Hey Friends,
I hope this gets to be one of the last I hope this email finds you well for the year.
Happy Monday and happy Christmas week to everyone. I hope everyone gets a chance to relax and spend time with your loved ones over the holiday. As conference calls and meetings begin to get pushed to the new year, maybe you’ll get to enjoy this edition with a cocktail in hand and Bing Crosby on the Spotify. I’m more of a Sinatra Christmas and Apple Music fan myself but to each their own. The TWIR family will be watching the kids open presents and hopefully watching the Chiefs secure the #1 seed in the AFC. Whether the NFL hype is Taylor Swift driven or not, the NFL taking over the traditional NBA air time on Christmas Day speaks to the momentum the league has right now.
Last week, I wrote about Nike renewing their partnership with the NFL for another 10 years but several others have taken shape this season…..Drake’s October’s Very Own (OVO) brand and designer Todd Snyder have both collaborated with the NFL to create exclusive apparel collections, blending fashion with sports culture.
Drake’s OVO x NFL Collaboration
Drake’s OVO brand has partnered with the NFL to release collaborative capsule collections. The second collection, known as the “Gridiron Collection,” was unveiled in December 2024. This collection features items such as Sideline Puffer Jackets and Training Pullover Jackets, each customized with the OVO owl logo alongside various NFL team insignias. The collaboration aims to merge streetwear aesthetics with official NFL merchandise, appealing to both sports fans and fashion enthusiasts.
Todd Snyder x NFL by Fanatics Collection
Designer Todd Snyder has collaborated with the NFL and Fanatics to launch a premium, limited-edition fan gear collection. Released on December 12, 2024, the collection elevates traditional fan apparel by incorporating luxe fabrics and thoughtful design elements. It includes items such as Fleece Hoodies, Zip-Ups, and Cashmere Coach’s Jackets, featuring vintage logos inspired by 1980s styles. The collection focuses on New York teams, with select styles for the New York Giants and New York Jets available on Todd Snyder’s website, and the full collection offered exclusively through Fanatics.com, NFLShop.com, and select NFL team locations.
Abercrombie & Fitch x NFL: Continued their partnership for the fall 2024 season, featuring licensed graphics apparel and collaborations with NFL players like TJ Watt, Nick Chubb, Fred Warner, and Rome Odunze.
Betches x NFL: Announced a strategic media partnership, providing Betches with access to NFL tentpole events and offering advertising opportunities to reach millennial and Gen-Z women.
Veronica Beard x NFL: Launched a collaboration featuring 32 separate $1,000 jackets emblazoned with each NFL team's logo and colors, aiming to create a sophisticated touchpoint for female fans at the intersection of sports and luxury fashion.
Under Armour held its first investor meeting in six years on December 12, 2024, in New York City. During the event, CEO Kevin Plank outlined a comprehensive turnaround strategy focusing on four key pillars: product, story, service, and team.
Key Initiatives:
Product Innovation: Under Armour plans to enhance its merchandising and go-to-market processes, aiming to develop transformative innovations. The company has already reduced its product assortment by 25% to streamline offerings.
Marketing and Brand Positioning: The company intends to redistribute marketing investments and embrace its “underdog positioning” in storytelling. A significant marketing effort is planned for 2025 to strengthen brand identity.
Market-Specific Strategies:Under Armour will pursue tailored strategies in its core regions to better address local market needs and preferences.
Financial Outlook:
The company reiterated its full-year outlook, anticipating a double-digit decline in revenue and an operating loss between $176 million to $196 million. This forecast includes a projected 14% to 16% decline in North American sales.
WHP Global has acquired a stake in Vera Wang, marking a significant move for its fashion portfolio, which includes brands like Joe’s Jeans, Express, Bonobos, and Anne Klein. WHP’s portfolio generates $7 billion in global retail sales annually, while the Vera Wang brand contributes over $700 million. Wang, who founded her label in 1990, praised WHP’s vision, emphasizing plans to expand into new categories and markets while preserving the brand’s signature style. Vera Wang’s offerings span bridal, ready-to-wear, men’s suiting, jewelry, fragrance, and home, with past partnerships including Kohl’s and David’s Bridal.
Zara, the flagship brand of Inditex, has recently introduced in-store cafés under the name “Zacaffé” to enhance customer experience. The first Zacaffé in Spain opened in November 2024 within the Zara Man store on Calle Hermosilla in Madrid’s Salamanca district. This café features a neo-Mudéjar design inspired by Madrid’s Casa Árabe, offering specialty coffees, pastries, and exclusive merchandise.
Prior to this, Zara tested the café concept in international locations such as Dubai, Paris, and Lisbon. In Dubai, the world’s first Zara Café opened in the Mall of the Emirates, providing customers with a unique shopping and dining experience.
Inditex plans to expand Zacaffé to other major cities, including Tokyo and Seoul, in 2025, tailoring each café’s design to reflect the local culture and architecture.
These in-store cafés aim to create a more immersive and premium shopping environment, encouraging customers to spend more time in Zara stores. The integration of Zacaffé aligns with Zara’s strategy to blend fashion retail with lifestyle experiences, enhancing overall customer engagement.
Several retailers have incorporated cafés into their stores to enhance the shopping experience and encourage customers to spend more time. Here are notable examples:
Luxury Retailers
Ralph Lauren Operates Ralph’s Coffee in select locations, including New York, London, and Paris, offering premium coffee and pastries.
Tiffany & Co. Opened The Blue Box Café in New York, allowing customers to enjoy breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Gucci runs Gucci Osteria, a luxury dining concept in locations like Florence, Beverly Hills, and Tokyo, blending high fashion with fine dining.
Fashion Retailers
H&M Introduced in-store cafés like It’s Pleat in Stockholm, offering healthy food, coffee, and pastries.
Anthropologie Select stores feature cafés, such as Terrain Café, which complements the brand's lifestyle concept with farm-to-table offerings.
Many Nordstrom locations include cafés and restaurants, such as Ebar Artisan Coffee and Habitant, serving coffee, cocktails, and small bites.
Urban Outfitters Some stores, like the one in Austin, Texas, include cafés such as Café No Sé, offering artisanal coffee and seasonal menus.
VusionGroup, formerly known as SES-imagotag, has established a significant partnership with Walmart to enhance the retailer's in-store digital capabilities across its U.S. locations.
Deployment of Digital Solutions: VusionGroup is implementing its EdgeSense and VusionCloud solutions in Walmart's U.S. stores. These technologies aim to digitize store operations, improve inventory management, and enhance the overall shopping experience.
Expansion Plans: Following a successful initial deployment, Walmart plans to extend these digital solutions to all its 4,600 U.S. stores. This expansion is expected to further streamline operations and boost efficiency across the retailer's extensive network.
This solution provides real-time shelf monitoring, enabling automated inventory checks and ensuring product availability, that allows for management via the cloud to enhance pricing accuracy and promotional capabilities
The expanded deployment represents an additional order intake of approximately €1 billion for VusionGroup, reflecting the scale and significance of the partnership.
Staying on Walmart for just a minute longer……..Walmart has announced a five-year, $1.3 billion investment plan to expand its operations in Chile. This initiative includes opening 70 new stores across various formats, with 70% located outside Santiago, aiming to promote decentralization and provide low-cost options nationwide.
The expansion is expected to create over 4,000 direct jobs, contributing to the economic stability of numerous families and offering professional development opportunities for new employees.
Additionally, Walmart plans to enhance its logistics network by expanding the Lo Aguirre Distribution Centers and constructing a new distribution center in southern Chile, increasing logistics capacity by 20% to improve e-commerce coverage, which already reaches 95% of the Chilean population.
In line with its global commitment to becoming a regenerative company by 2040, Walmart Chile will incorporate solar panels into more than 50 stores, ensuring that over 80% of its energy comes from renewable sources. The company also plans to add 25 new recycling points across the country by 2025.
Nordstrom is set to be acquired and taken private by the Nordstrom family and Mexican retail group El Puerto de Liverpool in a $6.25 billion deal. Shareholders will receive $24.25 per share in cash, totaling approximately $4 billion, with the Nordstroms assuming over $2 billion in debt. The transaction, offering a 42% premium on the stock price before acquisition rumors surfaced, reflects the challenges department stores face from discount retailers and e-commerce giants like Walmart and Amazon.
Bloomingdale's has partnered with Lucky, a retail connectivity platform, to link luxury brands' Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) websites with Bloomingdale's in-store inventory. This partnership enables online shoppers to check product availability at local Bloomingdale's locations and purchase items for same-day pickup or delivery. Luxury brands benefit from enhanced sales tracking, local inventory insights, and seamless integration of online and offline shopping experiences, reflecting a broader trend in luxury retail innovation.
Sourcing Journal this week covered a very interesting story on the road ahead for Shein…….the global fast-fashion retailer, is under intensified scrutiny as it prepares for a potential IPO, particularly concerning labor practices within its supply chain. Recent audits have uncovered significant issues, including instances of child labor and excessive working hours among suppliers. In its 2023 Sustainability Report, Shein acknowledged finding two cases of child labor, involving individuals under the age of 16, leading to suspended orders and mandated corrective actions for the suppliers involved.
Beyond child labor, Shein's audits revealed that 0.5% of suppliers were either not paying workers the local minimum wage or were delaying wage payments.
Additionally, there are concerns about the company's sourcing of cotton from China's Xinjiang region, an area associated with forced labor allegations involving the Uyghur population.
These revelations have prompted reactions from various stakeholders. In the United States, a group of lawmakers has urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to mandate an audit of Shein's supply chain to ensure compliance with forced labor laws before any public offering proceeds.
Similarly, in the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is facing pressure from advocacy groups and political figures to thoroughly assess Shein's labor practices as part of its IPO evaluation process.
In response, Shein asserts a zero-tolerance policy toward forced labor and emphasizes its commitment to human rights throughout its supply chain. The company has implemented measures such as increased audits and the use of isotopic testing to verify the origins of cotton used in its products.
Despite these efforts, the company continues to face significant challenges in convincing regulators and the public of its compliance with ethical labor standards.
As Shein moves forward with its IPO plans, the effectiveness of its corrective measures and the transparency of its supply chain practices will be critical factors influencing both investor confidence and regulatory approval.
And what is the end of the year without more store closings…..Party City announced it will shut down all U.S. stores by February 28, 2025. The decision, communicated to store managers just days before Christmas, marks the end of an era for the brand that has been a staple for celebrations.
The company has initiated a wind-down process, allowing store managers to retain their pay and benefits if they continue working through the closure period. However, corporate employees and distribution center workers faced immediate layoffs on Friday, with some sharing their experiences publicly.
The Container store also made headlines as it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, however the company states there will be minimal impact to customers and their brick-and-mortar and online businesses will continue to operate.
That’s all folks……Have a great week and a Happy Holiday.