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It’s been another week with far more retail news than there is time in the day. Below, we break down some things you may have missed during the week, and what we’re still thinking about.
From Rent-a-Center introducing an exchange program to Dick’s Sporting Goods planning for more House of Sport locations, here’s our closeout for the week.
What you may have missed
Glossier expands partnership with WNBA
Glossier and the Women's National Basketball Association announced Wednesday the continuation of their four-year-old marketing partnership. As an official beauty partner of the WNBA, the brand said it will launch WNBA-themed content to amplify players' voices and stories. Glossier will also host activations at tentpole events during the season, the brand said in a press release.
"While we were the league's first beauty partner, we're thrilled to see athletes take up more space in beauty,” Glossier CEO Kyle Leahy said in a statement. “Glossier and the W share a similar spirit, aiming to disrupt the status quo and fueled by a shared passion for what we believe in: our values. I'm excited about the future of our partnership and continuing to lend our platform to these incredible athletes."
The beauty company will be featured across media partners, platforms and social channels for the WNBA, according to the release. Glossier and the WNBA's partnership began four years ago to celebrate the extension of Glossier's Body Hero line. The campaign for the line started in the 2020 WNBA Bubble season and featured former professional basketball player Sue Bird, among others.
Rent-A-Center switches it up
Rent-A-Center on Tuesday announced a new program, dubbed RAC Exchange. The effort allows eligible customers to exchange the product they are renting for another qualifying product within the first six months following their agreement.
"By offering even greater flexibility and value, we aim to redefine the way consumers engage with products and experience the joy of taking their time to ensure they've found the right item for their home or personal needs,” Ann Davids, chief customer officer and chief marketing officer of Upbound Group, said in a statement.
A slam dunk corporate partnership?
The Home Depot announced on Tuesday that it’s now an official corporate partner of the NCAA. The news drops just ahead of the March Madness basketball tournament. Under the three-year partnership, Home Depot will have rights to all 90 NCAA championships.
Just before the tournament starts, Home Depot will launch its “How to March Madness” campaign on Selection Sunday featuring former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal. The campaign includes a basketball-themed content series to help homeowners get their spring projects done.
“We’ve had a long-standing commitment to collegiate sports, and we’re excited to add the NCAA and its March Madness tournaments to our roster,” Molly Battin, Home Depot’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “We look forward to connecting with our customers in a fun, authentic way and empowering them as they tackle their spring projects.”
Home Depot also said this week it plans to open four new distribution centers in Detroit, Los Angeles, San Antonio and Toronto during the first half of this year. The new facilities are part of the home improvement retailer’s strategy to better serve pro customers.
Retail therapy
Bath & Body Works gets steamy with Netflix in new partnership
In kicking off a new yearlong partnership with Netflix, Bath & Body Works has turned to one of the streaming service’s hottest shows (pun intended).
A collection of body care, candles, hand soaps and sanitizers will take inspiration from “Bridgerton,” the regency-era romance that is set to release its third season in May. Dubbed “Diamond of the Season,” the hero fragrance for the collection features “sparkling peach, spring daffodil and radiant jasmine,” according to a company press release.
In addition to the hero fragrance, the line includes four new fragrances and “numerous accessories” related to characters and scenes in the show. Bath & Body Works loyalty members got the chance to shop the collection early — on Wednesday and Thursday — before the full launch on March 25.
Bath & Body Works set the mood by lighting a life-sized candle at The Flatiron Plaza in New York this week, which emitted the “Diamond of the Season” fragrance. But the retailer hopes its line will spark something in customers, too.
“At Bath & Body Works, we aim to forever transform the viewing experience for millions of Netflix fans by allowing the power of fragrance to transport them like never before into their favorite stories and scenes,” Bath & Body Works Chief Customer Officer Maurice Cooper said in a statement.
And we’ve got a pretty good idea of which scenes viewers are hoping to be transported to.
Krispy Kreme is shamrockin’ your world
St. Patrick’s Day is Sunday, and instead of thinking about the real patron saint the holiday is based on, let’s shove fried dough in our faces to celebrate.
Courtesy of Krispy Kreme
This year, Krispy Kreme is promising a jam-packed holiday with four new doughnuts alongside fan-favorite green O’riginal Glazed, according to a company announcement. For a limited time, pick up the Luck of the Rainbow Doughnut, Shamrock Cookies ‘N Kreme, Plaid Party or the Shooting Shamrock Doughnut.
Customers wearing green who visit a Krispy Kreme Friday through Sunday can receive a free O’riginal Glazed, no purchase necessary. Which sounds lucky, indeed.
What we’re still thinking about
15
That’s the number of additional House of Sport locations Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to start construction on this year. Eight of them are expected to open in 2024 (seven of which are existing store conversions or relocations). The retailer said this week it also plans to open 16 next-generation Dick’s stores in 2024 –12 of those are renovations or relocations of existing stores.
The new stores are the company’s most significant square footage expansion since 2017, Chief Financial Officer Navdeep Gupta said. The company reported record fourth-quarter sales of $3.9 billion and full-year sales of nearly $13 billion.
$7
That’s how much some items at Dollar Tree will cost in the near future. CEO Rick Dreiling said during an earnings call on Wednesday that the company is expanding its multiprice assortment by adding over 300 items priced between $1.50 and $7 in 3,000 stores. The company has been increasing prices on select items since 2019.
The company also disclosed this week that it will close 1,000 stores between its Dollar Tree and Family Dollar brands.
What we’re watching
Retail's revolving CEO door
This week a number of companies announced CEO changes. Under Armour on Wednesday announced founder Kevin Plank would return as CEO, replacing Stephanie Linnartz, who had been in the role for just over a year. The athletics retailer has seen a string of CEOs over the past few years: After Plank stepped down as CEO in 2019, Patrik Frisk took the reins — before being ousted after two years at the helm. Following that former Chief Operating Officer Colin Browne led the brand in the interim before Linnartz stepped into the role in February 2023.
Also this week, Allbirds co-founder Joey Zwillinger stepped down as CEO, with former Chief Operating Officer Joe Vernachio taking the helm. Brooks Running also saw longtime CEO Jim Weber step down, with Chief Operating Officer Dan Sheridan replacing him. Bluemercury founder Marla Beck was also named BeautyHealth’s CEO after serving in the role on an interim basis since November, and Petco this week announced CEO Ron Coughlin has stepped down from the role.
Though it’s just three months into the new year, those changes came on top of additional leadership changes in 2024, including Tony Spring taking the helm at Macy’s and former Purple CEO Joe Megibow taking the top spot at Casper.
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Retail Dive Staff, Khareem Sudlow
