Marie Albiges

Marie Albiges

Marie Albiges is a senior editor for NAPCO Media’s Retail & Travel Group, including Total Retail, Women in Retail, and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality. She is responsible for content development, management and production for the group. Marie is a former journalist, a travel aficionado, a French native and fitness enthusiast who lives in Philadelphia with her partner, stepdaughter and dog. 

Victoria's Secret to Sell Lingerie, Apparel on Amazon

Victoria's Secret announced Tuesday it was collaborating with Amazon.com to offer its customers fashion and lingerie products. This is an expansion of its collaboration, which first began last year with the launch of Victoria's Secret Beauty in Amazon stores. Now, more than 4,000 Victoria's Secret items will be available at Amazon.com, including the brand's bras,…

Walgreens Laying Off 10% of its Corporate Workforce

Walgreens Boots Alliance is set to lay off about 500 employees, or 10 percent of its corporate workforce, the Chicago Sun-Times reported last week. Spokesperson Marty Maloney confirmed the layoffs to the news outlet, saying most of the cuts will be at the company's Deerfield, Ill. headquarters or Chicago office. In a letter obtained by…

Target Pulls Some LGBTQ+ Products Following Customer Backlash

Target is pulling some items from its Pride Collection off shelves following customer backlash, the company said Wednesday. Its LGBTQ+ products, launched at the beginning of May in acknowledgement of Pride Month in June, included more than 2,000 products, according to CNN. The items include clothing, accessories, mugs, shoes, books, pet accessories, and calendars. Target didn't…

CVS Closing its Clinical Trials Arm After 2 Years

Two years after unveiling its clinical trial services in an attempt to reinforce its presence in the world of healthcare, CVS Health is shutting it down, Fierce Healthcare reported Monday. A CVS spokesperson told Fierce Healthcare it routinely reviews its portfolio to ensure its assets are "aligned with our long-term strategic priorities." The company will wind…

Amazon Offering Select Shoppers $10 to Pick Up Their Orders

Amazon.com is offering some customers an incentive to pick up their orders in-store rather than have it delivered to a home address as shipping costs soar, Reuters first reported Monday. The e-commerce giant sent emails to a number of Amazon Prime subscribers promising them $10 if they picked up any of their orders worth at…

L.L.Bean Goes Dark on Social During Mental Health Awareness Month

For the second consecutive year, L.L.Bean is pausing its social media accounts for the entire month of May to raise awareness about mental health. The campaign is also encouraging people to go outside during the month. The outdoor outfitter brand is also sharing resources and tips to support people in getting outside for their own mental…

Target Launches Curbside Returns in Select States

Target is making it easier for customers to return products, launching curbside returns last week that allows people to make returns from the comfort of their cars. The retailer's goal is to roll out the service to all stores by the end of the summer, but for now it's available in a quarter of Target's…

Yum! Brands Notifies Customers of Data Breach

Yum! Brands, which owns the restaurant chains KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and the Habit Burger Grill, notified affected consumers last week that the company experienced a cybersecurity breach involving unauthorized access to its systems in January. The data breach, which occurred Jan. 13, was discovered March 9, according to the Maine Attorney General's office,…

L’Oréal to Acquire Luxury Beauty Brand Aēsop for $2.5B

L’Oréal announced on Monday that it's buying the Australian luxury beauty brand Aēsop for $2.5 billion. The agreement is between L’Oréal and Aēsop's parent company, Natura &Co. Aēsop currently operates around 400 stores across the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, with a nascent footprint in China. Launched in 1987,  Aēsop is known for its skin, hair and…

Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette to Retire Next Year

Jeff Gennette, who has led Macy's as the department store chain's CEO since 2017, announced Wednesday that he will be retiring next year after a four-decade career with the company. Gennette, 61, plans to step down in February, Macy's said in a company press release. “Serving Macy’s, Inc. over the past 40 years has been…

The Vitamin Shoppe's Parent Company Offered $1B Buyout

Franchise Group Inc., which owns The Vitamin Shoppe, Pet Supplies Plus, and five other companies, received an unsolicited $1.05 billion acquisition offer Monday, the company reported. The offer, presented by an unknown buyer, is for $30 per share in cash. Franchise Group Inc. said its board of directors is carefully evaluating the proposal "to determine the…

US Retail Sales Fall Slightly in February

After a very strong January, U.S. retail sales fell slightly in February, the Department of Commerce reported Wednesday. U.S. retail sales declined .4 percent in February to $698 billion, slightly higher than economists' predictions of a .3 percent drop, according to estimates from the financial solutions firm Refinitiv. However, sales are still 5.4 percent higher…

WeightWatchers Announces Plans to Buy Obesity Treatment Platform Sequence

WeightWatchers announced its plans to purchase Sequence, a subscription telehealth platform specializing in treatment for people with obesity. The acquisition will cost WeightWatchers $132 million and will be completed in the second quarter of the year, the company said in a press release Monday. Sequence, a startup that launched in 2021, gives patients the option to…

Michaels Launches an Online Marketplace

Specialty arts and crafts retailer Michaels is getting into the online marketplace game, announcing Monday it would feature a curated selection of third-party sellers and increase its U.S. online assortment by 750,000 SKUs. "The launch of Michaels’ curated marketplace for arts, crafts and décor is the next phase of our ongoing digital transformation to be…

Dick's Sporting Goods to Acquire Moosejaw From Walmart

Dick's Sporting Goods is buying the outdoor retailer Moosejaw from Walmart for an undisclosed amount of money, Dick's announced Wednesday in a press release. Moosejaw was acquired by Walmart for a reported $51 million in 2017. It's mostly an e-commerce platform, but operates brick-and-mortar locations in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri. Moosejaw will join Dick's…