The home retailer’s social media deal involves short- and long-form content. Meanwhile, Miniso’s store concept follows a successful flagship in New York.
It’s been another week with far more retail news than there is time in the day. Below, we summarize some things you missed during the week and what we’re still thinking about.
From a Liquid Death beauty tie-up to a possible good omen at Nike, here’s our closeout for the week.
What you may have missed
Overstock.com is back in business, partnership with X planned
Beyond Inc. has relaunched Overstock.com. In a Thursday announcement, the company said the site offers “crazy good deals” of up to 30% to 70% off. The online retailer will include furniture, rugs, and jewelry categories, and in the coming months, it plans to add additional product categories.
“The relaunch of Overstock.com comes at a time of significant growth and innovation for the company, as it continues to expand its product offerings, invest in technology, and put our customers and vendors as our priority,” Beyond Inc.’s executive chairman Marcus Lemonis said in a statement.
Also, this week, Beyond, whose portfolio includes Bed Bath & Beyond and Zulily, said it has entered a strategic partnership with social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The company said Wednesday that the deal will generate custom short- and long-form content for Beyond, develop customer acquisition and retention strategies, and highlight the retailer’s brands on events and holidays.
A positive sign for Nike’s innovation pipeline?
According to a Wedbush analyst note, Nike’s promise to return to its product innovation roots could be off to a good start. The analysts, led by Tom Nikic, noted that Nike’s Air Max DN debuted in multiple colorways on Tuesday and sold out on the retailer’s website.
That comes after a somewhat somber earnings call last week in which Nike CEO John Donahoe said the business was “not performing at our potential” and announced a series of strategy pivots to get the brand back on track. Among them was a plan to accelerate product innovation, including investing more in design, product creation, and other departments and pulling forward some product innovations by more than a year.
A solid innovation pipeline is doubly important for Nike right now since the company is facing headwinds around some of its older styles, Nikic said. The sellout of the Air Max DN could be a good omen since Nike “has been off their game” for a while and “desperately needs a hot new product,” according to Nikic. The analyst noted that product innovation also got Nike out of its last rut around 2016.
“Thus, we see the successful initial launch as a positive data point for the brand,” Nikic said. “We’d note, however, that for a company of [Nike]’s size (over $50 billion of revenue annually), one sneaker won’t move the needle all that much, so they will need to continue bringing innovative new products to the market.”
Miniso opens second Times Square location
Miniso opened a pop-up shop in New York City’s Times Square next to the Disney store on Saturday, according to a press release. This is the brand’s second location in the shopping district after opening its first Times Square global flagship in May last year.
“We’re thrilled to be opening this new pop-up in Times Square,” Miniso U.S. general manager Tyrone Li said in a statement. “Our flagship store here has been a massive hit, breaking numerous brand records and proving a popular addition for Miniso joy-seekers. This new pop-up is a playful and innovative reimagining of our ‘Joy Philosophy’ that highlights our outstanding range of IP products and is sure to add even more energy to this buzzing location.”
The new location features plushies from collaborations like Sanrio, Snoopy, Winnie the Pooh, and Minions. According to the company, the pop-up has reached record sales figures in the three weeks since its initial soft opening in early March.
The second Times Square location achieved the highest sales per-square-foot record among all U.S. stores, ranking its sales performance in the top three. In December, Miniso opened its 100th store in the U.S. The company now operates 120 stores in over 20 states.
Retail Therapy
Lilly Pulitzer adds three collections at Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn plans to introduce three new collections in collaboration with Lilly Pulitzer. The collection will include outdoor accessories, towels, bedding, decor, and furniture, the company said on Tuesday. All items will be available exclusively at Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and Pottery Barn Teen.
The new collections feature Lilly Pulitzer’s signature playful colors and patterns, produced with sustainably made materials. The collection also includes outdoor towels, pillows, and pool loungers. The collections are available now in Pottery Barn brands’ online stores.
“We’re thrilled to expand upon our partnership with the iconic Lilly Pulitzer brand for all ages of Pottery Barn brand customers,” Pottery Barn Brands CEO Marta Benson said in a statement. “Building on the success of our debut collaboration in 2018, our teams have come together to deliver new collections that celebrate the resort-style luxury and fun spirit of the beloved Lilly Pulitzer lifestyle.”
Last week, Lilly Pulitzer and Badgley Mischka announced a collab on a seven-piece capsule collection of dresses ranging from $485 to $715 that was set to debut this week through both brands’ online stores, along with some Lilly Pulitzer stores and Badgley Mischka’s two boutiques.
Liquid Death and E.l.f. Cosmetics release coffin makeup collection
E.l.f. Cosmetics’ newest makeup collaboration is what some might say is to die for. According to a press release, E.l.f. and beverage brand Liquid Death launched a limited-edition, black-metal-inspired makeup collection on Tuesday. The Corpse Paint Vault is valued at $34 and includes five items in a keepsake coffin.
“When you set out to create a different kind of company, aligning yourself with like-minded kindred spirits is important. We are both challenger brands on a one-way path to disruption,” E.l.f. Beauty’s Chief Marketing Officer Kory Marchisotto said in a statement. “E.l.f. and Liquid Death share a passion for self-expression and unexpected creativity. We’ve had a lot of fun — and a lot of laughter — bringing Corpse Paint to life. Pun intended.”
To create the corpse paint look, E.l.f’s set includes its matte setting spray, its satin lipstick in the shade All Night, the no-budge cream eyeshadow in Wispy Cloud, its waterproof eyeliner pen and a putty applicator.
Also Read: Contact Centers Should Focus on Upskilling Agents for Tier 2 Roles
What we’re still thinking about
$73B
That’s what ThredUp predicts the secondhand market in the U.S. will reach by 2028. That figure is notably less than the resale platform’s prediction last year of the market reaching $82 billion by 2026. According to its latest resale report, ThredUp predicts that the global secondhand apparel market will reach $350 billion by 2028.
In 2023, the used clothing market in the U.S. reached $43 billion. That compares to about $23 billion in 2018.
$18.25B
That’s how much The Home Depot intends to pay to acquire building product supplier SRS Distribution. The deal is expected to close at the end of this fiscal year.
Home Depot said the acquisition will boost business with its pro customers. SRS Distribution currently serves professional roofing, landscaping, and pool contractors.
The acquisition will also grow Home Depot’s total addressable market by $50 billion to reach about $1 trillion, the home improvement retailer said Thursday.
What we’re watching
Off-pricers get another boost, this time from Macy’s
Off-price retailers had a good holiday. Quarterly net sales at TJX, which runs T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and others, rose 13% yearly to $16.4 billion, with comps up 5% for both the quarter and the year. At Burlington, Q4 net sales rose 13.9% to $3.1 billion, with comps up 2%. And at Ross, net sales rose 15.5% to $6 billion, with comps up 7%.
These companies benefited from an extra week during the holidays, which will disappear this year. But they’ll be getting another boost in 2024 and over the next three years, as Macy’s closes 150 underperforming stores, according to Jeffries and Earnest Analytics analysts. Both see TJX, especially its T.J. Maxx and Marshalls businesses, benefiting the most. Jeffries research found significant geographic overlap between TJX and Macy’s stores, and analysts see “a few billions of dollars of share gain opportunity” for the off-price leader.
