It’s been another week with far more retail news than there is time in the day. Below, we break down some things you may have missed during the week, and what we’re still thinking about.
From J. Jill’s new trade-in program to PetSmart’s ode to the Paris Olympics, here’s our closeout for the week.
What you may have missed
J. Jill wants you to choose
J. Jill on Tuesday launched an apparel trade-in experience, dubbed “You Choose,” where women can bring in gently worn clothing in exchange for J. Jill styles. Participants can receive a $100 J. Jill gift card, a necklace and a prepaid mailing envelope to send in their clothing, according to a press release. Apparel will be donated to the nonprofit Bottomless Closet.
You Choose is available on a first-come, first-serve basis and is part of the retailer’s latest One Wardrobe, No Limits campaign.
“The You Choose experience is that spark of inspiration to help women test out something new and find inspiration and excitement in a closet that fulfills the versatility, comfort and style that she deserves,” Elliot Staples, creative director of J. Jill, said in a statement.
Pottery Barn and Westin partner on a home capsule collection
Pottery Barn on Tuesday announced a product collaboration with Westin Hotels & Resorts.
Products in the collaboration include bedroom furniture, bedding and bath accessories. Items will be featured in Westin hotel rooms and are available for purchase on both company’s respective websites.
“Pottery Barn has been working with Westin for over 10 years as an exclusive home furnishings partner for the Heavenly mattress, and our new home furnishings collection provides the restorative and relaxing Westin experience designed for your home,” Pottery Barn President Monica Bhargava said in a statement.
A ruff first month for Bark Air
Bark Air, the newly launched dog airline from online pet retailer Bark, has already had its first lawsuit filed and settled within its first month of business. The pet retailer’s newest venture, which is made possible through a partnership with a jet charter company, calls itself the “world’s first air travel experience designed specifically for dogs first.”
The flights are designed so dogs don’t have to fly in the cargo hold and include features like noise-canceling ear muffs, calming treats and a Bark Air concierge to help dogs get used to the environment. At launch, the program included flights to Westchester County Airport in New York, Van Nuys airport in Los Angeles and Stansted Airport in London. Bark Air sent its first flight out on May 23 from New York — and had its first lawsuit waiting a week later.
Westchester County sued the retailer and its partner, Talon Air, saying Bark Air violated its regulations requiring aircrafts with more than nine passenger seats to fly out of the main terminal. The case was settled on Monday, and Bark noted in the settlement that it has not sold more than nine passenger seats on any of its flights leaving or arriving at that airport and will notify the county if it does.
What’s the thinking on dog flights anyway?
“We believe this initiative will raise awareness of Bark’s mission in a cost-effective manner,” Bark Chief Financial Officer Zahir Ibrahim said in a statement when the initiative was announced. “Given we are not committed to booking flights far in advance, we have a lot of flexibility to opportunistically charter flights during times of high demand. In parallel, we believe the additional traffic to Bark.co will raise awareness of our full offering, benefiting our core business in the long term.”
Retail therapy
Cold Stone adds Minion-yellow ice cream for Despicable Me 4 release
The minions have taken over Cold Stone Creamery, with the company’s newest ice cream lineup announced Wednesday. With the upcoming release of Despicable Me 4 in theaters next month, the ice cream shop added a Despicamallow Ice Cream flavor, a Mega Minion Marshmallow Meltdown dessert creation and a Heist Cream Cake available to order.
The layered cake features an image of Mega Jerry the minion and the ice cream treats can be ordered in a special edition Mega Jerry cup. The limited-time offerings are available through July 30.
PetSmart supports Team USA with collection for dogs
Ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris this year, PetSmart released a collection of toys and apparel for dogs on Thursday.
All toys in the collection are priced under $13 and apparel under $20. The collection is available in stores and online celebrating summer sports like soccer, karate and basketball. It offers tracksuits, hats, gold medal toys and more.
Additionally, PetSmart’s Doggie Day Camps plan to host a Team USA-themed experience on Aug. 8 with exercise activities, special treats and a photo keepsake. PetSmart’s Grooming Salons through July 28 will offer a summer special service upgrade, priced at $27. The service comes with a patriotic bandana, luxury shampoo and conditioner, a cologne spritz, dog cookie and a coupon book.
What we’re still thinking about
$2.14B
That’s how much GameStop raised from its latest meme stock-fueled share sale.
The company said Tuesday it sold 75 million shares under the at-the-market program, the maximum amount. GameStop last month raised $933 million from an earlier at-the-market offering. In both instances, GameStop said it intends to use the sale proceeds for “general corporate purposes,” which could include investments or acquisitions. But Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told Retail Dive it’s unclear what the company might use the money for.
“It’s difficult to identify an adjacent business that allows them to leverage stores — consumer electronics makes the most sense, but the market there is bad and pretty saturated,” Pachter said via email. “They have already tried to boost their online sales and failed. They’ve tried to sell NFTs and failed. They’ve tried to turn stores into esports lounges/hangouts and have failed. I can’t think of a category that makes sense, and don’t see where they have any meaningful experience operating unrelated businesses, so [I] am unsure about what they can invest in to grow.”
15,000
That’s how many items Joann said it plans to permanently mark down ahead of a semi-annual promotional event that runs through June 26. The price cuts apply to items across Joann’s assortment, including fabric, yarn, craft items and home décor. During the sale, Joann said 18,000 SKUs will have discounts.
“We are dedicated as ever to helping all customers find their creative happy place, and we are pleased to be able to lower thousands of everyday prices to enable them to create more,” Chief Merchandising Officer Rob Will said in a statement.
Joann’s announcement comes days after the company named a new interim CEO and a new board of directors. After exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late April, Joann is now a privately held company.
What we’re watching
Shrink at self-checkouts or are self-checkouts just shrinking?
Target became the talk of the industry in March when it announced a series of changes to its self-checkout lanes, including limiting the checkout experience to 10 items or fewer and allowing managers more control over when to open and close self-checkout lanes. Walmart, too, made changes to the experience, removing self-checkout from certain stores in April.
The most recent battleground for the conversation, though, has been at dollar stores. Five Below in March said it would limit the number of self-checkouts in stores and would even be checking receipts in some stores — and the retailer followed that up in June by saying high-shrink stores now rely entirely on associate-led checkouts. The rest of its stores rely on 75% employee checkouts.
Similarly, Dollar General said in its last earnings report that it planned to cut the “vast majority” of its self-checkouts as part of a strategy to fight shrink. Experts generally agree that self-checkout isn’t going anywhere, but it does seem to be shrinking. The question is, how much? And is the actual problem with self-checkout shrink — or something else?
