calls for $21.15 billion to $21.45 billion. “We’re pleased with the fourth quarter to date, but we have a big holiday in front of us,” said CEO Tony Spring of the company’s ongoing turnaround efforts (via CNBC).
• American Eagle likewise beat Wall Street projections for Q3, and raised both its Q4 and full-year guidance as a result of its strong Sydney Sweeney campaign. Full year adjusted operating income is now projected at a range of $303 million to $308 million, revised upward from $255 million to $265 million, while fourth-quarter comparable sales are anticipated to rise by between 8% and 9%, much higher than analysts’ previous expectations of 2.1% (via CNBC).
• San Francisco has launched a lawsuit against 10 major food manufacturers — including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, and Kraft Heinz — alleging that said manufacturers were knowingly creating a health crisis via the production and sale of ultra-processed foods. “They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body. These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused,” said city attorney David Chiu (via FOX Business).
• Dollar Tree also raised its annual profit forecast on the back of strong fiscal indicators, with an EPS of between $5.60 and $5.80 for fiscal 2025 being gestured toward, set against a previous EPS range of $5.32 to $5.72. Dollar Tree also enjoyed quarterly sales of $4.75 billion, beating analyst estimates of $4.7 billion (via Reuters).