Weekly Consumer News Roundup // July 2, 2024

This week, fast-food restaurants Taco Bell, McDonalds, Sonic offer value meals in latest push to bring consumers back, Amazon plans discount web store in effort to counter Temu, Shein, and more.

WORDS FOR THE WEEK

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M&A and INVESTMENTS

• Boeing to buy Spirit in $4.7B deal NYT
• Film / TV studio A24 raised $100M at a $3.5B valuation led by Thrive Capital Yahoo
• Forum Brands Acquires Skincare Brand Ever Beauty Independent
• Ownership group of NBA champion Boston Celtics is putting team up for sale AP News

CULTURE/ GOOD READS

• Consumers Feel Stuck — and the Implications for Retail Are Huge WWD

INDUSTRY NEWS

CPG

WK Kellogg partners with Crumbl on cereal

WK Kellogg Co has partnered with Crumbl to introduce Kellogg’s Crumbl Chocolatey Chip Cereal. The companies said the cereal delivers the taste of Crumbl’s signature milk chocolate chip cookie in a ready-to-eat cereal application. Food Business News

How Glossier's perfume saved it from the millennial dustbin

The recent success of Glossier's "You" perfume — which isn't new, but has been introduced to a new Gen Z audience thanks to a viral TikTok — is helping pull the brand back to life. Business Insider

How Nike Missed the Boom in Running Culture

Runners say the sneaker giant has stepped back from the community, opening the door for Hoka, New Balance and others. WSJ

Nostalgia for childhood candy flavors is all the rage for energy drinks like C4

Energy drink brands are teaming up with candy and treat brands in a bid to bring in more Millennial and Gen Z consumers. C4, whose newest collaboration is with Creamsicle, finds that some of its best-selling SKUs are from licensed partnerships. Modern Retail

Why more celebrity-founded brands are pivoting

As fatigue for celebrity-founded brands sets in, some are quietly relaunching or pivoting their concept to keep the company going. Modern Retail

How Walmart-owned Sam’s Club is trying to take on Costco’s private label Kirkland

Private label wars have heated up as consumers look for value and unique items. CNBC

Target relaunches Auden intimates and sleepwear private label

The retailer has recently introduced new in-house brands and relaunched or expanded several of its most popular ones. Retail Dive

Beer giants lifting nonalcoholic space with ‘non-compromising’ launches

Just five years ago, top brands were absent from the market. Today, Blue Moon, Guinness, Corona, Heineken and Bud offer no- and low-alcohol versions of their popular brews. Food Dive

RETAIL

L.L. Bean looks beyond New England for growth

The iconic outdoor retailer is opening four U.S. stores this year, and will head to the Southeast and Midwest for further expansion in 2025. Retail Dive

Albertsons enters e-commerce partnership with Grubhub

The restaurant delivery company is providing delivery service in as little as an hour from nearly 1,800 of the grocer’s stores. Grocery Dive

Walgreens Plans Major U.S. Store Closures

Pharmacy chain plans to shutter a significant share of its roughly 8,600 stores, cut its stake in primary-care provider VillageMD. WSJ

Saks Fifth Avenue Plans 20 Stand-alone Fifth Avenue Club Locations by the End of 2024

Saks Fifth Avenue is expanding The Fifth Avenue Club, its luxury personal shopping and styling service. WWD

Amazon Plans Discount Web Store in Effort to Counter Temu, Shein

Amazon plans to launch an online storefront for low-priced apparel and home goods, the company’s biggest move to date to counter the rise of discount upstarts like Temu and Shein. BoF

Why Digital-Era Brands Are Opening Brick-And-Mortar Stores

Fashion brands like Dolce Vita, Skims, and Revolve have begun opening retail locations in recognition of brick-and-mortar retail's sustained relevance and profitability. Forbes

The Stores Defining a New Era of Multi-Brand Retail

As department stores and online giants struggle, a new generation of independent boutiques are carving out their own path for success. Often that means eschewing easy online sales, investing in brick-and-mortar offerings and taking a chance on emerging labels. BoF

MEDIA & TECH

With ‘Strands,’ the New York Times has found its next hit game

Strands, a word search game, is officially joining the newspaper’s portfolio of games Friday following a four-month testing phase in which it garnered millions of players despite being practically hidden. CNN

YouTube dominates streaming, forcing media companies to decide whether it's friend or foe

YouTube made up nearly 10% of all viewership on connected and traditional TVs in the U.S. in May, according to Nielsen. Netflix ranked second, claiming 7.6% of viewership. CNBC

RESTAURANTS & HOSPITALITY

How $5 has become the fast food industry's magic number

The summer of food deals has a magic number with the $5 value meal, the fast-food industry's latest push to bring consumers back. Axios

As Americans trim spending, these cheap steakhouses are booming

If there’s anything Americans love, it’s cheap meat. So business is booming at Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse, even as Americans pull back elsewhere. CNN

Taco Bell beefs up value with $7 Luxe Cravings box

Six months after it launched its 10-item Cravings menu, the chain added a five-item meal that it says is 55% cheaper than buying the items separately. Restaurant Dive

Sonic launches $1.99 value menu

The chain confirmed its value menu is permanent, in contrast to the temporary discounts offered by McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King this summer. Restaurant Dive

COMINGS & GOINGS

• Target promotes Christina Hennington, Rick Gomez to new C-suite roles Yahoo
• Diptyque names new CEO as owner Manzanita reshuffles leadership WWD
• Serta Simmons Bedding names CEO Retail Dive
• Omni Retail Enterprises Names CEO SGB Media
• Puma taps Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein veteran for VP of DTC Retail Dive
• Boots CEO leaving after Walgreens drops plan to sell Reuters
  
• Ren Clean Skincare CEO to Step Down BoF
  
• Richemont Names New Cartier CEO BoF
• Fossil names interim CFO after finance chief follows CEO out the door Retail Dive