In social media communities frequented by college-bound teens and young adults, dorm room décor is experiencing something of a golden age. Influencers and designers have been highlighting ideas for small spaces like dorm rooms and first apartments, students themselves have been gaining social media fame for sharing their creative college living spaces—sometimes put together at […]
Archive | Retail
Getting Together for a Meal (Kit)
Despite continued challenges in the meal kit industry, including the difficulty of retaining customers, high (and rising) operational and marketing costs, a demand curve that tends to be seasonal rather than steady, and more, the category has remained a viable one for many licensors. These include celebrities, especially chefs, and owners of family-friendly entertainment properties, […]
Trouble on the Home Front
The two-week period from April 24 to May 5, 2023, was particularly brutal for retailers specializing in home goods, with three 50-year-old brands declaring bankruptcy and two of them shutting down completely: Bed Bath & Beyond, the original “category killer” in the home space, declared bankruptcy and liquidated its 360 stores, along with the 120 […]
Standing in Someone Else’s Shoes
As retailers continue to increase brand-extension activity based on their proprietary IP—through licensing or other models—footwear has, not surprisingly, become a key category of interest for retail chains in the fashion and lifestyle spaces. Sometimes the licensed or collaborative shoes are sold primarily in the licensors’ own stores, but they often find distribution opportunities in […]
Grocery Store Chic
Grocery and convenience store chains are the latest group of corporate brands to get into limited-edition branded merchandise drops in a big way. The products seem to be resonating with loyal consumers and, in several cases, lending a cool factor to the brands among young adults. Recent examples include: Aldi. The value grocery retailer next […]
Tea Party
An estimated 450,000-plus tea and tea-drink shops were operating in China at the beginning of this year, according to the China Tea Marketing Association. These include both traditional tea shops and new-style shops focused on flavored milk, fruit, bubble, and even cheese teas, with new-style chains growing quickly over the past several years (despite a […]
Accessibility: Making a House a Home
Marketers have been expanding their offerings of merchandise designed for consumers with disabilities, especially in categories such as apparel and Halloween costumes, over the past three years or so. Licensed and collaborative examples have occasionally been part of the mix as well. The idea is to create solutions that are accessible, but also stylish and […]
Black Beauty
Retailers’ beauty departments represent one area where progress has been made on the road toward more diversity, equity, and inclusion over the past two years, and change continues. While each effort is unique, in general retailers have diversified their product mix to make more offerings available for women of all colors and skin and hair […]
A High-Flying News Channel
Last month Stellar Partners announced the launch of Buzzfeed-branded airport newsstands, with the first two outlets located in New York LaGuardia’s Terminal C. Buzzfeed is the just the latest in a long string of media brands that have lent their names to airport news and convenience stores over the years. In fact, since the early […]
New Ways to Feather the Nest
Retailers of all types have been expanding their home assortments since shortly after the start of the pandemic. This is a logical move, as consumers have been doing more DIY projects; redecorating their nests to create comfortable sanctuaries; reconfiguring to accommodate home offices, schooling, and outdoor entertaining; and sometimes filling the blank slate of a […]