Weekly Consumer News Update // May 16, 2023

Here's our weekly roundup of recent consumer and retail news. This week, Century 21 returns to NYC, Peloton issues another recall, pickleball enters vacant mall spaces, and more. 

 M&A and INVESTMENTS

• Vitamin Shoppe owner taken private in $2.6 billion deal with CEO-led group Yahoo
• Oura Ring Maker to Buy $165 Million Digital ID Startup Proxy Bloomberg
• Solo Brands acquires TerraFlame Retail Dive
• Bluestar Alliance Buys Scotch & Soda’s U.S. Business Retail Touchpoints
• Forbes to be acquired by Luminar Technologies' Austin Russell Axios
• Birchbox assets acquired by Retention Brands Retail Dive
• Twitter Agrees to Buy HR Tech Startup Laskie The Information

INDUSTRY NEWS

RETAIL

Retailers like Dunkin’ and Sephora are getting stingy with loyalty program perks

Like shoppers, retailers want to cut costs as well due to headwinds like inflation, economic uncertainty and the price of raw materials. Modern Retail

The Companies Trying to Make Live Shopping a Thing in the U.S.

The market for selling goods in real time online is relatively small, but a number of start-ups and big tech names are betting American consumers will catch on. NYT

The Decline of the Five-Day Commute Is a Boon to Suburban Retail

Challenging time for urban downtowns presents opportunities in other locations. WSJ

Etsy is stepping in to fill gaps from Bed Bath & Beyond with its own wedding registry business

Etsy announced on Wednesday that the online marketplace for handcrafted items is launching its own wedding registry. CNN

Parachute’s founder says stores are ‘integral’ to long-term success

The home brand just opened its 26th store nationwide in New York City, which comes in at 3,400 square feet. Retail Dive

Adidas Says It Will Sell Yeezy Product and Donate Proceeds to Charity

Adidas has finally zeroed in a solution to manage the $1.3 billion (or 1.2 billion euros) worth of Yeezy product it has been sitting on. Footwear News

Peloton recalls 2.2 million exercise bikes over safety hazard

It's the second major recall the company has faced. NBC

Primark, a chain popular across Europe, accelerates U.S. expansion after fine-tuning business model

Primark has become one of Europe’s fastest-growing retailers with a strategy almost unique among big fashion brands: shunning online sales. WSJ

Why Gen Z Is Ghosting The Fashion Industry For Cosmetics And Toys

This spending disbursement indicates a behavioral shift in today’s youth, as their attention is pulled away from status symbol categories, toward products that bring more life satisfaction. Forbes

Famed Discount Retailer Century 21 Thinks Small in Its New York City Reopening

Department store popular among tourists and locals had shut down in 2020. WSJ

Retail Sales Rebound Slightly In April, As Consumers Keep Spending

Total spending was up 0.4% in April, following two months of declines, as consumers become more selective about how they spend. Forbes

TECH

TikTok Denies US Shopping Platform Launch Delay

The social media giant, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, denied a Wall Street Journal report published Wednesday that it was postponing the wider rollout of its US shopping platform. BoF

Google Is Testing Generative AI for Shopping

The search giant is debuting an experimental new search experience and will use its shopping vertical as a key testing ground. BoF

As retail media continues to grow, Meta & Google announce new AI-powered ad products

Tech giants are moving in to take a larger share of retail advertising money. In doing so, they are offering newer advertising solutions using artificial intelligence. Modern Retail 

Netflix Plans to Cut Spending by $300 Million in 2023

Streamer is looking for fresh savings, partly because of impact of delayed password-sharing crackdown. WSJ

Vice, Decayed Digital Colossus, Files for Bankruptcy

Vice, which had wooed media giants, has struggled to adjust to the punishing realities of digital publishing. A group of creditors could buy Vice for $225 million. NYT

FOOD & BEV

Why Amazon Isn’t Checking Out of Groceries

Amazon is still barely scratching the surface of the grocery market despite years of efforts. Stepping it up will require the e-commerce pioneer to get a lot more physical. WSJ

America Is Binging on Snacks, and Food Companies Are Eating It Up

The ‘snack-ification’ of U.S. diets has cookie and candy giants drooling. WSJ

Target wants shoppers to think of it for groceries as retailer braces for leaner spending

As inflation-wary shoppers watch their budgets and focus on needs instead of wants, grocery has gained importance as a driver of foot traffic. CNBC

SPORTS

America’s fastest growing sport is coming to your mall

Pickleball is coming to your local mall, replacing shuttered Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy, and Saks Off 5th stores. CNN

Peacock to Carry One NFL Playoff Game Exclusively Next Season

Deal marks first National Football League postseason contest to be shown chiefly on a streaming service. WSJ

MARKETING

Lululemon’s brilliant dupe strategy should be duplicated by every brand

Lululemon hosted a “Dupe Swap” at its store in Los Angeles’s Century City Mall, encouraging customers to bring in their knockoffs of its incredibly popular Align pants to trade in for the original. Fast Company

COMINGS & GOINGS

• Alex Mill Names a New CEO, Mickey Drexler Remains Chairman WWD
• Oatly Names Jean-Christophe Flatin as New CEO WSJ
• Fanatics Commerce Names Krishna Rao CFO WWD
• Nordstrom names Target veteran Cathy Smith as CFO Reuters
• Linda Yaccarino Leaves NBCUniversal to Become Twitter CEO CNBC
• Condé Nast Names Nick Hotchkin CFO WWD
• Maison Margiela CEO to Depart WWD
• Riccardo Sciutto Exits Sergio Rossi, Paul Kotrba Named Interim CEO WWD
• JD.com’s CEO Exits After a Year at the Helm as Growth Dwindles BoF
• Beauty Pie names former Peloton exec as first CEO Vogue Business
• Trader Joe’s names new CEO CSA

GOOD READS

• Why Retail Therapy Is So Therapeutic Forbes
• When the mall is the target: The state of retail and mass shootings Retail Dive
• Why Are All Those People Outside H&M, Again? NYT

INSPIRATION