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 Jell-O furniture to Ulta’s new joy council, here’s our closeout for the week.
What you may have missed
Sephora North America names new CFO
Sephora’s North America business unit has a new finance chief, effective April next year, the company confirmed to Retail Dive via email. Delphine Herve, who has worked at Sephora for more than 10 years in various financial roles, is taking on the position from Christophe le Boterff, who is retiring after seven years in the role. Prior to Sephora, Herve spent over three years at parent company LVMH, according to her LinkedIn.
In the new position, Herve will lead finance and loss prevention and support Sephora’s growth, a spokesperson said. In April, Sephora North America’s new CEO took over, with former Chief Merchandising Officer Artemis Patrick assuming the role.
John Deere to pay $10M SEC fine for Thailand bribery scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday announced that John Deere agreed to pay nearly $10 million to resolve a charge that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The SEC states that from 2017 through 2020, employees at one of its subsidiaries, Wirtgen Thailand, bribed Thai government officials and a private company to win contracts and sales. Bribes included cash payments, massage parlor visits and international travel. The payments were recorded as “legitimate expenses in Deere’s books and records,” according to an SEC press release. The SEC found that Wirtgen Thailand made around $4.3 million in profits directly related to the bribes.
“Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Deere consented to the entry of the SEC’s order requiring it to cease and desist from further violations and to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling approximately $5.4 million and a civil penalty of $4.5 million,” the release stated.
Ulta creates ‘Joy Council’ for wellness content
Ulta Beauty on Thursday launched its Joy Council — a group of various leaders in wellness formed to “help people find, embrace and experience joy in their everyday lives” as part of the beauty retailer’s Joy Project initiative launched last year. The council members will create custom content for Ulta.
Well-being expert and author Deepak Chopra serves as Ulta's Chief of Joy. The rest of the council includes Olympic champion and mental health advocate Laurie Hernandez; relationship expert, podcast host and author Jillian Turecki and fitness instructor, health coach and motivational speaker, Ally Love.
The council members’ content will be used for Ulta’s social channels and a new “joy hub” on Ulta’s website. Content will include movement and mindset practices, self-care tips, 21 Days of Joy Mantras by Chopra and more.
Retail therapy
My furniture jiggle jiggles
If you ever wondered what it would be like to sit in a pan full of gelatin dessert, you are in luck. Jell-O on Tuesday announced that it has released a line of furniture inspired by its Jell-O molds, according to a company press release. Its Jelly Collection features a line of inflatable chairs available in yellow, green, red and orange to represent its best-selling flavors. The chairs come with a cup holder that is designed to fit a ready-to-eat Jell-O cup and are available for a limited time on Amazon for $30.
A candy (corn) coated getaway
The beloved Halloween treat, candy corn, was reimagined into a hotel room by Brach’s and Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. that opened on Monday for booking. Candy corn superfans can book a stay on a first-come, first-serve basis at Brach’s themed suite available at two Great Wolf Lodge locations. The orange, yellow and white-themed room is available to stay in beginning the first day of fall, Sept. 22 through Halloween, Oct. 31.
The suite fits up to six guests and rates include unlimited access to the resort’s indoor waterpark. Great Wolf Lodge will also include a candy corn-inspired Trick-Or-Treat stop along its annual Trick-or-Treat Trail between Sept. 26 and Oct. 31.
What we’re still thinking about
1.4%
That’s how much Designer Brands’ comparable sales fell in the second quarter. The company’s net sales declined 2.6% year over year to $771.9 million, while gross profit fell to $252.9 million from $273.4 million last year.
"We saw sustained pressure on challenged categories such as dress and seasonal in the second quarter, which we were able to partially mitigate through providing a greater selection of athletic and athleisure brands in our assortment,” CEO Doug Howe said in a statement, noting that sales in the athleisure category grew 8% in the U.S. The company also had a strong back-to-school season driven by its kids category, Howe said.
Designer Brands updated its full-year guidance, now expecting net sales growth to be flat to low-single digits, compared to prior guidance of low-single digits.
70%
That’s how much Petco’s net loss expanded in Q2, reaching $24.8 million. The pet retailer reported net sales fell 0.5% year over year to $1.52 billion, while comps inched up 0.3%.
Petco saw growth in its consumables, services and other businesses, but that was offset by declines in its supplies and animal companion business, which fell 4.7% from the year-ago period.
What we’re watching
Seasonal hiring kicks off
While Spirit Halloween announced its own seasonal hiring efforts back in June, signs are now proliferating that onboarding for the traditional holiday season has begun. Craft retailer Joann announced last month that it would be hiring 5,000 people for the upcoming season, and two more retailers released their intentions this week.
One of those was Bath & Body Works, which on Thursday said it is planning to hire 30,000 seasonal associates across its stores and distribution centers. The company will host a national store associate hiring event on Sept. 28 and accept applications through Oct. 26. Candidates applying for distribution center positions have until Dec. 6 to apply.
Off-price retailer Burlington is another, with plans to hire over 24,000 people for seasonal jobs ahead of the holidays. The company said in a Tuesday press release that the majority of positions are for full-time seasonal warehouse associates and part-time roles including cashiers, sales workers and stocking associates.
The company said all of its stores and distribution centers will conduct interviews ahead of nationwide hiring events on Sept. 24 through Sept. 25 and Oct. 29 through Oct. 30. The hiring is expected to continue through December.
