Management

Consolidation has long been a key growth strategy across retail and CPG. Big companies have spent decades buying up competitors, acquiring niche brands, and expanding into new categories. Why? Ideally, a large, varied portfolio would drive scale, diversification, market share, consumer trend alignment, and business growth. But as the industry evolves, are portfolio cracks starting…

For years, the conversation around commerce media has been dominated by technology and data. The industry has obsessed over the fixtures, including the API integrations, first-party audiences, closed-loop measurement capabilities, and the algorithmic precision of retail media networks. Yet, as we enter a more complex economic landscape, many organizations are finding that the most sophisticated…

Nike announced a new round of layoffs last week affecting approximately 1,400 employees across the organization, mostly concentrated in its technology department. In a note from COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, Nike said the layoffs were part of its broader “Win Now” turnaround strategy aiming to reshape its technology team, modernize its Air manufacturing, move some of…

Retailers are facing mounting pressure from one area that’s become impossible to ignore: labor. Pricing, promotions, and inventory strategies only succeed if there are enough people in place to execute them. For independent retailers, labor is no longer just a cost center. It has become the determining factor in whether plans translate into results. When…

Privacy regulation in the U.S. has moved out of policy and into production. As new state laws emerge in Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island, businesses are navigating a growing patchwork of rules that now shape how digital commerce actually runs. For years, privacy compliance lived with legal and security teams. Today, it shows up in…

A brand posts a TikTok video about its new perfume and watches it take off overnight. Thousands of orders pour in and it looks like the breakthrough every founder works towards. Then the fulfillment team realizes there’s an issue. Orders are open to both domestic and international buyers, but shipping the product overseas will cost…

Bed Bath & Beyond has entered into a definitive merger agreement to buy The Container Store in a transaction valued at $150 million. In a regulatory filing, the retailer said its newly created subsidiary, Falcon Merger Sub, will be merged into The Container Store, leaving the latter as a wholly owned unit of Bed Bath…

In today’s retail market, the hottest item isn’t always the original product. Increasingly, it’s the dupe. Across social media, influencers regularly spotlight lower-cost alternatives to luxury and premium products, and consumers eagerly pursue these “dupes,” turning imitation into a viral shopping strategy. But for retailers, the dupe economy raises an important question: When does an…

While dealmakers aren't stepping back from consumer mergers and acquisitions (M&A), they are getting more selective. New data from KPMG shows deal value jumped 52 percent in 2025, even as deal volume fell 7 percent. Early 2026 looks similar. New global consumer deals in the first two months of the year fell 6 percent year-over-year…

American Exchange Group, whose brand portfolio includes Aerosoles, has agreed to buy direct-to-consumer footwear brand Allbirds for about $39 million, reports Yahoo Finance. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026. Allbirds once reached a peak valuation of $4.2 billion, filed an IPO in 2021, and had planned to open hundreds…