Express Checkout #13

Commerce news from the week of 2/13/2023

Author

Nate Rosen
February 19, 2023

Hello friends! Welcome back.

It’s been a week since the Super Bowl, how’s everyone feeling about the ads. You can find a list of all the ads by quarter here. My personal favorite has to be the Farmer's Dog ad. On the other end of the spectrum was M&M. Their stunt was just a disappointing saga and a poor copy of the Planters Peanut campaign from last year. What was your favorite ad?

Overall I found this years ads to be a little lackluster.

Also, we’re just over 2 weeks away from ExpoWest! I’m excited to see many of you there. The company I work for, Adgile Media Group, will have a booth! So stop by booth #2698 or hit me up and we can walk the floor!

If you were sent this issue please consider subscribing! Let’s get into it.

🔥 Big News of the week 🔥

  • Everyone wants to sell

    • Luggage company Away is exploring strategic options, including a sale, according to anonymous sources. The company, which was valued at $1.45 billion in 2019, is working with an adviser to gauge interest from potential buyers. (source)

      • I’ve seen a couple interesting potential buyers being floated around - Tapestry, LVMH, VF, Authentic Brands Group, Samsonite

    • Subway is also exploring a sale. All the news we have for now is JP Morgan will be advising. Other than that, they’ll continue with their plans for menu and restaurant improvements. (source)

    • Kum & Go, the family-owned Midwestern chain with over 400 stores in 13 states, is reportedly exploring a sale at a valuation near $2 billion. The potential sale would come at an attractive time for c-store mergers and acquisitions. (source)

      • Personally I think that Ryan Reynolds should buy this brand

  • Miyoko Schinner, founder of plant-based Miyoko's Creamery, has been removed from her role as CEO. She posted on LinkedIn that she had actually been removed as CEO months prior, in June ’22. She explained that conflict grew around the best path forward for future growth while maintaining continuing to live the company's strong values. (source)

  • Pharrell Williams is officially the new Men's Creative Director for Louis Vuitton. (source)

🗞️ News from the week (2/13/23 - 2/19/23)

🛍 Retail

  • Two lenders are suing the American Dream mega-mall for $389 million for breach of contract. The mall is facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is embroiled in multiple disputes. (source)

  • Glossier opened a new store at 72 Spring Street in SoHo. The brand has been starting to pick up steam lately, including landing distribution in Sephora. (source)

  • Tuesday Morning, the popular home goods discount retailer, has announced that it will close half of its stores nationwide after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This move includes the closing of 12 stores in Georgia. (source)

  • Love's Travel Stops plans to expand by opening new locations, partnering with top brands and adding new amenities in 2023. The company will open 25 new travel stops and remodel existing ones. They also plan to expand their food and beverage offerings. (source)

  • The RealReal, Inc. has announced a savings plan aimed at reducing operating expenses. The plan involves the termination of 230 employees, reducing its real estate presence, and closing six stores and luxury consignment offices. (source)

  • Amazon said this week that they’re still confident they’ll figure out a viable grocery format that it can roll out on a wide scale in 2023. Amazon recently paused the expansion of its Amazon Fresh grocery stores and its Amazon Go convenience stores while it works on tweaking the format to better stand out from the crowd. They currently have 44 Amazon Fresh locations and 29 Amazon Go stores in the U.S. (source)

  • Walmart is closing its e-commerce-only stores in Bentonville, Arkansas and Lincolnwood, Illinois, which only offered pickup and delivery services. Walmart has added pickup and delivery services to thousands of full-service stores, making e-commerce-only stores unnecessary for now. The company has decided to close down several traditional locations due to poor financial performance as well. (source)

  • Barnes & Noble launched two new membership levels. The first is a free rewards program, and the second costs $40 a year and includes rewards, discounts, free shipping, free drink upgrades, and exclusive offers. The company expects 75% of existing members to upgrade, and the new $40 program to have as many members as the existing one by year-end. (source)

  • Bluemercury has added Dune, Redmint and Henne Organics to its The Cache program, which showcases cool and trending beauty brands. The initiative, launched in October 2021 and is currently available in 21 stores, but director of merchandising Stephanie Keene said it was a major company priority to expand it. Bluemercury prioritizes product effectiveness and packaging when evaluating brands for partnerships, seeking exclusives with those not widely distributed. (source)

🛒 CPG & Consumer

  • Everyone is getting their B Corp™ certification

  • New booze laws

    • Texas has introduced a new bill, HB 2200, to allow the sale of spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) products in grocery and convenience stores. Currently, only beer and wine-based RTDs are allowed to be sold in these stores, despite spirits-based RTDs having similar or lower alcohol content (source)

    • Starting March 1, 2023, Colorado grocery and convenience stores will now be allowed to sell wine, thanks to voter-approved Proposition 125. (source)

  • Grove Collaborative has just launched its home care brand on Amazon.com and select Walmart stores. The company's plastic-free personal care brand, Peach not Plastic, and vegan skincare brand, Superbloom, have already reached $1 million in sales on Amazon. (source)

  • Martha Stewart has partnered with Amazon to launch "The World of Martha" in Amazon stores. Amazon will be the retail destination with the largest selection of Martha Stewart’s home and lifestyle essentials. (source)

  • Californian chocolate brand OCHO Candy has partnered with Miyoko's Creamery to create a line of plant-based caramels made with Miyoko's European-Style Cultured Vegan Butter. (source)

  • Solawave, a brand of beauty devices, is expanding to Ulta and establishing a content house in West Hollywood. The content house will function as a location for Solawave to generate its own content and for selected influencers to generate content while getting to know the brand better. (source)

  • The brand only launched 3 months ago, but Futurewise is already available on Target’s website and is starting to roll out into stores across the US. (source)

  • PepsiCo has recalled over 25,000 cases of Starbucks vanilla frappuccino drinks in the United States after glass was found in some of the bottles. (source)

  • Coca-Cola will release a Jack Daniel's & Coca-Cola co-branded RTD product in the US in March. (source)

    • This is not Coke’s first foray into booze. In 2018 they launched Lemon-Dou in Japan, it was their first entry in the alcohol beverage market since the late 1970s. Now they have a small but growing portfolio. Read more here.

  • Moosejaw has launched a new resale program called ReTrail, using Recurate's platform. So many other retailers such as Dick's Sporting Goods, Eddie Bauer, and Walmart have also launched resale programs recently. (source)

  • Jeni's has announced a new ice cream flavor in collaboration with the show Ted Lasso. The flavor is called "Biscuits with the Boss” and looks delicious! (source)

  • Rebrands abound

    • Boston Beer Company plans to refresh Truly Hard Seltzer in order to maintain consumer interest in the hard seltzer market and increase Truly's position within a crowded category. (source)

    • 7UP has unveiled a new international brand identity done by PepsiCo Design and Innovation Team. You may be thinking - “hey doesn’t Keurig Dr. Pepper own 7UP?” - you’re right, but the brand is handled outside of the US by PepsiCo. (source)

    • Cointreau has unveiled its new bottle design, the biggest change in over a century. I personally think it looks great! (source)

🏭 Supply Chain

  • Trader Joe's is building a warehousing and distribution facility in Franklin, Kentucky. The $260m project is expected to lead to the company's first retail outlet in the state's south-central region. (source)

  • H&M Group and Remondis have partnered to launch Looper Textile Co., which aims to collect, sort, and sell used garments and textiles to promote circularity in fashion and reduce waste. The company plans to innovate within textile collection and sorting with a goal of extending the highest use of around 40 million garments in 2023. (source)

💻 eCommerce

  • The Fresh Market has launched a new retail media network that allows vendors to post shoppable ads during the retailer’s live-streamed online broadcasts. (source)

  • The FTC charged The Bountiful Company for "review hijacking" on Amazon. The company merged new supplements on Amazon with established products to create a false impression of positive ratings and reviews. Bountiful has been ordered to pay $600,000 and is prohibited from making similar misrepresentations in the future. (source)

  • ThredUp has launched a new online resale store, 777thrift, which offers used clothing and accessories for no more than $7 an item. (source)

💸 Funding, Exits, M&A, and VC

  • Governor Hochul has awarded $4.5 million to revitalize NYC's garment district, and is urging the fashion industry and community to collaborate on a future vision for the area. (source)

  • Lemon Perfect has raised $36.8 million, with post-money valuation at $150 million. Carlton Fowler, Managing Partner of Goat Rodeo Capital, has officially joined the board. (source)

  • Seaweed materials company Loliware has raised $6m in funding to replace single-use plastic with seaweed pellets. (source)

  • Caliray, a sustainable beauty brand based in California, has raised an undisclosed Series A round of funding led by True Beauty Ventures, an early-stage beauty and wellness-focused investment fund. (source)

  • Three Chord Bourbon raised $8M in Series A funding to expand brand distribution across the US and strategic international markets. (source)

  • Boston-based private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners has agreed to buy consumer brand Suave from Unilever. Yellow Wood Partners owns brands like Dr. Scholl's. (source)

  • Cincy Brands has acquired Sapadilla, a brand that produces earth-friendly cleaning products using pure essential oil blends and biodegradable ingredients. Cincy Brands specializes in acquiring and accelerating brands. (source)

  • Moët Hennessy has acquired Château Minuty, a luxury rosé producer. (source)

  • eBay has acquired 3PM Shield, a Chicago-based e-commerce solutions provider that uses AI and machine learning to improve compliance and the customer experience. (source)

  • Highbeam, a financial services provider, has secured a $10 million loan to offer credit, spend monitoring, and other tools to eCommerce brands. The platform offers a range of financial services, including the ability to create bank accounts, free wire transfers, and a debit card with 2% cashback. They also provides insights and forecasting. (source)

    • My last job was at a similar company. It’s an interesting and tough space to operate in. You’re dealing with brands that are up against some serious economic headwinds and cash flow issues especially at an early stage.

  • Smartrr, a subscription service for DTC brands, raised $10M in Series A funding led by Canvas Ventures with Expa and Nyca participating. The funding will support product development and R&D. (source)

  • Australian mushroom-based meat-alternative maker Fable Food Co. has raised $8.5m in Series A funding, which will support product development and expansion into the US and UK. The funding round was led by Singapore-based K3 Ventures. Fable Food Co. previously raised $6.5m in seed funding. (source)

  • VAE Labs, a Canadian company, has raised $2 million to launch its sprayable caffeine device. Draper Associates led the funding round, with participation from Midnight Venture Partners and Cartograph Ventures. Each spray delivers 20mg of caffeine. VAE Labs aims to broaden its product range to include supplements, such as CBD, THC, melatonin, and vitamins. (source)

  • BP is acquiring TravelCenters of America in a $1.3 billion cash deal to expand its convenience and travel retail business. (source)

🧐 Interesting reads

💡 Reports, research, and trends

🐦 Interesting Tweets

😋 Brands and things I’ve tried this week

MOSH’s new lemon flavor! – This is Maria Shriver’s and her son Patrick Schwarzenegger’s brain health protein bar brand. I was able to get an early taste of this new flavor releasing on Tuesday, February 21st!

  • Mosh is one of the better tasting bars out there. My favorite part of the bars is the crunch, it’s just so satisfying. I think my favorite flavor is the chocolate peanut butter one.

  • Literally one of my favorite CPG products. I’ve been eating their other biscuits since 2018. They’re basically an upgraded Belvita and simply delicious.

Selfmade comfort cream

  • Overall I liked this moisturizer. I think the product applies well, smells good, but does feel a bit tacky. The container I thought felt very flimsy and cheap but totally works fine. The closest comp I would give it would be the La Roche-Posay double repair matte face moisturizer.

Thanks for reading! I'll be back next week with more commerce news straight to your inbox. If you have any suggestions, feedback, or stories or posts I missed, let me know!

Nate :)

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