"We ultimately felt we lacked product-market fit and decided to hard pivot," Raju said of the first, unsuccessful idea. "In this process, we had exposure to brands' back offices and the chaos that was selling in retail, ultimately leading us to start Glimpse as it is today."
Colin Walsh, Glossier's new chief executive, stated that the closures are necessary to focus on a 'true expression of where this brand has been and where it needs to go.'
Business Insider reported on Monday that nearly 200 Eddie Bauer locations in the US and Canada are expected to close after the operating entity behind the stores failed to find a buyer during its Chapter 11 restructuring.
Bob's Discount Furniture, a Connecticut-based furniture retailer backed by Bain Capital, is putting it all on the table. The company is going public, with shares expected to begin trading on Thursday, February 5, after being priced at $17. The retailer raised $331 million in its initial public offering (IPO). Shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol BOBS.
The need for effective reputation management has never been more acute, with brands in the public eye more than ever and social media giving consumers a voice to vent their frustrations. Catherine Turner explores what savvy brands are doing to protect their reputation, deal with stumbling blocks, and live up to the expectations of an unforgiving public. The recent travails of two of the world's biggest retailers highlight the extremes faced by businesses in a world of online reputation management.
According to Digi Capital augmented and virtual reality are about to explode as VCs and corporates get in on the act. Facebook's multi-billion dollar acquisition of Oculus got everyone's attention early last year, but it's only really in the last 12 months that investments have accelerated, with more than $1bn pouring into the sector. Meanwhile Mashable reports Nokia's virtual reality camera is now available for pre-order for a cool $60,000.
"While it encouraging to see insolvency rates decrease, we know that big name brands are struggling and the outlook for 2026 is far from rosy. Retailers and hospitality businesses who had hoped for more support from the Autumn Budget are now facing increased uncertainty. It seems as though the New Year may already see another Government U-turn, this time backing down on plans to scrap business rates relief for pubs that has been in force since the pandemic."
Overall, Primark's sales growth in the period was below our previous expectations and we now expect Primark's sales growth in the first half of 2026 to be in the low single digits.
For industries built on rigid schedules and office walls, Gen Z's flight toward flexibility isn't just a trend; it's a tectonic shift that threatens to leave traditional careers gathering dust. It's no secret that Gen Z is shaking up the workforce with their unique perspective on work, life, and everything in between. From their preference for digital interactions to their demand for work-life balance, this generation is steering away from careers that once seemed stable and go-to options.
When you walk into Five Below, you expect things to be below $5. It's right there in the name. Still, that's not entirely true anymore. I stopped by Five Below, a discount chain with hundreds of stores across the US, for some late-in-the-game presents earlier this month, since I had very good luck visiting in 2023 with a budget of $50.
Global supply chains move over $15T in goods annually, yet the retail industry operates on razor-thin margins while drowning in disconnected, siloed data that creates massive inefficiencies and waste. When retailers and CPG brands lack real-time visibility into sales, inventory, and supply chain performance, the results cascade throughout the system: out-of-stocks cost the industry billions in lost sales, overstock leads to food waste on an epic scale, and manual data processes consume resources that could drive strategic growth.
This year's survey reveals a significant decline in the use of credit cards, from 14.2% of transactions to 12.6%. With higher interest rates making credit cards a more expensive way to shop, consumers turned to debit cards where usage increased from 62.0% to 64.0% of transactions. As the cost of living crisis eased, some customers returned to old habits. The weekly shop showed signs of a comeback with consumers making fewer but larger transactions.
Earlier this year Marks & Spencers revealed that it would be investing a massive £90 million into its London locations, revealing that six new or improved locations would be added to its roster in the capital by Christmas. The last of those store additions has taken place this week, as M&S Chiswick has reopened.
Costco launched Kirkland Signature in 1995 to consolidate its private labels and reduce consumer confusion. Today, the brand is a money-generating machine that, according to The Wall Street Journal, made about $86 billion in the financial year 2023-24. For context, Costco reported a total revenue of $254 billion in the 52 weeks ending September 1, 2024. The figure is also a whopping $40 billion more than what Nike earned in the year leading up to May 2025.
If the S&P 500 finishes the day at a record, it would mark the latest time the U.S. stock market has powered past what appeared to be a debilitating set of worries. Most recently, those concerns centered on what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates, whether too many dollars are flowing into artificial-intelligence technology, and if sharp drops for cryptocurrencies would bleed over into other markets.
The U.S. stock market is drifting near its record levels on Wednesday following mixed reactions to profit reports from Macy's, Marvell Technologies, and other companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and pulled within 0.7% of its all-time high set in late October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 174 points, or 0.6%, as of 11:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was virtually unchanged.
Shopping has always been a game. And now it's being rigged against you. This is the story of a little piece of technology that you have been taking for granted. Almost every time you've gone to the store, this little guy has been fighting for you. It's called the price tag. And over the past decade, companies have been on a secret mission to kill it without you noticing.
There was a time - not so long ago, though it already feels sepia-tinted - when London was the sort of place that tourists arrived in with stars in their eyes and left with shopping bags cutting off circulation at the fingers. Harrods bags, Selfridges bags, Mulberry bags, the bright yellow of Fortnum's peeking out of a suitcase being sat on in a hotel lobby. Europe's favourite grown-up playground; Manhattan's chic transatlantic sibling; Tokyo's idea of European swagger with better tailoring and more chaotic restaurants.
From pre-visits to in-store engagement, brands and retailers are boosting traffic, conversions and loyalty with location intelligence. Location-based marketing deploys timely notifications and personalized promotions to drive foot traffic, app engagement and incremental revenue. Brands that leverage this mobile-first tactic achieve a 53% higher repeat buyer rate than their peers. Download the playbook to learn: Mobile-first strategies that trigger real-time messaging and promotions How location signals enhance click-and-collect and in-store experiences Use cases and insights from Walmart, T-Mobile, Target and more
