Brandy Melville, Everlane Retail, Disney+ Launch, Jeep Replaces Porsche, McDonald's Acquires Apprente, AirBNB's $20M Bet on Content
Covering the intersection of content, commerce, and media daily.
A controversial store just opened in Miami Beach — and tween girls are ecstatic. - Miami Herald
It’s here. Brandy Melville. If you don’t know what this means, ask any tween girl with an Instagram account. She’ll no doubt know, and she’s freaking out about the clothing store’s arrival to Miami Beach. Hanging from the racks: moderately priced cotton T shirts with sayings like “Angel,” tanks with butterfly graphics, as well as high-waisted denim shorts and flowery skorts.
The styles don’t look very different than those you might see in the juniors section of a major department store. But one thing does set them apart: the tag. It reads “one size.” Yes, at this oh-so-hot retailer, large and extra large doesn’t exist. If it’s plus size you seek, save the trip altogether. By one size, these folks mean “small.” About a 0 or 2. This has caused some, um, controversy.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/12/everlane-ceo-michael-preysman-talks-retail-expansion-with-jim-cramer.html
Everlane needed to open stores because 'basically' no online-only companies are profitable, CEO says
"Everybody loves to say you don't spend money online, but the way things work now with Facebook, Instagram, and how much it goes to acquire a customer, then you have to ship it all," Everlane CEO Michael Preysman says on "Mad Money."
Preysman, who founded Everlane in 2011, made his remarks to the " Mad Money " host from the company's brand-new store in Williamsburg, a hip neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.
"Everybody loves to say you don't spend money online, but the way things work now with Facebook, Instagram, and how much it goes to acquire a customer, then you have to ship it all," Preysman explained.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/12/20862167/free-disney-plus-hands-on-pilot-marvel
Free Disney+ pilot launches in the Netherlands, here’s what it’s like
Free until November 12th
A top row selection lets you quickly jump into Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars , or National Geographic titles.
The Disney+ home page conveniently sorts content for all the Disney+ sections into a number of useful categories like Hit Movies, Out of the Vault classics, Musicals, and Documentaries.
https://medium.com/the-assembly-sf/from-anchorage-to-austin-what-community-means-today-ba8452c70b7a
From Anchorage to Austin: What Community Means Today
Lauren Haber Jonas isn’t building a plus sized fashion company. Lauren is building a community. Lauren is creating confidence in women who…
A few weeks ago, I sat down with Lauren and Nicole in the new Lightspeed Lounge at The Assembly to talk about all things community: how to build them, how to support them, how to break free of what has become a startup buzzword and create something real.
For Part & Parcel, Lauren and her team are on a road show launching in new markets (keep an eye out for an SF event at The Assembly this Fall) and training women in the plus community through their direct selling program.
https://www.wired.com/story/mcdonalds-acquires-apprente-voice-ai/
McDonald's Acquires Apprente to Double Down on Tech
The Golden Arches will acquire Apprente, a "sound-to-meaning" voice assistant, to speed up its drive-through.
“Building our technology infrastructure and digital capabilities are fundamental to our Velocity Growth Plan and enable us to meet rising expectations from our customers, while making it simpler and even more enjoyable for crew members to serve guests," McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a statement, referring to the strategic vision he laid out in 2017.
On that last point, an Apprente press release last fall touted that its AI "offers a more consistent and pleasurable customer service experience with its virtual agents never sounding tired, annoyed, unhappy, or angry."
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/amazons-jeff-bezos-most-us-sales-still-in-brick-and-mortar-stores.html
Jeff Bezos: Amazon is still 'small'—90% of US retail sales happen in brick and mortar stores
Despite a $900 billion market cap, "it remains Day 1" at Amazon as far founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is concerned.
That's a figure Bezos got from the U.S. Department of Commerce's quarterly report on ecommerce sales, released in March , a spokesperson for Amazon tells CNBC Make It .
If you had gone to a customer in 2013 and said 'Would you like a black, always-on cylinder in your kitchen about the size of a Pringles can that you can talk to and ask questions, that also turns on your lights and plays music?'
https://www.barrons.com/amp/articles/lululemon-moving-apparel-production-avoid-china-tariffs-51568044489
Lululemon Is Winning in Race to Avoid China Tariffs
Data from the trade researcher Panjiva show that the apparel retailer has been well ahead of the curve as companies scramble to reduce their exposure to tariffs on imports from China.
Lululemon Athletica has been well ahead of the curve, aggressively shifting production to other locations, new data from the trade researcher Panjiva shows.
CFO Patrick Guido called the tariffs “highly manageable,” estimating a 4-cent effect on earnings per share in the second half of the year.
https://www.autoblog.com/amp/2019/09/09/porsche-boxster-cayman-conquest/
Guess what the Porsche Boxster and Cayman are being traded in for
If American owners of a Porsche Boxster or Cayman don't get another Porsche, they're most likely to go in a completely unexpected direction.
Deciem's Nicola Kilner: 'We like our retail partners to have a good share of the business' – Glossy
This week, beauty editor Priya Rao sits down with Nicola Kilner, CEO and co-founder of Deciem, umbrella company to cult-favorite skin-care brand The Ordinary. Kilner discusses why demand should lead product supply, why fashion retailers make good partners and how Deciem is faring following founder Brandon Truaxe’s removal from the company and subsequent death early this year.
Kilner discusses why demand should lead product supply, why fashion retailers make good partners and how Deciem is faring following founder Brandon Truaxe’s removal from the company and subsequent death early this year.
Letting demand lead supply: “The worst thing that can happen for any brand is if you’re taking up space [in a store], and you’re not doing the dollars per inch, or whatever has been calculated that you need to sell.
Small wonders: How grocers are trying to get scaled-down stores just right
Retailers are forging ahead with bold new formats that can go where their legacy stores can't. Can they roll out quickly enough to make an impact?
Neil Saunders, managing director with Global Data, said even though grocers are cognizant of the trends impacting consumers and the industry as a whole, there are a host of reasons why many struggle to successfully debut a new concept — and why when they do find one that works, they take a slow and methodical approach in rolling it out.
Arthur Ackles, vice president of merchandising and buying at Roche, told Grocery Dive the company likes to target small towns and population-dense urban areas with minimal competition, allowing the grocer to employ a smaller footprint while also becoming the neighborhood shop for local residents.
Millionaire in training: how to teach your kid to think like an entrepreneur
There are several things you can do to encourage your child become an entrepreneur — and help them get smart about money along the way.
"There are these unbelievable opportunities, as parents, that happen right under your roof to teach kids about money and entrepreneurship on the top of the list," said Thomas Henske, a certified financial planner with New York-based Lenox Advisors.
"-Don Bossi, President, FIRST By becoming an entrepreneur — whether it is simply putting up a neighborhood lemonade stand, launching a landscaping business or developing a new app — kids can learn about budgeting, saving, spending and investing.
Airbnb Leads $20 Million Funding Round Into Atlas Obscura
The Brooklyn-based media and experiences company Atlas Obscura plans to use the money to expand its trips and local experiences.
Travel and exploration website Atlas Obscura has built its brand by shining a light on little-known things.
Atlas Obscura said it plans to use the money to vastly expand its trips and local experience offerings, which the company says make up more than half its business.
Luxury meets inclusivity: Inside Badgley Mischka's plan to dress the masses – Glossy
As luxury companies hesitate to evolve from their original business model, out of fear of losing their core customer or diluting the brand, 31-year-old Badgley Mischka -- which hosts its spring 2020 runway show Wednesday afternoon at Spring Studios -- is embracing change to the nth degree. The company’s main focus is launching new categories, partnerships and collaborations, and seeking out other new ways to reach new customers.
The goal is to create an immersive digital flagship, selling all of the company’s brands and giving shoppers a “peek behind the curtain” of its runway shows, seasonal campaigns and red carpet prep.
Badgley Mischka is not hellbent on streamlining its distribution channels, as is the trend, but plans could easily change as its direct online sales pick up momentum.
Burger King's 5-step plan for hacking pop culture
At Cannes Lions, the brand's CMO and agency discussed their successful deployment of "hackvertising," which borrows from hacker culture.
CANNES, France — Over the past four years, Burger King has repeatedly turned popular moments into breakthrough advertising that "hijacks" media, frequently earning the ire of the owners of platforms ranging from Google Home to movie theaters.
As an example of step two, Burger King's creative team pointed to how it promoted a day without Whoppers in Argentina as a way to insert itself into a local conversation that happens every year, when McDonald's pledges to donate the proceeds from Big Mac sales to a foundation for children.
Simbe Robotics raises $26 million for autonomous inventory robots
San Francisco-based startup Simbe Robotics is on a mission to transform retail with robots that scan store shelves for missing inventory.
Only a few years later, Simbe’s machine — Tally — has navigated more than 25,000 miles in stores operated by over a dozen of the top 250 global brands, including Schnuck Markets, Giant Eagle, Decathlon Sporting Goods, and Groupe Casino.
Recently, Simbe moved into a new South San Francisco headquarters that’s six times the size of its previous office, and today, it revealed new board of directors members in iPod and iPhone co-inventor and Nest founder Tony Fadell, Venrock’s David Pakman, and Pathbreaker Venture’s Ryan Gembala.
Coke's e-commerce site offers Overwatch League team bottles
The Overwatch League in February named Coca-Cola as its official beverage sponsor going into its 2019 season.
The "Share a Coke with" slogan appears on the bottles followed by an icon of one of the league's teams, such as the Atlanta Reign, Boston Uprising, Chengdu Hunters, Dallas Fuel, London Spitfire, New York Excelsior and Washington Justice.
Mtn Dew last year introduced its "Amp Game Fuel," a brand extension aimed at gamers, with the kickoff to the 2019 Call of Duty World League (CWL) esports series in December.