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☆ Fanatics to start livestreamed shopping of trading cards, collectibles
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Washington Post | Getty ImagesFanatics is moving into livestreamed shopping around collectibles and trading cards, hiring a former Snap and Alphabet executive to launch its new business later this year. Fanatics Live, which will have a standalone app and a coinciding website, plans to launch in the second half of 2023. Only 31% of U.S. adults have even heard of live shopping, with just 22% saying they've participated in a live shopping event, according to a December poll by Morning Consult. Ebay, which said it saw trading card sales increase 142% in 2020, acquired trading card marketplace TCGPlayer for $295 million in August. While Fanatics Live could move into other forms of entertainment and collectibles over time, it will solely focus on trading cards initially.

☆ Walmart is positioned to benefit from the fallout from Bed Bath & Beyond, says Deborah Weinswig
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWalmart is positioned to benefit from the fallout from Bed Bath & Beyond, says Deborah WeinswigDeborah Weinswig, the founder and CEO of Coresight Research, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss China's reopening boosting retail, housing market performance as an indicator for retail, and more.

☆ Levi Strauss gives upbeat 2023 sales outlook as demand holds up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI.N) forecast annual sales above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, in a sign that demand for its jeans is holding up better than feared. Shares of the denim maker were up nearly 8% in extended trading after it also topped fourth-quarter sales and profit estimates. However, Levi's said it saw more consumers shopping at its stores in the Americas and Asia, boosting its direct-to-consumer business. Levi's fourth-quarter net revenue of $1.59 billion edged past estimates of $1.57 billion, while adjusted profit of 34 cents per share topped expectations of 29 cents. Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru and Kate Masters in New York; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A Dollar General clerk is charged with manslaughter after police say he shot and killed an armed robber. The clerk said it was the 6th attempted armed robbery at the store since August.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Dollar General employee is facing charges following an armed robbery that left the suspect dead. According to the police report, Rafus Anderson was working at the Dollar General in downtown Monroe on Monday when an armed suspect robbed the store. Dollar General did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Discount retailers like Dollar General, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree are opening more new stores than any other retail category in the US as Americans change their spending habits. Dollar General led the pack by a wide margin with more than 1,000 new stores, according to data from Coresight Research.

☆ Dollar General, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree are taking over the US with more new stores than any other retailer — and it reveals a shift in how Americans are shopping
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Dollar General announced more than 1,000 store openings in 2022, per company Coresight Research. Other companies that opened many stores in 2022 include Aldi, Ross Dress For Less, and Five Below. And discount stores have reaped the benefits: Dollar General's stock soared to an all-time high in November 2022, for example. With so many people looking to save money, discount stores led the pack for retailers in opening new locations next year. Dollar General — 1,024 storesDollar General.

☆ Few stores closed in 2022. UBS says get ready for that to change in 2023, starting with department stores
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

After a record number of store closures in 2020, retailers have shuttered far fewer doors over the last two years, but that may be about to change, especially for department stores, according to UBS. He also said that he believes the lack of store closures has made it harder for retailers to grow sales. Compares got tougher in 2Q22 as the industry lapped the big store closures. Our view is tough compares remain a reason Department Store sales will remain under pressure in the 1H23." Instead, he said, many store closures that would have occurred in 2021 or 2022 were accelerated by the pandemic.

☆ Kroger and Albertsons would likely shutter stores as part of a planned merger. See if your local store is at risk.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kroger and Albertsons could sell or close stores if their $20 billion merger is approved. A map showing Kroger and Albertsons stores KrogerIn some ways, the companies' store networks complement each other. As part of the deal, Kroger and Albertsons have agreed to sell up to 650 stores. Eliminating stores in those locations is one way that Kroger and Albertsons could cut costs as a combined company, he added. In order to get federal approval for their merger, Albertsons and Safeway had to sell just under 150 to another grocery chain.

☆ Walmart shoppers are flocking to stores for cheap groceries, while website visits languish — proving how vital its stores are in a tough economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ben Tobin | Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But while online shopping has dipped this year, more people have been flocking back to Walmart stores. According to estimates from Placer.ai, a location-data company, Walmart stores saw a 1% increase in the average number of daily shoppers through December 4 compared to the same year prior. But those customers are typically not buying food online, according to Yarbrough. Online food sales slowing across retailersWalmart is the top US grocer. The membership platform that launched in 2020 incentivizes online shopping by offering free delivery.

☆ Dollar General's new Popshelf stores chase inflation-weary shoppers in the suburbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this article DG Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTwatch nowHigher incomes, higher profitsPopshelf is designed to drive higher sales and higher profits than the Dollar General store banner. Each Popshelf store is projected to hit between $1.7 million and $2 million in sales annually with an average gross margin rate that exceeds 40%. Inside of Popshelf stores, the brands and items on shelves reflect that customer. Dollar General is the fastest-growing retailer in the country by store count, according to Coresight Research, a retail-focused advisory firm. The company plans to open about 1,050 new stores in the U.S. in the coming fiscal year — including the Popshelf locations.

U.S. shoppers spent $35.27 billion online overall during Cyber Week, the period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. But the modest pickup trounced the paltry 2.9% increase in sales during China's Singles Day, an 11-day shopping festival ending November 11, hosted by Alibaba and other Chinese e-commerce firms. Originally, Singles Day was an unofficial Chinese holiday on Nov. 11 (11/11) to celebrate people who were not in relationships. These days, brands use Singles Day to clear inventory and experiment with new products. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging in China, "it wont be fair to can compare" Singles Day with Cyber Week, Chernev said, as Americans are shopping with fewer restrictions.

☆ JCPenney was once a shopping giant. Can it make a comeback?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

People walk past a JCPenney store at the Queens Center Mall in New York in 2016. The Denver Post/Getty Images Shoppers hurry across an intersection in front of a JCPenney store in Denver in 1964. Anne Cusack/The Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Customers shop at a new JCPenney store in New York in 2009. Mary Altaffer/AP A customer goes down an escalator at a JCPenney store in Westminster, Colorado, in 2009. Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images JCPenney CEO Jill Soltau speaks during an interview in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2019.

☆ China’s Singles Day sales could top 1 trillion yuan even as the economy cools
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN Business —China’s Singles Day, the world’s biggest annual shopping event, is known for regularly smashing sales records. Singles Day usually eclipses two of the world’s most popular sales events — Black Friday and Cyber Monday — combined. Xiaofeng Wang, a principal analyst at research firm Forrester, told CNN Business that she believed Singles Day sales would cross the trillion-yuan mark this week. In 2021, the tally for Singles Day rose 13%, “the smallest advance ever,” according to an analysis by Bain & Company. Singles Day “isn’t going anywhere,” concluded James Yang, a Hong Kong-based partner at Bain.

☆ What would a Kroger-Albertsons merger mean for grocery prices?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A Kroger-Albertsons merger could reshape the grocery industry. The companies say they will divest hundreds of stores in areas where they overlap to win regulatory approval. Albertsons has higher prices than Kroger and other grocers, analysts say, and they predict Kroger will try to reduce Albertsons prices to be more competitive against discount chains like Aldi. Antitrust advocates say the merger would force out competition and concentrate power among the largest chains, driving up prices. A Kroger-Albertsons merger would spark a fresh wave of mergers and acquisitions as companies seek to keep up, analysts predict.

☆ Poshmark is the latest company to tap into the $25 billion livestream shopping market. Here's how entrepreneurs are making thousands of dollars per stream.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Li did not disclose how applications are vetted, but Popshop Live is accepting more applications as the company's team grows, she said. Virgile Ollivier, a cofounder and the CEO of Livescale, told Insider livestream shopping would soon become just as important for brands as social-media marketing. Livestream-shopping platforms pick up where Instagram falls shortApps focused solely on livestream shopping show a disconnect on traditional social-media platforms. Nguyen designed her own characters for merchandise in addition to the squishy and plushy toys she sells on Popshop Live. Most sellers livestream at least once a week, at the same time so their followers always know when to expect a show.

☆ 'Black Friday is here': Holiday sales are already on, with record-breaking deals
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon's Prime Early Access Sale may be over, but the discounts have only just begun. "Black Friday is here," said Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com, noting that sales that traditionally rolled out on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day are starting earlier this year. In addition to Amazon, big-name retailers like Target, Walmart and Best Buy are also getting a jump on the holiday shopping season with discounts on all types of gifts. Excess inventory is playing a role in the price cuts, said Deborah Weinswig, founder and CEO of Coresight Research. Shoppers should look for retailers to experiment with pricing strategies, as well, Weinswig predicted, including more discount codes and bundled offers.

☆ The decline of the American mall has left just 700 still standing. Soon there may be just 150 left.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

There may be just 150 malls left in the US in 10 years, according to one industry watcher. Other industry watchers predict a similarly painful fate for malls and retail stores more generally. In April, analysts at UBS projected that 40,000-50,000 American retail stores would shut down by 2027. They said traditional shopping malls are at particularly high risk because shoppers now prefer to make quick trips to close-by stores, per CNBC. According to Egelanian, the malls that will weather the storm will be premium locations with entertainment, dining, and luxury stores.

☆ How Blackstone, the private equity giant behind cult-favorite sunscreen Supergoop, is thinking about its next big consumer bet
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Michelle Abrego | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The growth of e-commerce has opened new private equity opportunities, a top investor said. The $941 billion private equity firm took a majority stake in Supergoop last December. The investment valued Supergoop, which makes sunscreen and sun protection-focused makeup, at some $600 million to $700 million at the time, Bloomberg News reported. "What is at work here is the colossal, growing nature of private equity everywhere," said Carter Dougherty, communications director for the progressive advocacy coalition Americans for Financial Reform. Some $78 billion of that is in private equity, with the rest across real estate, hedge fund solutions, and credit and insurance, according to filings.

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