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 Dollar General’s beauty celebration to Walmart beefing up its supply chain, here’s our closeout for the week.
What you may have missed
Lids names new head of brand, collaborations
Ariel Sandler is the new head of brand and collaborations for sports apparel retailer Lids.
"I'm thrilled to join Lids, a company that I have respected and followed closely for a long time," Sandler said this week in an announcement. "Coming from a sports and fashion background, being at Lids is an opportunity to get creative and build the brand further. I'm excited to work with new collaborator partners on exclusive product drops and find emerging artists and brands that will help take Lids to the next level."
Sandler’s past experiences include helping to lead brand and marketing efforts for the NBA, New Era and StockX. Lids describes itself as the largest licensed sports retailer in North America with more than 2,000 retail locations. The company also has locations inside Macy’s and Hudson’s Bay stores.
Dollar General hosts 6-day beauty celebration
Dollar General is hosting its 8th annual Days of Beauty from July 10 to 15, focused on multicultural beauty, according to a press release. This year, the discount store is featuring celebrity guest Lauren Speed-Hamilton from Netflix’s “Love is Blind” and will offer freebies and daily tutorial videos.
On Monday, registration for the July 15 feature event opened. That day, Speed-Hamilton will participate in a live virtual interview and show her personal beauty regimen. The first 5,000 to register are set to receive a free beauty box while supplies last featuring products shown in the event. Products in the box come from brands like Dove, Suave, Covergirl, Pantene, Neutrogena and more.
Every day during the event, Dollar General will post tutorials and videos to its site featuring hair, makeup, skin and health tips from influencers. The company will also host gift card and beauty box giveaways on its social media platforms.
Dollar General said the company will donate $10,000 to the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. The organization’s mission is to provide education and health programs for young Black girls and women around the U.S.
Fanatics acquires sports wholesaler Fexpro
In a move to expand its international footprint, digital sports platform Fanatics announced this week it acquired Fexpro. The Panama-based wholesaler licenses sports and branded apparel serving the region and is a preferred licensee of U.S. sports leagues in Latin America, including the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
Fexpro will join the Fanatics Brands division within Fanatics Commerce, and the company’s 100-plus employees will report to Alberto Bassan, the company’s CEO.
“Alberto and the team have built a strong wholesale business that complements many of Fanatics Brands’ capabilities that have been scaled globally over the past decade,” Joe Monahan, Global President of Fanatics Brands, said in a statement. Additionally, the company will benefit from Fexpro's local expertise and infrastructure.
Retail Therapy
Our Place makes our childhood dreams come true
For many of us, “baking” desserts under a lightbulb was a rite of passage in the kitchen. And while those treats were questionable at best, there was just something uniquely satisfying about popping small dishes into a tiny box of an oven.
Well, now DTC brand Our Place wants to bring that same magic into the kitchen with its Wonder Oven — aka the grown-up Easy-Bake Oven of our dreams. But instead of the hockey puck-like cakes of our youth, Our Place says the oven will produce “crispy exteriors and soft, moist interiors,” using its steam-infusion technology.
The Wonder Oven is intended to replace four kitchen appliances, including a toaster and an air fryer.
“With multilevel cooking capability and a cute, compact, and convenient footprint, you can do pretty much anything,” the company said in an Instagram announcement.
Slide right into this shoe collaboration that is obviously from the devil
Live every day like it’s Taco Tuesday when you are wearing this limited-edition shoe. Taco Bell and Crocs announced on Tuesday that the companies are teaming up for the first time to produce a Mellow Slide. The shoe is inspired by Taco Bell’s signature colors of black and purple, with “Live” imprinted on one footbed and “Mas” on the other.
If you want to spend $60 entire dollars on this fashion monstrosity, watch for the product drop on June 28, where it will be available exclusively on Crocs’ website. Early access will be given to fans who have Taco Bell’s Fire tier status; members at that level will be able to obtain an exclusive link on Tuesday for priority access. And probably need to think about their life choices.
What we’re still thinking about
$21.5M
Earlier this year, Overstock CEO Jonathan Johnson told us how the online furniture retailer was benefiting from Bed Bath & Beyond’s troubles. Specifically, he told sibling publication Supply Chain Dive in March that it was able to woo “suppliers that either weren’t getting paid or canceling their contracts.” After months of pulling a variety of financial levers, Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 protection in April.
Now the company is angling to grab onto Bed Bath & Beyond’s very name. This week, Overstock submitted a $21.5 million stalking horse bid for Bed Bath & Beyond’s internet properties, mobile platforms, business data, trademarks and intellectual property. Any better offers were set to be turned in to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey by noon Friday.
Should Overstock prevail, it won’t mean getting into brick-and-mortar retail. The e-retailer’s offer doesn’t apply to any of Bed Bath & Beyond’s hundreds of stores, according to court documents.
$257M
That’s reportedly how much Walmart will spend on its first owned and operated case-ready beef facility in 2025. The retailer will break ground on the facility in Olathe, Kansas, later this year. It will ultimately package and distribute a selection of Angus cuts to serve stores across the Midwest. Walmart has been working on its end-to-end Angus beef supply chain since 2019.
What we’re watching
Puma’s new chief is shaking things up
Puma CEO Arne Freundt took the reins in November, after former chief Bjørn Gulden announced he would move over to lead hometown rival Adidas. Just over half a year into his tenure, Freundt is already making major moves, including a marketing reorganization that will see the company’s chief brand officer (and 20-year Puma veteran) depart.
The company is moving marketing operations from Boston to its headquarters in Germany in a bid to speed up decision-making and ensure brand consistency. The move will put the team closer to Puma’s creative direction, go-to-market and global business units. Puma’s North America team, though, will have responsibility for local sports marketing and partnerships.
“Our analyses clearly show that Puma has significant opportunities to leverage the full potential of its brand,” Freundt said in a statement. “This is why relentlessly elevating our brand is one of our key strategic priorities.”
The decision comes as Freundt builds out his leadership team. Puma named a chief product officer in December, and appointed a new leader for the company’s Sportstyle business in March. A new managing director of India starts in August.
