FROM THE DESK OF DEBORAH WEINSWIG

Walmart Launches Regularly Scheduled Livestreamed Programming Building on an earlier successful trial, Walmart is moving deeper into livestreaming. Last week, Walmart launched a program of eight shopping experiences with regular scheduled live shopping sessions running through the end of March, in connection with the Talkshoplive platform. The scheduled program features the following themes:

• Black-founded brands (February 15–18)
• Baby days (February 22–25)
• Women entrepreneurs (March 8–21)

The recent expansion represents the most recent chapter in a series of Walmart’s experimentation with various livestreaming platforms and techniques. In 2020, Walmart launched a campaign called “Joy. Completely.” on Facebook that featured live broadcasts and augmented reality technology. The company also experimented with livestreaming on TikTok during its 2020 “Holiday Shop-Along Spectacular.” In November 2021, Walmart partnered with livestream technology provider Buywith to promote exclusive holiday products through influencer-led shopping sessions. For this event, Walmart funded creators to offer educational product information and reviews, whose authenticity resonates better with Gen-Z audiences. Later that month, Walmart inaugurated Twitter’s new live shopping feature, hosting a “Cyber Deals Sunday” event with singer Jason Derulo, which was also streamed to the company’s website, as well as its Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts, highlighting items for sale in the apparel, electronics, home goods, and seasonal categories. Later in the US 2021 holiday season, Walmart partnered with Talkshoplive for four live shopping shows, featuring creators and celebrities Rachael Ray, Drew Barrymore and Ree Drummond. The live sessions were apparently successful, driving strong sales and positive engagement, according to Walmart, paving the way for the company’s most recent livestreaming announcement. Talkshoplive, founded in 2018, enables consumers to purchase products within a video player on an embedded site. One of the platform’s key selling points is the capacity to share its content across other platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Participants on its platform range from producers, celebrities and social media creators to large retailers and many others. Brands and media already on the Talkshoplive platform include Condé Nast, Hearst and BuzzFeed, with CPG giant P&G set to launch a pilot program in March. Walmart’s expansion of its livestreaming footprint represents a major validation for livestreaming technology, signifying that it has passed the test phase and is moving forward to more mainstream deployment. Given Walmart’s status as the world's largest retailer, the move is likely to encourage other retailers to follow, putting livestreaming under the limelight and perhaps providing the endorsement that more cautious retailers need. It will likely at least encourage retailers to test livestreaming for themselves. The expansion into regular livestreaming programming provides another opportunity for Walmart to gather data on when and how consumers shop, which it can leverage across its broad portfolio of private labels and branded products in apparel, beauty, electronics, grocery and personal care.

• Read Coresight Research’s extensive coverage of livestreaming e-commerce for more on this key trend to watch in retail.

US RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

EG Group’s Tom Thumb Stores To Undergo a $50 Million Rebrand (February 22) ChainStoreAge.com

• Convenience store retailer EG Group is set to rebrand its Tom Thumb store locations to the Cumberland Farms brand, which it acquired in 2019 for $50 million. The project is due to begin in May and last two years, covering 113 Tom Thumb locations.
• EG Group intends to expand culinary products, including a new fried chicken concept, to all Tom Thumb stores, in addition to modernizing and them with the Cumberland Farms style, layout and equipment. Current Tom Thumb employees will continue to work under the Cumberland Farms brand.

Home Depot Reports Solid Revenue Growth in Its Fourth Quarter; Raises Its Quarterly Dividend (February 22) Company press release

• Home-improvement retailer Home Depot reported revenue growth of 10.7% in its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter (ended January 30, 2022). Its total comparable sales increased by 8.1% year over year and US comparable sales increased by 7.6%. The company’s diluted EPS increased by 21.1% year over year.
• The company stated that it has reached a milestone of more than $150 million in sales in its fourth quarter and has announced a 15.0% increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.90 per share. For fiscal 2022, the company expects sales and same-store sales to be slightly positive year over year and EPS growth in the low single-digit percentage range.

Kohl's Launches an Exclusive Clothing Partnership with Reese Witherspoon (February 22) ChainStoreAge.com

• Department store Kohl’s, in partnership with actress Reese Witherspoon, has launched women’s clothing line Draper James RSVP in 500 Kohl’s stores and on its website.
• The collection will be displayed in Kohl's stores, with an exclusive branded experience that will highlight Draper James RSVP's joyful, colorful and contemporary style.

Kroger Partners with Kitchen United on Ghost Kitchens in Houston (February 21) Company press release

• Grocery retailer Kroger has partnered with ghost kitchen startup Kitchen United to open a kitchen center in Houston to provide freshly prepared restaurant food for takeaway or delivery in select Kroger stores.
• Kroger’s customers can place an order using Kitchen United's proprietary Mix platform via the website, app or at an in-person ordering kiosk. Customers can then choose to pick up their meal onsite or have it delivered to them.

Macy’s Reports Strong Sales Growth in Its Fourth Quarter (February 22) Company press release

• Department store chain Macy’s reported total sales growth of 27.8% in its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter (ended January 29, 2022). The company’s comparable sales increased by 28.3% year over year and 6.6% on a two-year basis. Its adjusted EPS increased by 206.3% year over year.
• The company’s gross margin was up 280 basis points to 36.5% year over year. Macy’s Board of Directors announced that the company’s e-commerce operations will remain integrated within the larger business and will not be spun off into a separate company as was intended by activist investor Jana Partners who bought a stake in the company in October 2021.

EUROPE RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

C&A Signs Four-Year Deal with Recover for Sustainable Cotton (February 22) Company press release

• Dutch fashion retailer C&A has agreed a four-year partnership with Spanish material science company Recover to integrate recycled cotton fiber and fiber blends into its supply chain. The first clothing collection made with Recover’s cotton will be available in C&A stores in April 2022.
• According to Recover, its cotton fibers are made from recycled post-industrial and post-consumer waste, offering a sustainable solution to close the loop for fashion retailers.

Iceland Expands Partnership with Uber Eats (February 22) ChargedRetail.co.uk

• British supermarket chain Iceland has signed a new, exclusive deal with Uber Eats to expand its rapid grocery delivery service to a further 200 stores. The retailer first partnered with Uber Eats in 2020 from its Hackney branch in London and subsequently extended to 140 stores.
• The expansion will come into force in April 2022. Customers will be able to choose from more than 3,000 Iceland products on the Uber Eats app for delivery in as little as 20 minutes.

Marks & Spencer Launches Brand Partnership with Clinique (February 22) Company press release

• British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced an in-store and online partnership with make-up and skincare brand Clinique. The retailer will offer around 500 Clinique products for women and men in 74 stores across the country as well as on M&S.com.
• The new partnership sees M&S continue to expand its beauty range, with both exclusive private-label products such as Apothecary, and third-party brands including Aveda, Origins, REN, Emma Hardie and Prai.

Rewe Group To Invest in Expand International Business Expansion (February 22) Company press release

• German supermarket chain Rewe Group has announced plans to invest €5.0 billion ($5.7 billion) in its international business by 2025. The company aims to increase its gross sales to more than €20 billion ($22.7 billion) through organic growth and increase its store count to 5,000.
• The company also plans to expand its market position in countries where it already operates through targeted investments and smaller acquisitions but has ruled out the possibility of entering new countries.

United Colors of Benetton To Enter the Metaverse with Gamified Store (February 22) Company press release

• Italian fashion company United Colors of Benetton has announced the launch of its flagship Corso Vittorio Emanuele store in the metaverse during Milan Fashion Week, both of which will feature the same new design and color scheme.
• While visitors to the metaverse store will not be able to buy clothes, they will be able to access games that allow them to accumulate QR codes to be used for physical purchases in the company’s brick-and-mortar stores.

ASIA RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Flipkart To Sell Cleartrip's West Asia Business to Wego (February 22) TelegraphIndia.com

• Indian e-commerce company Flipkart, which is owned by Walmart, has announced plans to sell the West Asia segment of its travel marketplace Cleartrip to Wego, an online travel marketplace for West Asia and North Africa.
• The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of Wego and Flipkart, and it is set to close in the second half of 2022.

Grab Launches Home Cleaning Services (February 22) TechinAsia.com

• Singapore and Indonesia-based logistics and payment service provider Grab has expanded its offerings in Singapore to include home cleaning services through the company's on-demand delivery platform GrabMart.
• Grab previously provided home cleaning services in Malaysia and Indonesia through partnerships with online service marketplaces including Kaodim and Sejasa.

Mobile World Expands to Indonesia (February 23) InsideRetail.Asia

• Vietnam-based consumer electronics retailer Mobile World plans to open its first store in Indonesia by the end of 2022—the country's second overseas market after Cambodia. Mobile World aims to increase its revenue to ₫140 trillion ($6.1 billion) in 2022, from ₫96 trillion ($5.4 billion) in 2021.
• Mobile World generates 75%–80% of its revenues from its smartphone and electronics retail chains. Since January 10, 2022, the company has been testing 12 independent retail concept stores, including clothing, jewelry and cycling categories.

OVS Debuts in Cambodia (February 22) InsideRetail.Asia

• OVS, an Italian fast-fashion company, has launched its first store in Cambodia, at Aeon Mall 2 in Phnom Penh. The company plans to open five more OVS stores across the country over the next three years, ranging in size from 250–600 square meters.
• The company launched the store through a collaboration with MR Retail Company, a local exclusive distributor. The store has over 1,000 stock keeping units and focuses on women's and children's fashion and accessories, with menswear launching later this year.