John Gomez

DTC/Digital Native Brands struggle to achieve scale. CPG portfolio's are stagnating. Consumers are trading down, and retailers owned brands are disproportionately growing. Target, Costco, Trader Joes, and Aldi owned brands are winning. Now Walmart has launched a formidable new elevated basics brand, BetterGoods. The best way to beat the Amazon/Temu/Shein/TikTok marketplaces is to sell products they don't have.

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Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Sunday, May 19: 🦊 It appears the new owners of Foxtrot’s assets are hoping to bring the company back from the dead after the convenience store chain abruptly went out of business at the end of April. 🛋️ Americans are increasingly kicking the can down the road on some more-costly, traditionally financed purchases, like pools or furniture, as elevated inflation and interest rates bite. 👗 Inditex plans to continue expanding its physical stores as well as online presence, with a major focus on growth in the United States. The company says it takes less than 50 cents out of every $100 spent on apparel there 🏀 Tied to the start of the WNBA season and its role as an official partner of the league, SKIMS launched a new marketing campaign featuring five of the game’s rising, established and legendary stars. 👟 A Skechers commercial will be broadcast across the nation during next year’s Big Game. The California-based footwear brand is the first of many brands to secure its ad spot at Super Bowl LIX. 👕 It was once hyped as a rival to Nike. But at present, Under Armour is struggling to “just do it.” Instead, it's trying to find its footing in an increasingly competitive sportwear marketplace, notes CNN. 🏭 Shein factory employees work a 75-hour weeks for low wages, a report alleges. Following allegations from Public Eye, the fast-fashion giant said it invests tens of millions of dollars into strengthening compliance. 🛍️ Millennials and Generation Z consumers are driving a shift in shopping behaviors, preferring a hybrid model that combines both digital and physical channels. 🇫🇷 Paris is experiencing a surge in tax-free shopping as British tourists flock to the city to take advantage of post-Brexit rules which means they can claim back VAT / sales tax on shopping they do there. 🍎 A cheeky new Samsung advertisement makes light of a recent Apple ad for its iPad Pro that was widely panned as insensitive and out of touch. In its ad, a woman enters a scene that appears to show the aftermath of the Apple ad. 📱 Apple is developing a slimmer version of the iPhone that is likely to be launched by 2025. The thinner version is likely to be priced higher than Apple’s iPhone Pro Max, and is expected to be launched with the iPhone 17. 🇨🇱 Cencosud S.A., Chile's largest retail conglomerate, is evaluating refinancing alternatives for its international bond market entry. The company is considering the sale of 7-year dollar notes. ⛽️ The French conglomerate Bouygues is seeking to block the UK's Morrisons' £2.5 billion deal to sell its petrol forecourts due to a dispute over the right to operate electric-vehicle chargers. 🇭🇰 Hong Kong will allow mainland China's pilot digital currency to be used in shops in the city, marking a step forward for Beijing's efforts to internationalise the yuan. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

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With sustained inflationary pressures into early 2024, the consensus in the convenience store industry is that the consumer is looking for value with nearly every dollar they spend, according to the Convenience Distribution Association (CDA). Convenience stores typically do not have the lowest price on consumables such as candy, milk, soda, or various sundries. The trade-off on prices is the quick in and out parking at the door. #convenienceretail #consumerinsights

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𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝘁𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲.   With inflation impacting consumer spending, food and beverage companies are under pressure to rethink pricing strategies to stay competitive. General Mills recently made a bold move by cutting prices, leading to a spike in demand as more shoppers choose to eat at home.   Their CEO highlighted that eating at home is now 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 than dining out—a key factor in their strategy. But with softer demand across the market, brands face a challenging road ahead.   𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? Learn more about General Mills’ approach here: https://lnkd.in/gJAZs2ag

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The June issue of NACS Magazine is out, including key insights from the association's SOI event earlier this year. Let's take a look. ⬇️ These six ideas for convenience retailers, highlighted by Jeff Lenard, could be advice to operate by for years to come. Once again, as these cycles seem to come, many themes show we're headed back to the basics. 🍕 Foodservice is the difference 🏬 Everyone is competition 👨‍🔧 It's all about the consumer ⛔ Be ruthless with efficiencies ❇️ AI is coming (and already here) 📳 It's time to get phygital As we head toward the midpoint of 2024, take time to assess your plans and how they've played out. We're just getting into summer – our industry's busiest time of year – so there's still opportunity to adjust your approach and capitalize on new ideas. But most of all, as Jeff reminds us in his closing, remember this: 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲-𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀-𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀. Leverage your brand's strengths and focus on serving your customers as best 𝙮𝙤𝙪 can.

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Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Wednesday, August 7: 🥕 Shares of Instacart  jumped in extended trading Tuesday after the company forecast gross transaction value above Wall Street expectations, and as it looks to partner with bigger retailers and banks on more restaurant orders. ✂️ Kohl's has announced changes to its credit and customer service departments, resulting in job changes and eliminations. It has informed a few dozen employees in customer service that their jobs are being eliminated. 👟Under Armour is acquiring Unless Collective, a zero-plastic regenerative fashion brand founded and led by Eric Liedtke, a former Adidas executive. The deal is expected to be completed later this week and Liedtke will join UA. 🥫 Ahold Delhaize has reported a net second-quarter profit of €499m ($545.5m), up from €468m a year earlier, boosted by an underlying operating margin of 4.2%, beating the 3.9% expected. 🍕 Yum! Brands has reported a mixed quarter as both Pizza Hut and KFC reported declining same-store sales. But sales trends have improved in the U.S. compared with the prior quarter thanks to a focus on value meals. 💵 Pop culture toy maker Funko has agreed to pay over $2.1 million in plaintiff legal fees to resolve litigation alleging that former Funko CEO Brian Mariotti and others leading the company breached their fiduciary duties. 💳 Americans are increasingly turning to their credit cards to cover everyday expenses, with debt hitting a new record high at the end of June. Americans now owe a record $1.14 trillion. 📺 The Walt Disney Company said it would raise prices for nearly all of its streaming plans and introduce “continuous playlists” — channels showing a steady stream of curated content — on Disney+ later this year. 👚 Joining a wave of other retailers implementing AI technology, ThredUp has launched multiple new artificial intelligence-driven shopping tools to improve product discovery on its platform. 🍔 White Castle slashed the price of its famed sliders to the lowest level in more than a decade, becoming the latest fast food chain to offer a discount in a bid to entice financially strapped customers. 🏬 Simon Property Group has reported increases in leasing volumes, occupancy, shopper traffic and retail sales volumes, resulting in the highest level of Q2 real estate net operating income in its history. 🇪🇺 Eurozone retail sales were 0.3% lower in June than in May, figures from the European Union's statistics agency showed Tuesday, bucking economists’ expectations for a continued rise in sales. 🇧🇩 H&M has told its suppliers in Bangladesh that it won’t seek discounts due to delays that might occur after factories were shut down by protests involving supporters of ousted leader Sheikh Hasina. 🍎 Apple retail store workers in Towson, Maryland, the company's first in the nation to unionize, have ratified a three-year contract. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

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BJ's Wholesale Club Doubles Down on Fresh: Driving Loyalty and Growth with Fresh 2.0 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀: • Fresh 2.0 Initiative Gains Momentum: BJ’s Wholesale Club reported strong Q3 results, with perishables leading comp sales growth, driven by dairy, meat, and produce categories. • Data-Driven Fresh Strategy: Members shopping BJ’s as their primary fresh destination visit weekly and spend ~30% more per trip compared to non-fresh shoppers, with an average of eight additional trips annually. • Investments in Fresh: Enhancements include expanded vendor relationships, improved produce in-stocks, seasonal assortments, and front-entrance coolers to emphasize quality and value. • Fresh Training Across Clubs: Comprehensive employee training is contributing to better execution and customer satisfaction. • Performance Highlights: Produce categories saw low double-digit comp growth in Q3, largely driven by unit volumes. Net Promoter Scores (NPS) in fresh categories have significantly improved. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀: ✅ BJ’s strategic focus on fresh demonstrates a clear path to stronger member loyalty and higher spending per visit. ✅ Investments in produce and perishables underscore the importance of fresh as a traffic driver and key differentiator in the competitive wholesale market. ✅ Training initiatives ensure consistent execution and improved member experience across all locations. ✅ Improved NPS and fresh comp growth signal long-term value creation, attracting higher-tier memberships and boosting member retention. ✅ Digital and membership growth further strengthen BJ’s ability to compete and innovate in the grocery retail landscape. Progressive Grocer | https://lnkd.in/gfGqa-KF #retail #supermarkets #freshproduce #membershipgrowth #grocerystores #businessstrategy #clubstores

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Scott Kessler, EVP and CIO at Schenectady, N.Y.-based Northeast Grocery, the parent company of Price Chopper Supermarkets-Market 32 and Tops Friendly Markets, took to the stage on day two of GroceryTech in Dallas to talk about today's biggest technology-driven trend: GenAI. “GenAI is going to fundamentally change how grocers operate,” he said. “It's going to fundamentally change all industries. There’s a lot of exciting stuff.” He said that technologies in the GenAI space will allow retailers to manage better data, to better capture that knowledge and wisdom, and use it to their advantage. One technology that Kesser specifically mentioned was RAG, or Retrieval Augmented Generation. RAG is the process of optimizing the output of a large language model, so it references an authoritative knowledge base outside of its training data sources before generating a response. Kessler explained that it “takes all of your digital assets and puts them on top of a large language model and then ask questions, general chat, to get really insightful answers. It’s something that's I think everybody's going to eventually have at their fingertips.” | Progressive Grocer https://lnkd.in/gVw6JKGP #retail #supermarkets #artificialintelligence #AI #retailtrends #retailnews #grocery

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I keep hearing about how “brick and mortar retail is in trouble.” The numbers tell a different story. This year alone, there are over 1,000 stores opening across the U.S., with brands like TJ Maxx, Dollar Tree Stores, Dollar General, and Warby Parker leading the charge. This is unprecedented growth. And it’s a testament to the evolving retail landscape. But there’s a catch. Overall, most retailers today operate fewer stores due to the high costs. The stores that are around now serve multiple roles, including integrating both online and offline shopping experiences. Whether starting in-store and shipping home or ordering online and picking up in-store, it's all about meeting the customer where they are. Despite having fewer and smaller stores, the stakes are higher than ever for retailers. When customers visit a store today, they are serious about their intent. They're there to learn, fix, exchange, or buy something specific. If you miss the opportunity to serve them properly, you lose that sale—and likely won't get a second chance. This is especially critical for specialty stores—hardware, home improvement, electronics, books—where customers come in with a clear purpose. Failing to engage and assist them effectively means losing them to a competitor. In a world where retail is both online and offline, ensuring that every in-store interaction is handled perfectly is essential. It's about making the most of each moment, because you might not get another chance.

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July US Retail Sales were the most robust growth of the year, with Core Retail sales (Retail minus Gas, Auto, and Restaurants) up 5.2% over July 2023. Year to date, Core retail is up 3.4% over last year, which is a bit slower growth than the historical average of 3.9%. The bulk of this growth is going to a handful of retailers (Walmart, Amazon, Temu, Shein, and Tik Tok Marketplace), which means lean times for many other retailers.

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Now the most viewed television show pulls in approximately 10 million viewers, and top 10 shows may attract fewer than 5 million. Meanwhile, there are U.S. grocery retailers that have tens of million transactions daily. So, in this age of truncated attention spans and increasingly fragmented media, retailers and brands have discovered a relatively new and highly effective way of reaching shoppers — retail media networks. #retailmedia #retailtech #digitalmarketing

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NOSTALGIC RETAIL SERIES: 20 - KB TOYS KB Toys was founded in 1922 as Kaufman Brothers, a wholesale candy store.Kaufman Brothers opened a wholesale toy store in 1946. The toy business was an acquisition from a candy client who could not pay its outstanding debts. The retailer ended its candy wholesale business two years later to to focus on toys. Retail sales began in 1973 as the company moved away from wholesaling to become a mall-based toy retailer, using the name Kay-Bee Toy & Hobby. In 1981, Melville Corporation purchased the 210 store Kay-Bee chain from the Kaufman family for $64.2M. The retailer and Melville Corporation went through a series of acquisitions in the 1980s and early 1990s causing a major restructuring and closing of 250 underperforming stores in the new portfolio. In 1996, Kay-Bee was sold to Consolidated Stores Corporation (now known as Big Lots) for $315M. By 1999, the company operated 1,324 stores and was the second-largest toy retailer in the U.S.. It also changed its name to KB Toys that same year. In 2000, Bain Capital entered the picture after Consolidated Stores could not create a profitable company and purchased KB Toys for $305M (notice we are going in the wrong direction!) KB Toys declared bankruptcy in both 2004 and 2008 due to competition, expensive mall rent structures and poor sales. It officially threw in the towel in February, 2009. closing all 461 stores (this from a peak of over 1,300 stores). Toys "R" Us acquired the remains of K·B Toys (website, trademarks, and intellectual property rights). "Strategic Marks, a company that buys and revives defunct brands, purchased the brand in 2016, and planned to open new stores using the name beginning in 2019; plans for this revival, however, were cancelled due to a lack of funding. As of 2020, all trademarks for K·B Toys have been abandoned by Strategic Marks and is currently not used by any company." [Wikipedia] Missed any posts in the series? Click here for the website with the full list: https://bit.ly/3YxvVfR #nostalgicretail hashtag#retail hashtag#shopping hashtag#brands hashtag#retailrealestate

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Pizza Hut U.S. President David Graves has resigned, leaving the company after just 4 years of service to the company. Graves was praised for his leadership in helping to modernize the brand, spearheading initiatives like extending store hours, introducing the Melts food category, holiday promotions, and forging partnerships with third-party delivery services. Yet, despite all of these efforts, Pizza Hut's sales growth in 2023 trailed behind all other brands within the Yum umbrella, with same-store sales falling 4% in Q4 and growing only 1% over the year. Against the backdrop of Taco Bell and KFC experiencing stronger sales growth in the U.S., and Domino's same store-sales outnumbering that of Pizza Hut by 1.6%, it was too much to allow to continue. The resignation suggests a loss in faith in Graves ability to turn it around, and more so should send a message to investors across the industry that brands who previously thought themselves immune to inflation…need to think again.. https://lnkd.in/eJceRAjp #restaurantnews #tagex #liquidations #furnitureauctions #furnitureliquidations #equipmentliquidations #equipmentauctions #foodindustrynews #foodserviceindustry #kitchenquipment #restaurantequipment #commercialkitchenequipment #restaurantauctions #restaurantclosures #restuaranttrends #restaurantnews #cfo #coo #foodindustry #foodindustryequipment #liquidaterestaurant #openrestaurant #expandrestaurant #foodoperations #restaurantclosure #restaurantremodel #restaurantliquidation

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Ever hear those frustrated honks in your drive-thru? Or watch cars zoom past due to long wait times? With drive-thrus dominating the qsr landscape and customer expectations at an all-time high, staying ahead of the curve is essential. DTiQ's #drivethru solutions are proven to deliver results: 📈 $24,000 incremental revenue 🎯 23% increase in order accuracy 🚀 4% more cars through the drive-thru in peak hours Experience the drive-thru technology that will revolutionize your #qsr game. With DTiQ's cutting-edge solutions, say goodbye to long wait times and hello to happy customers — learn how we can help! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/exnGKCFC

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Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 1Q24 Earnings Call Takeaways (from EarningsDigest.ai) Chipotle‘s 1Q saw +7% comp sales growth, driven by transaction volume. Sales hit $2.7 billion, helped by in-store sales growth of +19%. Marketing campaigns, including those for Barbacoa and the reintroduction for Chicken Al Pastor, contributed as well. With a +27% increase in adjusted diluted EPS to $13.37 and the opening of 47 new restaurants (43 featuring Chipotlanes), management raised annual comp guidance to mid- to high-single digits. Key strategic priorities include cultivating top talent and international expansion, with a notable first opening in Kuwait. The call also highlighted several risks, including: 1/ Inflation Pressures: CMG experienced inflation across several ingredient costs, particularly beef and produce. They anticipate cost of sales inflation to be in the mid-single-digit range for the remainder of the year, which could impact margins if not mitigated by price increases or cost-saving measures. 2/ Labor Costs and Minimum Wage Increases: With the minimum wage in California increasing to $20 an hour, the company's wages is the state went up ~20%, prompting a menu price increase of 6% to 7% in California restaurants. This wage increase will have a negative impact on overall company restaurant-level margin by about 20bp. Additionally, labor cost pressures may continue as wage inflation steps up, potentially affecting profitability. 3/ Supply Chain Volatility: Challenges in obtaining ingredients such as avocados are expected, with a step-up in prices anticipated over the next several quarters. Supply chain volatility could affect the stability of cost of sales and necessitate further adjustments to menu pricing. Want to learn more about 1Q Earnings? See us at https://lnkd.in/dKWuxsz6

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Our team talked through the differences in physical retail vs. digital this week. Cole Walker presented some great insight in the differences in Instacart behaviors and typical store patterns. The big underlying theme? Visibility means something entirely different when you’re talking digital vs. physical in retail. One of my favorite things to do in store is tidy up the shelf (most CPG folks I’ve found do this 😆). The physical shelf requires price tags, inventory, some decent packaging, and merchandising to look good. It also is seen by the human eye, which has a wide lens and can capture a lot of info at once. The digital shelf largely relies on inventory, reviews, and an algorithm paired with searches. It has a very narrow lens for viewership (1 listing per 1 inch of screen essentially) and is noisy in its own way. As the two worlds grow more intermingled, it’s imperative to remember the core ingredients that fuel each medium, and the recipe need for success.

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Aloha Friday! 🤙🏼 Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Friday, September 13: 🥗 Kroger posted $33.9 billion in sales during the second quarter, a level that was essentially flat compared with the same period in 2023. Identical sales growth excluding fuel came in at 1%. 🛋️ Shares of RH jumped about 19% in the extended session Thursday, after the retailer said it continues to see healthy demand for its furniture and home furnishings, and reported a quarterly earnings beat. 🚚 Amazon is giving another pay boost to its subcontracted delivery drivers in the US amid growing union pressure. Drivers who work with Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners, or DSPs, will get a 7% bump in pay. 👜 Coach’s owner Tapestry and Michael Kors’ owner Capri Holdings Limited are in the courtroom this week for a federal antitrust challenge. The firms announced the $8.5 billion deal more than a year ago. 🏈 Academy Sports + Outdoors lowered its net sales outlook for fiscal year 2024. But that’s not stopping Academy from moving forward with expansion. The company plans to open 15 to 17 stores this year. 💰 Big Lots has received interim court approval to immediately access $550 million of $707.5 million in available bankruptcy financing. The financing is expected to provide enough liquidity to continue normal operations. 👕 After two-plus years in development, Macy's’s on Thursday launched Mode of One, a men’s private label, part of what the department store said is the latest in its ongoing private brands reimagination. 👗 German luxury etailer Mytheresa reported a 9.8% rise in net sales to €841m ($933m) for the full year to 30 June, driven by a 25% growth in the US market. However a decline in profit margin has led to an increase in net loss. 🦊 As upscale convenience store chain Foxtrot plots a comeback, licensing, staffing and lease renegotiations are among its biggest challenges, CEO Mike LaVitola said Thursday. 🍔 The McDonald's’s $5 meal deal is staying on menus until December, a sign that inflation-weary customers are devouring value meals recently offered by fast food chains. 💳 Retail credit card interest rates have reached a record high. The average rate on a store card was 30.45%, up from 24.35% in 2021 and well above the current average of 21% for credit cards overall. 📉 US wholesale price increases mostly slowed last month, the latest evidence that inflation pressures are cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates next week. 💍 Shares of Signet Jewelers sparkled on Thursday, after the diamond seller beat quarterly profit expectations, and indicated it was on course to break a long streak of same-store sales declines as marriage proposals are rising. 🏠 Nearly half of all renter households in the US were cost-burdened in 2023, meaning they paid more than 30% of their income towards housing costs, according to new government data. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

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MOCK & ROLL. Nielsen Data shows that over 82 percent of people who purchase non-alcoholic beverages also buy alcoholic ones. Significant. An eye opener. The big opportunity in non-alcoholic beverages is not sobriety. The big opportunity is moderation. We launched Bar Diver Mocktails so that sober drinkers - those who don't drink alcohol, and more importantly those who are not drinking alcohol at the moment - can enjoy the same celebratory experience that an alcoholic cocktail drinker enjoys, in a spirit-free medium. An exclusive focus on sobriety is too limiting for real scale. The opportunity is bigger when you include cross-over of alcohol drinkers who practice some level of moderation – from Drayanuary, to Sober October, to simply reducing alcohol consumption sporadically – drinking less during an evening for responsible driving concerns or reducing weekly alcohol consumption for wellness reasons, etc. NO ALCOHOL. NO COMPROMISE.

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