It’s been another week with far more retail news than there is time in the day. Below, we break down some things you may have missed during the week and what we’re still thinking about.
From Dolly Parton’s Dollar General collection to Kendra Scott opening stores, here’s our closeout for the week.
What you may have missed
A very good thing: Martha Stewart collections return to QVC
Martha Stewart merchandise is returning to QVC this month, the live social shopping company and Marquee Brands, which owns the Martha Stewart brand, announced Wednesday.
The collections will be available across apparel, culinary, gardening and home decor on all of QVC’s platforms starting this week. Additional product drops are expected throughout the year.
“I have always had a wonderful relationship with QVC where I am able to teach and inspire through stories and products,” Stewart said in a statement. “Each of these new collections reflect my passions and personal style. I am excited to bring these new offerings to the QVC customer and inspire them with beautiful, useful and well-made products.”
The first drop, which debuted Wednesday, was the Martha Stewart Gardening collection, which features items she uses in her personal garden. A food and wine products launched the same day. Apparel items, which include jeans, blouses and jackets, are due to launch March 31.
Hanes jumps into athleisure
Hanes is entering the athletics space with a collection dubbed Hanes Moves. The line includes a range of athletic apparel and innerwear for men, women and kids, including bras, leggings, moisture-wicking shirts and running shorts. Hanes is pitching the collection as athleisure, with use cases across both active endeavors or running errands and lounging.
The collection has “versatile pieces that transition effortlessly from your workout to your daily routine,” Joe Cavaliere, group president of global innerwear at Hanesbrands, said in a statement. Hanes Moves “is a natural progression for Hanes, uniting our expertise in innerwear, apparel and performance technology into a single, unified collection.”
At launch, the products will be available on Hanes’ website, as well as at Amazon, Walmart, Target and Kohl’s. The collection — which includes antichafing, cooling and odor control, and other features — sells for between $8 and $45 per item. Some women’s products will also feature leak protection.
Influencer Mikayla Nogueira to launch beauty brand
Beauty influencer Mikayla Nogueira debuted Point of View this week, a new beauty brand that will officially launch March 26.
“I wanted Point of View to be different. My inspiration for the brand came from my days working in beauty retail. Every day I inspired people to discover their own point of view when it came to their beauty journey,” Nogueira said in a video posted to Instagram. “While I very quickly learned that we each have our own unique identity, we all have the same aspiration to feel beautiful, to be confident and to love ourselves no matter where we are on our journey."
The brand took two years to make and features skin prep products with a “potent blend of Korean-inspired ingredients,” which will help moisturize, brighten and even out the skin tone, according to Nogueira.
Though influencer-led brands can leverage followers to drum up initial audience appeal, their financial success is not guaranteed. In 2023, Forma Brands, which made a big bet on influencer partnerships, filed for bankruptcy, citing liquidity and operational concerns. Though it blamed the pandemic and changing beauty habits for its financial constraints, it also called out "their need to terminate partnerships with certain influencers.” Its portfolio included Bad Habit, which featured Emma Chamberlain as creative director, and Jaclyn Hill’s Jaclyn Cosmetics.
Retail therapy
Dolly Parton debuts spring Dollar General collection
Country music icon Dolly Parton released her spring line at Dollar General available this month. The singer first introduced a collection of houseware and kitchen items last July.
All 45-plus items in the spring line are under $10 and come in wood, white, gold, pink and pastel blue hues. Items include a French press, tea kettle and rotating coffee pod holder.
Coming in May, Parton will add a summer collection to her Dollar General lineup. The singer also has plans for a Christmas collection during the holiday season.
Charcuterie boards at Pizza Hut?
Pizza Hut announced its version of a charcuterie board ahead of Pi Day, March 14.
The grazing board features two medium pizzas of choice, eight boneless wings and sticks and dips. The customizable board sells for $24.99.
What we’re still thinking about
20+
That’s how many stores Kendra Scott plans to open this year. The openings will include two of the jewelry brand’s Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott concepts in Houston and Nashville, Tennessee, according to details emailed to Retail Dive.
“Retail remains a consistent way for Kendra Scott to reach customers. By expanding into new markets, the Kendra Scott team aims to create opportunities to foster community, offer exceptional experiences, and introduce customers to fashion forward, accessible jewelry,” the company said.
In the year ahead, the brand will focus on fine jewelry and lab-grown diamonds and launch new collaborations.
$40M
That’s how much it is going to cost American Eagle Outfitters to relocate to a new Manhattan office, which “provides more favorable lease terms,” the company said in earnings released this week.
The cost is part of the approximately $300 million the company expects to spend on capital expenditures this year. The company also plans to invest in enhancing its digital platform to support e-commerce and automation within its distribution centers, CFO Mike Mathias said on a Wednesday earnings call with analysts.
What we’re watching
Roomba stuck in a corner
iRobot, the company most famous for its Roomba products, said this week that it has “substantial doubt” about staying in business. A history of operating losses and negative cash flows from operations means the company may not continue, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange and Commission
“We have incurred substantial operating losses in past years, expect to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future, and may not achieve a return to profitability in the future,” the company said.
The company’s board is undergoing a strategic review of alternatives for the business. “We may be forced to terminate, significantly curtail or cease our operations or to pursue other alternatives, including, but not limited to, commencing a case under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code,” the company stated.
Amazon considered buying the company in 2022 for over $1 billion, but the companies called off their proposed acquisition agreement last year after the deal faced antitrust concerns.
