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 layoffs at Tupperware to Office Depot’s Dormify partnership, here’s our closeout for the week.
What you may have missed
Kleinfeld Bridal to offer pre-loved gowns
Joining the circular fashion movement, Kleinfeld Bridal debuted an online resale marketplace for wedding dresses on Tuesday, per a press release. Brides can buy and sell pre-owned wedding wear on KleinfeldAgain.com and the marketplace is already stocked with hundreds of dresses.
Image courtesy of Kleinfeld
“With KleinfeldAgain.com, we hope to continue our relationship with brides globally, so they may benefit from our historied expertise in the bridal space,” Ronnie Rothstein, co-owner of Kleinfeld Bridal, said in a statement. “Today’s bride is savvy and tech-forward, and KleinfeldAgain.com allows her to shop for her wedding dress anywhere on conditions that are important to her, whether that’s designer, style, price, sustainability, or lead-time.”
The Kleinfeld Bridal expert team verifies all dresses for authenticity. Sellers can dictate their dress price on the commission-free marketplace. To sell a gown on the platform, a consumer must sign up for a listing at $9.95 a month, with an upgrade option for more exposure.
Amazon on track to eliminate plastic air pillows
Amazon on Thursday announced that it is on track to eliminate plastic air pillows from its delivery packaging in North America by the end of the year. The company has replaced 95% of its air pillows with paper filler thus far, which can be recycled. The phase-out applies only to boxed packages.
Paper filler offers “the same, if not better, protection to products than plastic air pillows,” the company said in an announcement.
Office Depot OfficeMax partners with Dormify
Office Depot OfficeMax on Monday announced a new partnership with dorm room decor company Dormify. Dormify products will be available in around 200 stores throughout the summer with the option to ship to the student’s college location during move-in.
“We’re committed to making the process as easy as possible by simplifying the logistics and have found a great partner in Office Depot,” Amanda Zuckerman, co-founder of Dormify, said in a statement.
The Dormify collection includes storage, decor and bedding items that range in price from about $16 to $310 and are available online and in select stores, according to a company press release.
Retail therapy
Ikea invites grads to party like it’s dorm room move-in season
The home retailer of choice for many a college student, Ikea is leaning into that title this year with a nationwide “Grad Bash.”
Ikea U.S. is hosting the party across its local stores on Saturday, with a slew of in-store events aimed at high school graduates. Among the activities, students can race to fill up one of Ikea’s iconic Frakta bags (and possibly take home the entire bag’s worth of items), show off their furniture assembly skills by putting together a free Lack table (and win a $20 gift card for finishing first) and compete in a scavenger hunt for a prize.
And because all college students love free stuff, Ikea will give all students an Ikea hot dog, mocktails and a raffle ticket free of charge, with a chance to win prizes like a cooler bag, travel flatware set and a frozen dinner.
As for parents, in addition to getting a potential wallet break, they can revel in watching their kids struggle with the furniture assembly instructions that have baffled them for years. There’s no time like the present to start cursing over dorm room setup.
Netflix is here to steal department stores’ spotlights
Netflix is coming for your mall’s anchor spots. A self-described “fan fever dream” is opening in the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania and Galleria Dallas next year, according to an article on Netflix’s Tudum website.
The streaming company is taking over two 100,000-square-foot-plus spots formerly held by department stores, with construction already underway on the two-floor property in Dallas. The concept is part experience, part entertainment venue, with the website teasing possible features like a merch shop, Netflix-inspired food and drinks, and real-life “Squid Game” challenges.
“At Netflix House, you can enjoy regularly updated immersive experiences, indulge in retail therapy, and get a taste — literally — of your favorite Netflix series and films through unique food and drink offerings,” Marian Lee, Netflix’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “We’ve launched more than 50 experiences in 25 cities, and Netflix House represents the next generation of our distinctive offerings. The venues will bring our beloved stories to life in new, ever-changing, and unexpected ways.”
Galleria Dallas General Manager Angie Freed said having Netflix House as an anchor will allow it to cash in on the “experiential economy,” while Netflix targeted the two malls because of their high foot traffic and proximity to major cities. It remains to be seen, though, whether even this level of experience can remove Netflix’s staunchest bingers from their couches.
What we’re still thinking about
148
That’s how many employees will be laid off from Tupperware in Hemingway, South Carolina, as a result of it shutting down its only U.S. manufacturing facility, which it sold in October.
The layoffs will occur between Sept. 28 and Jan. 14, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing.
The company, known for its food storage solutions, will transition manufacturing operations to its Lerma, Mexico, plant by the end of the year.
6.4%
That’s how much e-commerce sales grew in May compared to the year-ago period, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Overall, in the segments tracked by Retail Dive, retail sales were up 4.5%, a slight slowdown from the 5.2% year-over-year growth seen in April. Other categories saw gains as well, including apparel with sales up 4.5%, general merchandise up 3.9% and electronics up 3%.
But other categories faced declines, including home goods, which fell 6%, and sporting goods and hobby stores, which fell 1.9%.
What we’re watching
Big Lots issues going concern warning
Trouble may be on the horizon for Big Lots. The closeout and discount retailer said in a June 13 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it may fail to meet all of its credit and term loan obligations in the near future, a situation that “raises substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Big Lots said the liquidity crunch is due to its net losses and use of cash in operating activities in 2022, 2023, and the first quarter of 2024. And due to macroeconomic factors, Big Lots said it expects additional operating losses.
The warning comes as the retailer’s Q1 net sales fell 10.2% to $1 billion, down from $1.1 billion last year. Big Lots also posted a net loss of $205 million for the quarter, relatively flat from the prior year. Big Lots’ net liquidity rose to $289 million, up from $254 million in Q4, but the company’s debt load grew too, rising to nearly $574 million in Q1, up from about $502 million a year ago.
