Brazil’s Natura Cosmeticos SA agreed to buy rival Avon Products Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at about $2 billion, positioning it as a growing force in the booming global cosmetics and skincare industry. Controlling shareholders of Natura, which bought the Body Shop retail chain in 2017, will form a new publicly traded holding company that will…
Joe Keenan
With more options available to them than ever before, consumers’ purchase journeys are anything but linear. Consumers are shifting between channels during the purchase journey, from mobile to online to store to social media, and in no particular order, before ultimately making a purchase in a channel different than where they started. And they expect…
Ascena Retail Group announced yesterday that it’s winding down its dressbarn business and plans to shut all 650 or so of the women’s clothing stores in order to focus on its more profitable brands. Ascena, which also owns apparel chains Ann Taylor and Loft, noted that the “dressbarn chain has not been operating at an…
In this episode of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Ryan Babenzien, founder and CEO of GREATS, a luxury sneaker brand. Listen in as Ryan discusses the digital-native brand's entrance into brick-and-mortar retail, including the value of knowledgeable store associates. This episode was recorded live at Shoptalk 2019 in Las Vegas.
Kohl's Corp. has approached At Home Group Inc. to express interest in acquiring the U.S. home decor retail chain, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. A deal would help Kohl's expand its customer base, which focuses on women's, men's and children's clothing, and boost its presence in the home goods category, which has…
Fast Retailing, the Japanese company behind the Uniqlo retail chain, announced this week that the data of more than 460,000 customers on its online shopping sites were accessed by hackers from April 23 to May 10. The breach gave hackers access to customers’ data including their names, addresses and contact details. The company acknowledged that partial…
Last month, Total Retail released its third annual ranking of 100 enterprise retailers based on their omnichannel capabilities — i.e., programs offered, and the execution of those programs. The 2019 Top 100 Omnichannel Retailers report was produced in conjunction with Radial, a leader in omnichannel commerce technology and operations. The comprehensive report identifies the retailers and brands leading…
Late last week, the Trump administration hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent, escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington. Trump asserted on Twitter that there was “no need to rush” to get a deal between the world’s two biggest economies and later added that the tariffs “may or…
In episode 195 of Total Retail Talks, Joe Keenan interviews Chris Fitzpatrick, vice president of business analytics and strategy at Vineyard Vines, a clothing and accessories retailer founded in Massachusetts. Listen in as they discuss how Vineyard Vines’ use of an analytics tool has enabled the brand to obtain a single view of its customer across…
Edgewell Personal Care, the company that owns the Schick and Wilkinson razor brands as well as Hawaiian Tropic, plans to announce on Thursday that it will buy Harry’s for about $1.37 billion in stock and cash. The deal will lead to Harry's co-founders Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider running Edgewell’s operations in the United States. Harry’s…
Looking for ways to meet the demands of online shoppers that increasingly expect same-day and next-day delivery, spurred in large part by Amazon.com's Prime program, omnichannel retailers are implementing buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) programs at a growing rate. In fact, according to Total Retail's 2019 Top 100 Omnichannel Retailers report, 63 percent of…
Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) said it ceased publication of its print catalog after 39 years. The move follows dwindling interest from customers in flipping through glossy pages of inventory when they can find the latest deals with their mobile phones or computer screens. H&M said abolishing the catalog will contribute to…
In episode 194 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews April Sabral, vice president of retail sales and operations at DAVIDsTEA, a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer. Listen in as they discuss DAVIDsTEA's use of an employee engagement app to communicate quickly and directly with store associates, how use of the…
Total Retail recently released its third annual ranking of 100 publicly traded retailers based on their omnichannel capabilities — i.e., programs offered, and the execution of those programs. The 2019 Top 100 Omnichannel Retailers report was produced in conjunction with Radial, a leader in omnichannel commerce technology and operations, and it reveals the retailers and…
Nordstrom waited decades to expand in Manhattan, but now it’s making up for lost time. The upscale department store chain introduced its men’s store last year and is opening a seven-story flagship store this fall. And Nordstrom has more planned for New York City. In September, it will open two small outposts in New York…
