Thu.Jan 26, 2023

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The Future of Retail is Smaller, Crowdsourced and Robot-Powered

Retail TouchPoints

Predicting where the next phase of consumer buying behavior is headed has proven notoriously tricky. Ecommerce had been growing at a consistent rate, but its year-over-year growth shot up two to five times faster during the pandemic. And just when we thought ecommerce was the future, brick-and-mortar stores made a comeback in the last year. The ever-shifting landscape of retail makes any type of prediction questionable, but there are a few hidden trends that are shaping the future of how we buy.

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Milkrun seeks investment as a perfect economic storm hits instant delivery

Inside Retail

Instant delivery startup Milkrun unsuccessfully sought new investment on two occasions in 2022, The Australian reports, suggesting the sector is struggling to adapt with a rapidly changing economic environment. Milkrun secured a spectacular $75 million Series A injection in January 2022 , as Tiger Global, AirTree Ventures, Skip Capital, and Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures sought to crown the leader of Australia’s burgeoning instant delivery scene.

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DOJ Complaint Accuses Google of Having ‘Monopolistic Grip’ on Advertising Market

Retail TouchPoints

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Google that accuses the tech giant of using its scale to engage in anticompetitive actions in the digital advertising industry. The DOJ, along with eight states, is seeking to “unwind [Google’s] monopolistic grip on the market, and restore competition to digital advertising.” “One industry behemoth, Google, has corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide

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A shift in attitude: How Lekker Bikes is normalising e-bikes in Australia

Inside Retail

Back in 2009, industrial designer Meindert Wolfraad identified a gap in the market for practical, comfortable and stylish commuter bikes that would enable Sydney-siders to get around, similar to what he saw growing up in the Netherlands. Now, the brand he established – Lekker Bikes ( lekker means ‘yummy’ in Dutch) – has expanded internationally, and become a market leader in the urban e-bike space.

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A Roadmap For Modernization: How To Break Free From Your Monolith Before July 31, 2026

Speaker: Jason Cottrell and Gireesh Sahukar

Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.

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Sam’s Club to Add 30+ Larger-Format Stores, 5 New Fulfillment Centers

Retail TouchPoints

Sam’s Club is embarking on an ambitious expansion of its physical footprint, beginning with five new fulfillment and distribution centers opening this year — the first, in Georgia, in Q3 2023. The club retailer also plans to open more than 30 larger-format stores, most of which will include enhanced perimeter departments, bigger healthcare spaces and dedicated areas for curbside pickup, home delivery and ship-from-store orders.

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Lotte Duty Free wins Melbourne Airport rights

Inside Retail

Lotte Duty Free has inked a 10-year concession to operate duty-free shops at Melbourne Airport as part of its effort to further gain influence in Oceania as international travel resumes. The South Korean travel retail giant will begin operating its Melbourne Airport store on June 1. The Melbourne Airport Duty Free Shop will span 3592sqm with departure and arrival duty-free shops.

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5 strategic moves to make for a successful 2023

Inside Retail

The last two years had the world throwing an array of curveballs that sent the retail sector into uncharted territory: because customer needs were constantly changing, brand strategy had to be adaptable and flexible. Now, with the pandemic seemingly under control and the economy slowing down, being flexible just won’t cut it: a company’s ability to plan strategically will be the crucial factor for success.

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PVH Taps Diesel CEO to Lead Calvin Klein’s Americas Business

Retail TouchPoints

PVH Corp. has named Donald Kohler as its new President of Calvin Klein Americas, effective March 13, 2023. Kohler, currently CEO of North America at Diesel , will report to PVH CEO Stefan Larsson. Donald Kohler Kohler brings three decades of retail experience to the job, including the past 15 years leading the Americas region for brands including Burberry , Salvatore Ferragamo and Diesel.

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H&M’s quarterly operating profit tumbles more than expected

Inside Retail

H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, reported on Friday a much larger dive than expected in September-November operating profit, slammed by soaring costs and weakening consumer confidence. Operating profit in the period, the Swedish group’s fiscal fourth quarter, was $79.7 million against $607.8 million a year earlier and a mean forecast of $356.3 million in a Refinitiv poll of analysts. “The lower profit in the fourth quarter when compared with the same quarte

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Manhattan Associates Combines Fulfillment and RFID Solutions to Boost Inventory Management Efficiency

Retail TouchPoints

Manhattan Associates has enhanced its POS and store fulfillment solutions with handheld RFID support to assist with all inventory management and order fulfillment activities. The combination of RFID technology and the Manhattan Active Omni suite can help retailers increase store inventory accuracy as well as reduce inventory-related labor hours, allow associates to quickly locate merchandise and expedite transactions at the POS.

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Humans + Agents = Rethinking Enterprise Commerce with AI

AI agents already analyze trends, draft content, and trigger actions across leading commerce platforms. Yet most organizations still rely on workflows built for human‑only teams, losing speed, margin, and customer loyalty. Humans + Agents: Rethinking Enterprise Commerce in the Age of AI Collaboration shows how to close that gap. In one concise read you’ll see where agent gains surface first, how early adopters prove ROI, and which lean controls keep innovation moving without risking data or bran

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Luxury group LVMH’s sales defy downturn as shoppers splurge

Inside Retail

Luxury goods group LVMH’s sales rose 9 per cent in the fourth quarter as shoppers in Europe and the United States splurged over the crucial holiday season, helping partly to offset Covid disruptions in China. Sales at the world’s biggest luxury group reached $24.65 billion in the final three months of the year, with the 9 per cent increase on an organic basis a touch above analyst expectations for 7 per cent growth, based on a consensus cited by UBS.

Fashion 130
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The RealReal Names New CEO as its Pursuit of Profitability Continues

Retail TouchPoints

Luxury resale marketplace The RealReal has appointed John Koryl as its new permanent CEO, eight months after Founder Julie Wainwright stepped down from the role. At the time of her June 2022 departure, Wainwright said it was “time for the next generation of leadership to guide the company through its next chapter.” President and COO Rati Sahi Levesque and CFO Robert Julian led the company as Co-Interim CEOs during the search and will now return to their previous roles full time.

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10 workplace culture secrets revealed

Inside Retail

What is the secret to great workplace culture and engagement? The founder of Amplify HR, Karen Kirton, believes it’s all about finding, recruiting and retaining great employees. Kirton reveals her top tips in a new book Great People Great Business. “Research consistently shows that if you develop a workplace culture that engages your teams, you will enjoy higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, productivity and profitability, and lower employee turnover.

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L.L. Bean investing $50 million to upgrade flagship store and campus

Retail Wire

L.L. Bean will spend $50 million over several years to upgrade its flagship store and retail campus in Freeport, ME. The remodel will improve accessibility throughout and expand the outdoor Discovery Park so it can host more community events.

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5 Tips for a Winning Category Management Strategy in 2025

Category Management is a cornerstone of a successful retail strategy. While it promotes collaboration between manufacturers and retailers to optimize category performance, challenges persist in its effective implementation due to hurdles in communication and collaboration across teams and partners, and more. In this guide, we outline five essential strategies for success in 2025 that will touch on all the essential pieces of a successful strategy and implementation.

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Why your company needs an innovation strategy in 2023

Inside Retail

Almost a decade ago, Harvard Business School professor Gary Pisano famously wrote that companies should consider creating an innovation strategy. Today, an innovation strategy is not just an optional nice thing to have — it’s a requirement for companies that want to be successful. With significant post-pandemic inflation and interest rates climbing to new highs, the big banks are warning of a recession in 2023.

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DOJ suing Google for anti-competitive behavior in digital ad market

Retail Wire

The Department of Justice has filed a civil antitrust suit against Google, arguing that the tech giant has engaged in monopolistic behavior including leveraging its market dominance to force digital advertisers to use its services. Google has responded by accusing the government of trying “to pick winners and losers in the highly competitive advertising-technology sector.

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From Big 4 firm to start-up: TaskPod’s Adam Morgan talks lessons learned

Inside Retail

A few years ago, co-founders Adam Morgan and Tyson Gundersen left the corporate world behind to start Bureau Booths – which provided soundproof office booths to existing spaces – then TaskPod , which offers private working spaces in recreational and retail spaces, transport hubs and other locations. With Covid-19 leading to the popularisation of a hybrid working model , TaskPod has flourished.

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Retailers use layoffs as a hedge against potential downturn

Retail Wire

Saks Off Fifth laid off an unspecified number of workers on Tuesday. Saks.com cut about 100 workers from its payroll. Stitch Fix, Wayfair and others have also cut job cuts the start of 2023 as they attempt to operate profitably. “Retailers are really being cognizant of capital preservation,” said Catherine Lepard, who leads the global retail market for Heidrick & Struggles.

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Cut Costs & Complexity: Smarter Fulfillment for Home, Furniture & DIY Brands

Late deliveries. Split shipments. Spiraling freight costs. For home, furniture, and DIY brands, fulfillment has never been more complex—or more critical. This report outlines how a smarter, AI-ready order management system (OMS) helps you reduce shipping costs, streamline project-based fulfillment, and ensure accurate inventory across every channel.

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Retail appointments of the week

Inside Retail

New chief information officer at Domino’s By Aron Lewin Domino’s has appointed Rod Chapman as the new ANZ chief information officer. Chapman has over 20 years of experience in senior IT roles, and was previously the CIO for EG Australia and Woolworths Fuel. He will be responsible for leading Domino’s ANZ IT functions, including its helpdesk, cloud operations, retail services and infrastructure teams.

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Levi’s CEO: ‘The skinny jean is not going anywhere’

Retail Dive

Baggy styles are on-trend and selling, but the closet staple is hanging around. Meanwhile, the company sees inventory returning to normal by mid-year.

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Climate-consciousness is driving consumer choice in the cost-of-living crisis, report shows

Retail Times

A new 'Conscious Commerce' report debunks the ‘sustainability premium’, revealing consumers and businesses remain committed to sustainable practices, such as carbon-neutral shipping, and being climate-conscious – despite the cost-of-living crisis and tightening budgets. These stats are crucial at a time when January temperatures in Europe reach an all-time high, and the UN warns global temperatures may exceed pre-industrial levels within five years.

Consumer 119
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The RealReal taps Neiman Marcus vet as CEO

Retail Dive

John Koryl most recently led digital strategy at Canadian Tire Corporation and takes the job eight months after founder Julie Wainwright’s abrupt exit.

ATS 118
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What Your Financial Statements Are Telling You—And How to Listen!

Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker

Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.

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Levi’s beats Wall Street’s expectations

Retail Wire

Levi Strauss posted fourth-quarter sales of $1.59 billion, beating Wall Street’s expectations of $1.57 billion. The denim giant’s earnings of 34 cents per share were also ahead of the 29 cents expected by analysts. The company’s direct-to-consumer sales fell two percent during the quarter as it closed nearly all its shops in Russia.

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Sephora returns to the UK with London store

Retail Dive

Two years ago, the retailer acquired U.K.-based Feelunique, and last year, the company launched its own digital presence and app in the region.

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Nonprofits don’t share Amazon’s view of Smile program’s impact

Retail Wire

Nonprofits that have benefitted for years from passive contributions coming from the AmazonSmile program take issue with Amazon’s assessment of the impact of the program. Amazon said it was discontinuing the program believing that its money could be directed in more effective ways to charitable causes.

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Paula’s Choice CEO exits

Retail Dive

Tara Poseley, who has led the brand since 2016, is succeeded by Chief Marketing Officer Erika Kussmann.

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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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Americans feel disconnected from their work

Retail Wire

Only 32 percent of American workers feel fully engaged at work, while 18 percent are actively disengaged, according to a survey of 15,000 employed individuals in a new Gallup poll. The engagement level of American workers is four percent lower than in 2020.

ATS 100
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The Backroom: What’s going on with DTC this year?

Retail Dive

The team introduces new co-host Dani James and talks about changes in the direct-to-consumer space and the ongoing importance of brick and mortar.

Consumer 105
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U.S. economy grew 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter

Retail Wire

The American economy grew 2.9 percent, well ahead of the 2.6 percent growth in gross domestic product expected by economists. The solid growth in the quarter took place even as inflation forced many consumers to adjust their spending practices.

Consumer 100
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How Lego transformed after the pandemic

Retail Dive

Company leadership said the most important lesson learned during the pandemic was to remain agile.

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SEO vs. PPC: Which Strategy Is Best for Your Business?

When it comes to driving traffic and growing your online presence, businesses often ask: SEO or PPC—what’s the better choice? This guide breaks down the key differences between search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, highlighting their pros, cons, and best use cases. Whether you’re looking for long-term organic growth or immediate visibility through paid ads, we’ll help you determine which strategy—or combination of both—is right for your business.