Wed.Mar 12, 2025

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Small Marketing Tweaks, Big Results: DSW Proves the Power of Personalization

Retail TouchPoints

Its no secret that brand loyalty is eroding amid increasing price sensitivity and digital overload. While personalized engagement tactics may have been a nice-to-have in years past, in this current environment they are now a necessity. To meet this challenge head on, DSW set out to deepen its consumer connections and create experiences that drove meaningful engagement with the help of personalization platform Moveable Ink.

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Viv for your V founder on bringing sustainable period care to 500 stores

Inside Retail

The menstrual care market has long been dominated by major global manufacturers. But rising demand for environmentally friendly products and a growing movement to destigmatize periods have created opportunities for new players to cut through. One company gaining traction with Gen Z in particular is Viv for your V. Since launching in January 2020, Viv for your V has steadily built its direct-to-consumer (DTC) and e-commerce presence via retailers like Amazon and TikTok Shop.

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New Kohl’s CEO Lays Out Turnaround Strategy Following Disappointing Q4

Retail TouchPoints

In his first earnings cycle at the helm , Kohls new CEO Ashley Buchanan laid out his plan to turn around the embattled company, which has struggled for years to return to a position of strength while fending off activist investors. Ashley Buchanan, CEO, Kohl’s (Image courtesy Kohl’s) Like his predecessors , Buchanan said he sees plenty of opportunity for the company but that a turnaround will take time, indicating that the goal of the actions being taken in 2025 will lay a groundwork

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What retailers need to know about Vietnam’s potential and challenges for 2025

Inside Retail

With total retail sales projected to reach $350 billion this year, Vietnam is rapidly becoming a key player in Asias retail landscape. Savills explores the key drivers of growth, market challenges and future opportunities shaping Vietnams retail industry this year. Economic and demographic drivers The General Statistics Office of Vietnam estimated retail sales of goods and consumer services grew by 9.3 per cent year-on-year in Q4 last year.

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Smart Tools & Strong Teams: A People-First Approach to AI in Sales

Speaker: Matt Sunshine, CEO at The Center for Sales Strategy

AI isn’t replacing salespeople—it’s empowering them. The most forward-thinking sales organizations are using AI to enhance human performance rather than eliminate it. From coaching and messaging to prospecting and pipeline accountability, artificial intelligence is giving managers and SDRs the new tools they need to work smarter, sell better, and close more.

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Albertsons Sets 1.5 Billion Meal Goal; Instacart to Pilot Medically Tailored Groceries for Veterans

Retail TouchPoints

Through a combination of surplus food donations from its stores and funds raised by the Albertsons Foundation, the supermarket retailer has set a new goal of enabling 1.5 billion meals by 2030 as part of its Recipe for Change framework. Additionally, the Foundations Nourishing Neighbors program will invest $10 million annually to help break the cycle of hunger via initiatives including the Innovation Spark Fund program; the E.A.T. curriculum for middle and high school students; and a coalition c

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Princess Polly’s Kim Zorn on TikTok, leadership and the future of e-commerce

Inside Retail

Inside Retails Top 50 People in E-Commerce , presented by Australia Post, is an annual ranking of the most impressive and inspiring leaders in Australias online retail industry. Over the coming weeks, we will be profiling this years Top 10. Here, we speak with #4, Princess Polly’s global performance director Kim Zorn, about the challenge of staying relevant in the fashion industry for more than a decade, her proudest accomplishment in the last year and what it will take to grow online in 2

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How retail narratives shape customer experience and brand loyalty

Inside Retail

Back in 1947, De Beers launched what would become one of the most influential marketing campaigns ever: A Diamond is Forever. De Beers objective was super simple. Change the publics perception of diamonds, from relatively common and lacking inherent worth to priceless symbols of love and lifelong commitment. It was never about the physical qualities of diamonds, rather, the clear narrative constructed around them.

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Interview: Pinterest MD on turning home trends into reality with its Primark collab

Retail Gazette

Primark has long been a leader in providing affordable, on-trend home dcor, but its latest collaboration with Pinterest brings a new level of innovation. By tapping into Pinterests real-time trend data, the high street retailer has launched three new collectionsCosy Cottage, Minamaluxe, and Dainty Dcor inspired by trending homeware searches on the platform.

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Inditex’s net income rises 9 per cent amid higher in-store, online sales

Inside Retail

Inditex saw net income rise 9 per cent to 5.9 billion (US$6.42 billion) last year, amid higher in-store and online sales and the opening of stores in 47 markets. The fashion group’s sales increased 7.5 per cent to 38.6 billion with Stradivarius having the highest growth rate of 14.1 per cent as turnover reached 2.6 billion ($42 billion). Bershka and Oysho sales rose 11.8 per cent to 2.9 billion and 831 million, respectively.

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Ross Plans 90 New Stores This Year; Long-Term Goal is 3,600 Locations

Retail TouchPoints

Ross Stores plans to open approximately 90 new stores in FY 2025, comprised of about 80 stores under the Ross Dress for Less banner and 10 dds Discounts locations. The discount retailer kicked off its fiscal year, which ends in February 2026, with a total of 19 store openings in March 2025. This spring, we continued to expand the store base of both Ross and dds, said Richard Lietz, EVP, Property Development at Ross Stores in a statement.

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AI In The Aisles: The Executives Guide To Better In-Store Experiences

Speaker: Steve Worthy, MBA

The rapid rise of AI-powered displays, touchless technology, and sensory marketing is reshaping the future of in-store engagement. Yet for many retail executives, the real challenge is not identifying new tools - it is knowing which signals to trust, which inputs to prioritize, and how to architect decisions that elevate in-store leadership rather than dilute it.

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Puma plans job cuts as US demand weakens, outlook dims

Inside Retail

Puma on Wednesday announced job cuts and warned of uncertain US consumer demand as the German sportswear group’s shares slumped 23 per cent in the wake of disappointing quarterly and annual forecasts issued a day earlier. The grim outlook, which follows weak quarterly sales and annual profit announced in January, has raised concerns over Puma’s ability to compete with bigger rivals Adidas and Nike while fending off newer, fast-growing brands such as On Running and Hoka.

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Zara owner Inditex profits and sales jump

Retail Gazette

Zara owner Inditex enjoyed a strong FY24 as it posted a 10% increase in pre-tax profit to 6.4bn (7.6bn) in the year to 31 January, up from 5.8bn (6.9bn). Sales for the Spanish fashion giant jumped 10.5% in currency-neutral terms to 32.5bn (38.6bn), which it attributed to a positive performance across all its fashion brands. The group, which owns Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius and Bershka, said its collections had been well received by customers, helping to push its sales and profits to “histo

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Brits prioritise their gardens as spring spending kicks off

A1 Retail

New research from eBay Advertising finds that while 7 in 10 UK garden owners intend to spend on their outdoor space this year, value is a driving factor, with nearly three-quarters saying theyre more likely to buy discounted items. As rising costs continue to impact discretionary spending, many Brits are prioritising their gardens over leisure experiences 1 in 10 are choosing to invest in their outdoor spaces instead of going on holiday.

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Data: A quarter of shoppers witnessed shoplifting last year

Retail Gazette

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that shoplifting has become “all-too-common” as it found that over 16 million customers have witnessed shoplifting across the UK in the last 12 months. Nottingham and London were the two cities where incidents of shoplifting were witnessed by the highest percentage of shoppers, ranking at 32% and 29% respectively.

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New Research-Backed Strategies to Empower Managers as Culture & Engagement Leaders

Speaker: Beth Sunshine, SVP, Up Your Culture

When culture isn’t consistently lived out across the organization, engagement suffers—and it often starts with a disconnect at the top. In this session, Beth Sunshine, SVP of Up Your Culture at The Center for Sales Strategy, will reveal how HR and executive leaders can close the gap between vision and execution by equipping frontline and mid-level managers to become culture carriers.

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Kroger Sharpens Ecommerce Focus with New Business Unit

Retail TouchPoints

Kroger has created a new ecommerce business unit designed to align all the teams contributing to the online customer experience. The unit will be led by Yael Cosset, currently the supermarket retailers CIO, in his new position as EVP and Chief Digital Officer. Cosset will continue to oversee technology and data along with supervising the new online shopping unit.

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Asda cuts 200 jobs following botched IT upgrade

Retail Gazette

Asda has axed hundreds of jobs connected to its botched 800m IT upgrade. More than 200 employees have been sacked without consultation in the latest round of job cuts from the supermarket chain, The Telegraph reported. It comes as the retailer has spent much of the past year busy untangling thousands of programmes responsible for its checkouts, administration and payroll from those of former owner Walmart.

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Meow Wolf to Open 75,000-Square-Foot Entertainment Venue in Lower Manhattan

Shopping Center

New York City Immersive arts and entertainment company Meow Wolf will open a 75,000-square-foot entertainment venue in Lower Manhattan. The space will span multiple stories within Pier 17, an entertainment… The post Meow Wolf to Open 75,000-Square-Foot Entertainment Venue in Lower Manhattan appeared first on Shopping Center Business.

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Poundland owner appoints advisors to handle sale

Retail Gazette

Poundland owner Pepco has formally appointed advisors at Teneo to handle the sale of the discount chain. The group revealed it was actively exploring a sale of the business last week as it claimed the UK retail market remains increasingly challenging” and additional tax changes from next month will impact the retailer’s cost base. Pepco said Poundland had continued to experience a negative like-for-like sales performance for the first two months of the year, with an underperformance

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Breaking The Commerce Bottleneck: Your SAP Exit Plan Starts Now

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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In-House vs. Outsourced IT: Finding the Right Fit for Your Business

Retail Assist

The global IT outsourcing market is set to grow by $628.4 billion by 2029, and its easy to see why. With 70% of companies saying outsourcing saves them money compared to hiring in-house, the debate between in-house vs. outsourced IT is more relevant than ever. In fact, 37% of IT operations are now outsourced, giving companies access to specialised expertise without the hassle of recruitment.

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Lidl links users loyalty app data to Meta and Google

Retail Gazette

Lidl has launched cross-platform advert targeting, allowing its loyalty scheme members to receive personalised ads across Google and Meta. Lidl Plus users this week received a notification asking for permission for the supermarket chain to share their data with Google and Meta, The Grocer reported. The statement read: We use Lidl data to tailor the marketing you see on Google, Meta and The Trade Desk partner platforms.

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Chaos Hits the Economy

LS Retail

iStock/shronosov With each day, evidence is mounting across the corporate world that the eratic implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs is translating into chaos hitting the economy. The uncertainty brought by Trump's threats of tariffs and his shape-shifting trade policies is starting to have a chilling effect across many industries, businesses warn, as consumers pull back on everything from basic goods to travel.

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Vinted to open pre-loved luxury fashion London pop-up

Retail Gazette

Vinted is opening its first ever second-hand luxury fashion pop-up in London later this month. House of Vinted will be located in the citys The Adria hotel and is open to the platforms members by invitation only from 22 March. Guests will be able to explore themed rooms with curated wardrobes from luxury style creators like Victoria Magrath, Susia Lau and Simran Randhawa.

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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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Glasson’s largest Australian store yet opens

Inside Retail

Glassons has opened its largest Australian store yet at Harbour Town Premium Outlets in Adelaide. The 350sqm store joins a raft of discount outlet brands, offering products at up to 60 per cent off regular store prices. “Our customers have been asking for Glassons and Harbour Town is excited to deliver the brand’s biggest store in Australia,” said Kylie Neal, Harbour Town Premium Outlets centre manager.

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C-suite leaders are underestimating the impact of geopolitical risks on their operations, new research finds

Retail Times

Retail Times publishes international & UK retail news covering products, data, tech, packaging, people, research, comment and more besides! Despite geopolitical tensions escalating, 66% of C-suite and operations leaders say they are confident or very confident that they can effectively mitigate the impact of geopolitical risks on their supply chain over the next five years, according to a survey of 600 global C-suite executives by operations strategy and transformation consultancyArgon &

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Freemans enjoys sales boost thanks to Sophie Ellis Baxtor

Retail Gazette

Freemans reported a 13% sales increase during its last quarter of 2024 as its Sophie Ellis-Bextor Christmas campaign paid off. The online department store, which launched its Christmas campaign with the Murder on the Dancefloor singer at the end of October, said it had extended its contract with Ellis-Bextor for 2025 to include its autumn winter collection.

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Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Revamps Heathrow Terminal 5 Flagship Counter

365 Retail

Charlotte Tilbury Beautys flagship counter at Heathrow Terminal 5 has undergone a major refurbishment. Originally launched in July 2019 as the brands first-ever travel retail counter, the updated space now offers an enhanced shopping experience with digital screens, interactive services, and exclusive products. The redesign includes the iconic Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick Plane and Hot Lips Way Finder, both exclusive to travel retail locations.

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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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Seasalt warns of redundancies following ‘unprecedented’ cost pressures

Retail Gazette

Seasalt has warned of “a number” of redundancies across its operations as the business deals with “increased tax burdens following the budget” The fashion retailer has put an unspecified number of roles across its business into consultation after “thoroughly reviewing” its cost base. The retailer, which operates more than 60 stores across the UK and Ireland, said the measures will enable the business to “continue investing in our growth plans” whil

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Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses secures planning permission after devastating fire

Retail Times

Retail Times publishes international & UK retail news covering products, data, tech, packaging, people, research, comment and more besides! Butlers Farmhouse Cheesesplanning application to build a state-of-the-art cheesemaking campus has been approved by Preston City Council. It comes 16 months after a devastating fire destroyed the Lancashire cheesemakers 65,000 square foot office and packing site in Longridge November 2023.

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Primark ups pay for thousands of store colleagues

Retail Gazette

Primark has become the latest retailer to unveil new pay rates for store colleagues. Retail assistants across England, Scotland and Wales will see their hourly pay rise 4% from 12 to 12.48, while those based in London will see their rates increase from 12.56 to 13.06 per hour. The pay rise is effective from 1 April and will apply to 28,000 Primark employees.

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How retailers use promotions to drive sales and capture new customers

Retail Times

Retail Times publishes international & UK retail news covering products, data, tech, packaging, people, research, comment and more besides! Promotions are an essential part of a retailers strategy to drive sales, attract new customers, and build customer loyalty. Retailers use a wide variety of promotional tactics, from discounts to loyalty programmes, to encourage customers to make purchases.

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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.