Nitheesh NH
FROM THE DESK OF DEBORAH WEINSWIG
Brands, Celebrities, Retailers and Social Media Platforms Are Encouraging People To Get Out and Vote The general election in the US is set by law to take place on the “Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November,” which puts election day on November 3 this year. Whereas election days often take place on the weekend in other countries, the US holds its general election on a weekday, creating complications for workers. While voters typically receive many messages encouraging them to get out to vote, we have seen greater activity this year among brands, celebrities, retailers and even social media platforms to prompt people to register and vote. Most campaigns do not specify for whom one should vote; rather, they encourage citizens to have their voices heard. Celebrities often wield their star power to promote causes they support, and this election season is no exception. Engaged celebrities include Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift and Zendaya. Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation launched a partnership with Stacey Bendet’s professional network, Creatively, to ask artists and designers to design a social media campaign. Music artist Lizzo also encouraged voter registration in a campaign with eyewear brand Quay. Many brands are also encouraging voter registration, often in cooperation with get-out-the-vote organizations. Banana Republic launched a face mask bearing the slogan, “Vote for a Better Republic.” Fossil also introduced a vote-themed face mask. Similarly, Gap, Michael Kors and Rebecca Minkoff have launched voting-themed T-shirts. Further examples include themed jewelry and accessories. Retailers are supporting voting in a variety of ways. For instance, Bloomingdale’s partnered with director Allen Hughes to design a collection of face masks that benefits a pro-voting organization. Many retailers and other companies are giving workers time off to vote. More than 700 companies have joined a nonpartisan organization called “Time to Vote,” begun by Levi Strauss, PayPal and Patagonia. Time to Vote aims to offer workers flexibility. For example, Levi Strauss is giving workers five paid hours off to vote. Apple, Everlane, Gap, Reformation, VF Corp. and Walmart are also giving workers paid time off. Other retailers are planning to remain closed all of Election Day, including Away, J.Crew/Madewell and Patagonia. Best Buy plans to shorten its working hours on November 3. Several social media platforms, notwithstanding prior election-related issues, are encouraging workers to get out to vote. Facebook is running a week-long registration drive, featuring messages on the top of its Facebook, Instagram and Messenger apps. Snapchat also ran a voter-registration drive, claiming to have helped 750,000 users register to vote as of September 22. [caption id="attachment_116667" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Voter-registration messagesSource: Facebook[/caption] Regardless of the ultimate winners or losers in the coming US general election, brands, celebrities, retailers and social media platforms are doing their part to get people to show up and have their voices heard.
US RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES
Walmart Launches New Fashion Brand, Free Assembly (September 21) Company press release- Walmart has launched a new fashion brand, Free Assembly. The brand offers “simple design, quality fabrics, modern silhouettes and styles updated for today.” The collection includes basic pieces that can be easily “mixed, layered or assembled freely.”
- The brand’s fall collection is being sold in stores and online. It offers over 30 items for women and 25 for men, priced between $9 and $45.
- Party supplies retailer Party City has announced that it is looking to hire 20,000 seasonal workers and open approximately 25 Halloween City pop-up stores to prepare for the anticipated increase in demand. Party City expects to retain around 10% of these workers after the Halloween season.
- The company found that 96% of parents expect to celebrate Halloween this year, with 70% looking for alternatives to traditional trick-or-treating. The retailer will offer various contactless shopping and payment methods to help people shop safely.
- Lowe’s plans to install touchless pickup lockers at most of its metro market stores by Thanksgiving. Customers will receive a barcode to scan at a locker when their order is ready for pickup.
- The facility is already available at Lowe’s stores in Charlotte, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York. Lowe’s plans to introduce the technology to all of its stores by 2021.
- Amazon has suspended sales of the Echelon Ex-Prime bike, or Prime Bike, after several news outlets reported that the tech giant had released a new connected fitness bike for $499, in collaboration with fitness products company Echelon.
- In a statement released on September 21, a day before the product was pulled from Amazon.com, Echelon’s President and CEO Lou Lentine said, “The Prime Bike was developed in collaboration with Amazon, aiming to create an amazing, connected bike for less than $500.” However, an Amazon spokesperson said that Echelon does not have a partnership with Amazon, and it is neither an Amazon product nor connected to Amazon Prime.
- Fashion subscription platform Stitch Fix grew revenues by 3% to $443.4 million in the fourth quarter, ended August 1, 2020. The company incurred a net loss of $44.5 million versus a profit of $7.2 million in the year-ago period.
- Stitch Fix attributed revenue growth to increased sales of women’s plus-sized clothes and women’s and men’s activewear. On an analyst call, CEO Katrina Lake indicated that the company had restructured its inventory to include more in-demand products, such as athleisure, and fewer workwear items such as blazers.
EUROPE RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES
Kingfisher’s E-Commerce Sales and Profits Surge in First Half (September 22) Company press release- British DIY retailer Kingfisher grew e-commerce sales by 164% in the first half of the year, ended July 31, 2020—accounting for 19% of total sales, versus 7% in the first half of last year. The reported total sales declined by 1.3% to £5.9 billion ($7.6 billion), while profit before tax surged 62.4% to £398 million ($509 million).
- The adverse impacts brought on by the coronavirus in the first quarter were partially offset by a strong recovery in the second quarter as the pandemic-related lockdowns encouraged consumers to undertake home improvement tasks, according to the company’s management. Kingfisher expects the third quarter to “remain encouraging, but continued uncertainty and concerns over Covid-19 and wider economic environment limit visibility.”
- Asda plans to cut around 50 jobs, or 10% of its 500 staff, across the head office of its fashion division, George. Asda reported that it is restructuring its team to make it less hierarchal and more responsive, and thus enable George fashion products to come to market faster.
- The job cuts are across different levels and divisions throughout the George team. A spokesman for the firm said that it “is doing all [it] can to support” the employees being made redundant.
- European fashion pure play Zalando has launched a platform for secondhand fashion and lifestyle products. The platform is currently available to customers in Germany and Spain via the main Zalando site in those countries.
- Customers can shop for previously owned products and trade their products for credit on Zalando. The company plans to roll out the platform to its Belgian, Dutch, French and Polish sites in October.
- British womenswear retailer Joules posted a revenue decline of 18% in the first quarter ended August 30, 2020 but said it exceeded expectations and called it an “encouraging performance.” E-commerce revenues increased by 63% through its own channels and 45% overall.
- Retail revenues fell by 5% overall but increased by 1.5% through the company’s owned channels, and wholesale revenues fell 59%. CEO Nick Jones said that Joules “remains confident and well positioned to continue to adapt to changing consumer behaviors.”
- Shoe retailer Aldo’s UK business has been acquired out of administration by Bushell Investment Group (BIG), preserving approximately 700 jobs. Aldo entered into administration in June after succumbing to the dire impacts of the pandemic.
- Professional services company RSM was appointed to oversee the administration proceedings and was considering options for Aldo’s existing eight stores, after closing five stores permanently. This then led to BIG’s acquisition of Aldo UK.
ASIA RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES
JD.com To Spin Off Health Division and List It in Hong Kong (September 22) PanDaily.com- JD.com plans to spin off its health division JD Health and list it on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company said it cannot confirm the timing of the spin-off or the listing as it will depend on market conditions.
- JD Health reportedly aims to raise $2 billion, with the exact amount to be determined after the company’s meetings with potential investors. JD Health is a digital health platform that includes pharmacy retail and internet medical services.
- Pinduoduo has forged a strategic cooperation with China Post to sell more groceries on its e-commerce platform. China Post will leverage its extensive postal network to establish 150 agricultural production bases over the next three years.
- The bases will source products from farmers and help farmers gain access to customers via Pinduoduo’s platform, while cutting down delivery times and increasing choices for customers, according to the e-commerce company.
- International investment firm KKR has bought a 1.28% stake in Reliance Retail for $748 million. This is KKR’s second investment in a Reliance Industries subsidiary—it invested $1.5 billion in the conglomerate’s mobile network unit Jio Platforms earlier this year.
- KKR’s Asian private equity funds are making the investment, which is still awaiting regulatory approvals.
- Amazon has added four new Indian languages—Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayala—to its platform, ahead of the upcoming festive season in India. This addition will expand access to around 200–300 million customers, according to the company.
- Apart from English, the platform is also available in Hindi, one of the most widely spoken languages in India.
- Thailand’s Central Retail group plans to merge its department store businesses, Central and Robinsons, but will continue to operate them as separate banners.
- Robinsons stores focus on apparel and beauty while Central stores offer a wider range of product categories. The merger is part of the company’s strategy to streamline its offer and become the first omnichannel department store in Thailand.