Weekly News Update // Week of June 10, 2019

Here's TRAUB's roundup of recent retail news. Target takes on Sephora and Ulta with a revamped beauty section, Lululemon's investments in e-commerce and international growth are paying off, Patagonia launches mail-in trade in initiative and more! 

 M&A and INVESTMENTS

• Delta Galil to acquire intimates company Bogart  WWD
• Chewy raises $1 billion in IPO CNN
• Depop, a social shopping app that's like a mix of eBay and Instagram just raised $62 million to triple its US users Business Insider
• VidMob raises $25M for its video advertising tools Tech Crunch
• Stride raises $2.5M from JetBlue, NFX for its guided trips marketplace Tech Crunch
• Chanel acquired a minority stake in green chemistry company Evolved by Nature as part of its strategy of developing sustainable materials. WWD 

INDUSTRY NEWS

As HBC Mulls Future, Lord & Taylor Flagship Sale Boosts Net

Executive chairman Richard Baker and other HBC shareholders moved to take the company private earlier this week.Richard Baker wants to take Hudson’s Bay Co. private to rejigger the company and first-quarter results showed that, while Saks Fifth Avenue sales were a bright spot and much progress has been made, there is still plenty of work to do.Earnings for the quarter totaled 275 million Canadian dollars and included a boost of 817 million Canadian dollars from the sale of the Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue flagship. With that gain, the quarter marked an improvement from year-ago losses of 398 million Canadian dollar.Revenues for the three months ended May 4 slipped to 2.12 billion Canadian dollars from 2.19 billion Canadian dollars. Comparable sales inched up 0.3 percent, excluding the Home Outfitters and Lord & Taylor units, which might be sold. WWD

Lululemon’s investments in e-commerce and international growth are paying off

Lululemon is seeing positive results from its investments in new categories like men’s, e-commerce capabilities and international growth. During its first-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, the company saw revenue increase 20% over the same period last year, to $782 million. In April, Lululemon’s new CEO Calvin McDonald released a growth plan called the Power of Three, which laid out a strategy for revenue from its men’s and e-commerce businesses to double over the next five years, and for its international revenue to quadruple during that same period. McDonald said at the time that he wanted to push the athletic apparel provider “beyond traditional expectations.” Modern Retail

Target Takes on Sephora and Ulta With a Revamped Beauty Section

Target is updating its beauty section to showcase independent and homegrown brands, in a bid to win over young shoppers from specialty retailers.When shoppers steer their carts into Target’s new beauty aisle on the hunt for sunscreen, they’ll still find the usual shelves lined with Coppertone and Banana Boat. Target is in the middle of the biggest overhaul of its beauty department in years. Over the next year, hundreds of stores will swap out generic grooming and personal care aisles for sleeker displays. The items for sale are turning over as well, with more space dedicated to direct to consumer labels available only at the retailer, as well as a growing list of private-label products.Target sold $18 billion worth of beauty products and household essentials last year, more than Ulta and Sephora combined. BOF

Patagonia Creates Mail-in Trade-in Initiative

Patagonia launched a mail-in trade-in incentive program for its used clothes, or "worn wear." Here's what the initiative means. Trade in, get paid. Billions of valued clothing items sit in consumer closets, and Patagonia is asking customers to ship it back to them — their “worn wear” — that is. Patagonia Inc. announced a mail-in trade-in incentive program for used Patagonia clothing in its newsletter on Wednesday. After success with its in-store trade ins and more than two years of discussion with its end-to-end tech and logistics resale platform partner, Yerdle; Patagonia opted for even easier access for its customers, the second time around. WWD

What Goes Around Comes Around and eBay lean into each other’s expertise in new partnership

This week, two unlikely partners, eBay and online luxury boutique What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA), released a curated capsule collection in what they say is the first of a series of collaborations between the two. WGACA is bringing a curated collection of 1,300 luxury products, from brands including Fendi, Chanel and YSL, to eBay where customers can bid on the upscale products at a potentially much lower price point than can be found on WGACA’s online and physical stores. Glossy 

Cotton Inc., Zappos Ink ‘Blue Jeans Go Green’ Denim Deal

Recycle by Zappos for Good will participate in Cotton Inc.'s Blue Jeans Go Green initiative that recycles denim.Cotton Inc. is giving old denim a new purpose. The firm has partnered with Recycle by Zappos for Good, the community outreach arm of Zappos.com, to collaborate for its Blue Jeans Go Green recycling program as part of its efforts to make denim more sustainable.Blue Jeans Go Green reduces textile waste by collecting denim that is at least 90 percent cotton to be recycled and reused, the organization said. The process is free and seamless for consumers that wish to participate. WWD 

Rebag Comes to Miami

The opening marks the luxury resale purveyor's largest store to date. Rebag, the digitally native luxury resale business, unveils its seventh and largest brick-and-mortar location to date in the Miami Design District on June 13. Founder and chief executive officer Charles Gorra called the 2,800-square-foot flagship the company’s most iconic store. WWD

Fenty to Open Pop-up at The Webster in SoHo

The Webster said Monday it has partnered with Fenty, the new luxury house launched by Rihanna with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton last month, for its first pop-up experience in the U.S.Fenty will take over the first two floors of The Webster at 29 Greene Street in SoHo with a distinct installation and retail experience designed for the luxury multibrand retailer. The pop-up opens June 19 and runs through June 30. WWD

Kourtney Kardashian Is Making Poosh Merch

Kardashian has teamed up with S’well for a Poosh-branded water bottle that benefits ocean advocacy. Kourtney Kardashian is pushing into merchandise.After launching her long-anticipated lifestyle web site, Poosh, in April, the eldest Kardashian sister is expanding her site’s e-commerce division to include merchandise. The reality TV star has teamed with S’well for a limited-edition, Poosh-branded water bottle, launching today exclusively on the Poosh site.The product launch also marks Poosh’s first charitable initiative. Fifty percent of the $40 water bottle will be donated to Oceana, an ocean advocacy organization that works to reduce plastic pollution in the oceans. WWD

COMINGS & GOINGS 

• Abel-Hodges president of Calvin Klein North America and The Underwear Group, Named CEO of Calvin Klein WWD
• Lord & Taylor President Vanessa LeFebvre departs Retail Dive
• Scotch & Soda Names Frederick Lukoff,served as CEO of Stella McCartney, Chief Executive Officer WWD
• Beauty Barrage announces Rebekah Von Der Hellen as Vice President of sales development. WWD
• Caroline Deroche Pasquier, held management roles at brands including Coach and Givenchy, Joins Stella McCartney as CMO WWD
• LVMH’s Starboard cruise services names Lisa Bauer CEO WWD
• Seven For All Mankind unveils, Suzanne Silverstein as the New President WWD
  
• Nike has tapped Ratnakar Lavu for the role of global Chief Digital Information Officer FN

GOOD READS

•  Has SoHo Become One Big Wellness Pop-Up?  NY Times
• ‘The term DTC is a misnomer’: Brands recalibrate strategies as direct businesses become more complex Modern Retail
• The Resurrection of Dolce & Gabbana NY Times