The Modern Retail Podcast

This week's Modern Retail Rundown kicks off with big news from Nike and Skims. The two companies are creating a new women's activewear brand called NikeSkims. Next, the staff delves into why energy drinks maker Celsius is acquiring competitor Alani Nu. And Crocs is the latest retailer to address how its 2025 outlook could be impacted by President Donald Trump's tariff policy.

Detroit-based luxury design brand Shinola sells everything from jewelry to bikes to journals. In 2019, it even opened a hotel in downtown Detroit. But the is currently laser-focused on refining the answer to the question, “What’s the first thing you think of when you think of Shinola?” And it wants that to be watches.  “We lost that [focus on watches] for a little while,” said Kevin Wertz, CMO at...

On this week’s Modern Retail Rundown, the staff kicks off the episode by discussing Olipop's new $50 million funding round, valuing the brand at $1.85 billion. In other better-for-you soda news, a look at Poppi’s Super Bowl controversial marketing campaign, which caused a backlash after the brand sent creators Poppi vending machines. Finally, retail layoffs spiked in January due to store closures...

It’s been a great year for brands that sell shoes and other gear to runners.  Brooks Running, which is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, disclosed earlier this month that it ended 2024 with record global revenue, up 9% year-over-year. The company did not disclose exact revenue numbers. “We’re now in our 25th year of growth. Over that 25 years, we've grown approximately 15% compounded,” said Dan...

On this episode of the Modern Retail Rundown, the staff looks at the impact of rising ingredient costs. For instance, this week Waffle House announced it's implementing a $0.50 surcharge per egg as costs rise due to bird the bird flu. Meanwhile, Chipotle executives told investors that looming tariffs on Mexican imports will not hurt the fast casual chain's supply of avocados. as it only sources ha...

Most founders are loath to compare their businesses to other companies. Not the veterinary care startup Modern Animal. "We were definitely inspired by One Medical early on," said Steven Eidelman, founder and CEO of Modern Animal. "I think Tom Lee, the founder, was really a trailblazer for: How do we bring technology into health care?" The idea behind both companies was to add a technological eleme...

On this week’s Modern Retail Rundown, the staff checks in on the latest tariff and import tax policy changes that are impacting U.S.-based brands. Meanwhile, layoffs across the industry continue as companies like Amazon, Shopify and Kohl's cut costs this month. Finally, Chili's parent company, Brinker International, reported positive sales as the casual restaurant chain underwent a turnaround stra...

During the weekend when TikTok was briefly offline, Whatnot -- a platform that lets online brands and merchants sell products via livestreams on its app and website -- saw its user numbers surge. "It was our biggest weekend for new sellers -- both in terms of news sign-ups and also sellers who went live for the first time," said Armand Wilson, vp of categories and expansion at Whatnot. "Over that...

In this week's Modern Retail Rundown, the staff discusses the latest retail news headlines. First, we dive into the latest developments about a retail theft ring that cost companies millions of dollars. Then, we check in on TikTok and what its future looks like. We end with reports of layoffs at VF Corp and what that means for the company.

Renais has lofty ambitions to be the leading global ultra-premium gin brand. The company, which launched in 2023 in Europe and expanded to the U.S. last year, just raised a fresh round of capital and is working on expanding even further. It was founded by CEO Alex Watson and his sister, actress Emma Watson. Renais Gin isn't cheap -- it retails for around $60 a bottle. But it offers a product that...

On this week’s Modern Retail Rundown, the staff gives an update on Joann's latest bankruptcy filing, the second in 10 months for the craft retailer. Meanwhile, Walgreens CEO Timothy Wentworth said that locking products in cases is hurting the retailer's sales, and Walgreens is looking for other creative solutions to reduce store theft. Furthermore, days after banning artificial dye Red 3, the FDA...

With New Year's resolutions in full force, brands are trying to cash in on Dry January. Cannabis-infused beverage brand Cann, in fact, usually sees its sales jump every January due to more people teetotaling. "I just got these numbers earlier today," co-founder and CEO Jake Bullock said on this week's Modern Retail Podcast. "So online -- where we get the data the fastest -- this first week of Janu...

On this week's Modern Retail Rundown, the staff begins by discussing the latest retail merger. Struggling department store J.C. Penney is merging with Sparc Group to form a new fashion retail entity called Catalyst Brands. At CES this week, Amazon announced a new program called Amazon Retail Ad Service that allows other retailers to use the company's tech to create their own ad networks. Lastly, t...

Where Starbucks zigs, Gregorys Coffee zags. That's at least been the unofficial strategy for the cafe chain over the last few years. Gregorys, which initially launched in 2006 in New York but has expanded to more than 50 locations throughout the U.S., sits at the intersection of craft coffee and convenience. It first launched during the early years of the third-wave coffee boom. Gregory's early da...

On this week's Modern Retail Rundown episode, the staff discusses several updates coming off of 2024. First up, a new report from Appriss shows that fraudulent returns totaled $103 billion last year out of a total of $685 billion in retail returns. Nordstrom announced it will go private through a buyout by the Nordstrom family in partnership with Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool. And just d...

On this week’s Modern Retail Podcast, three members of the editorial team dive into what’s to come in 2025. Senior reporter Gabriela Barko, managing editor Anna Hensel and senior reporter Melissa Daniels had a round table discussion about the major issues facing the retail industry. Hensel, for example, has been keeping a close eye on the M&A landscape. “My prediction is that we will see more IPOs...

On this week's Modern Retail Podcast, we're looking back at some of the best episodes from the last year. Host Cale Guthrie Weissman walks us through some of the most interesting conversations he's had with the most exciting retail executives. They include executives from Walmart, Tecovas, Celsius, Violife and more. Walmart's chief product officer, Jon Alferness, for example, spoke about the retai...

On this week's Modern Retail Rundown: November saw the U.S.'s monthly retail revenue grow by 0.7%, with solid holiday sales expected to come. Meanwhile, Big Lots said it is planning to close all its remaining stores in 2025 after the company failed to strike a sale deal. Lastly, DTC athleisure brand Vuori now has a $5.5 billion valuation coming off of a major fundraising round. The latest update h...

Puma may be a legacy brand, but it's not scared to test out new technologies. Indeed, if there's a buzzy update, it's likely the company has launched some sort of beta with it. Puma launched a Roblox experience in 2022, it's tested out NFTs and other Web3 programs and has dabbled in augmented reality. Most recently, the sports apparel brand launched a generative AI tool that allows anyone to desig...

On this week's Modern Retail Rundown, the staff discusses a new lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission of Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, which alleges the alcohol distributor has favored large chains over independent retailers in its pricing practice. Also this week, a new report from the Wall Street Journal claims that Walgreens is in talks with PE firm Sycamore Partners to take the struggl...

Better-for-you snack brand Chomps has big plans to take the convenience store space by storm. But it's being choosy about which stores it expands into. Chomps, which is best known for its high-protein meat sticks, has been around since 2012 and has been slowly expanding. Its first major retail deal was with Trader Joe's in 2016. The company was small and, at the time, most sold online. But it knew...

On this week's Modern Retail Rundown, the staff discusses the state of mall traffic, including Simon's big marketing-fueled boost on Black Friday weekend. Additionally, we dive into a Wall Street Journal report that PE firm Gryphon Investors is eyeing an acquisition of sparkling water brand Spindrift worth $650 million. Moreover, Foot Locker lowered its holiday quarter guidance as it struggles, so...

E-bikes are becoming more popular in the U.S. and Upway is trying to capitalize on this demand. The secondhand e-bike platform launched at the end of 2021 and has expanded beyond its Europe home into the United States in early 2023. The France-based company's model controls the entire supply chain -- buying used bikes directly from the source, inspecting them in its warehouses and then shipping to...

On this week's Modern Retail Rundown, the staff discusses big box retailers' outlook on their end-of-year quarter, including Walmart's upbeat forecast and Target's less optimistic expectations. Moreover, Shein and Temu pose an additional threat to U.S. retailers this year, with more shoppers planning to buy from these China-based marketplaces. Finally, Modern Retail's research team highlights data...

Holiday shopping is in full swing and that means there are endless retail topics to discuss. That's why this week on the Modern Retail Podcast, we brought on our colleagues at the Glossy Beauty Podcast to talk about the major retail narratives we're observing. Modern Retail's editor-in-chief Cale Guthrie Weissman joined Glossy's West Coast correspondant Lexy Lebsack and senior reporter Sara Spruch...