Apparel & Footwear

Victoria’s Secret expects $10M hit to Q2 operating income from cybersecurity breach

Victoria’s Secret & Co. held its top line mostly steady in Q1, but according to GlobalData research, it lost market share. Net sales were essentially flat compared to last year, nearing $1.4 billion, as comps dropped 1%. Gross margin shrank by 170 basis points to 35.2%, but the lingerie chain reached $2.8 million in net income, from last year’s $2.5 million net loss. The security breach that scuttled its Memorial Day sale is expected to siphon about $10 million from Q2 operating income, excluding any insurance payment, CFO Scott Sekella said. Former Anthropologie Chief Marketing Officer Elizabeth Preis has taken that role at Victoria’s Secret & Co., CEO Hillary Super announced on the earnings call. Executive Creative Director Adam Selman will now report to Preis. Super worked with Selman at Savage X Fenty and also previously led Anthropologie Group.

Designer Brands Q1 sales drop 8%, withdraws FY25 outlook

Designer Brands, parent of DSW, has reported an 8 per cent decline in net sales to $686.9 million for the first quarter ended May 3, 2025. Comparable sales fell 7.8 per cent year-on-year. Gross profit declined to $295.1 million from $330 million a year earlier, with the gross margin narrowing to 43 per cent from 44.2 per cent. The company posted a net loss of $17.4 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, while adjusted net loss stood at $12.5 million, or $0.26 per share. “We experienced a soft start to 2025 amid an unpredictable macro environment and deteriorating consumer sentiment,” stated Doug Howe, chief executive officer. As of May 3, 2025, the company operated 669 stores, down from 675 last year. Liquidity remained steady with $46 million in cash and $125.5 million in available borrowings, though debt rose to $522.9 million from $476.1 million a year ago.

Despite Trump Tariff Anxiety, Shoe Prices Continue to Decline

Shoe prices were lower again in May 2025 as overall inflation remained “tame” last month, according to the latest data from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA). In May 2025, retail footwear prices slid 1.6% from a year ago, the steepest drop in more than four years, the FDRA noted. This comes as prices were lower across each target market, led by men’s footwear prices falling 2.4%, the most in four-and-a-half years since the dark days of the pandemic. As for women’s shoe prices, the category declined 1.5%, the sharpest in eight months, while children’s footwear prices slipped 0.5% in May. Gary Raines, chief economist at FDRA, told FN that while last month’s declines peg year-to-date footwear prices modestly lower from the same first five months of last year, change is coming. This movement in shoe prices comes at the same time as the United States and China agreed to a “handshake” deal that will enable the two superpowers to resume the terms of their provisional trade agreement.

Athletic & Sporting Goods

MLB and Jomboy Media to forge strategic partnership

Major League Baseball and sports media company Jomboy Media have agreed on a strategic partnership that will see the two sides integrate Jomboy Media’s expertise across MLB’s digital channels, create activations around key MLB tentpole moments like the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard and T-Mobile Home Run Derby, and grow Jomboy Media’s stable of intellectual property (IP) including Talkin’ Baseball, Talkin’ Yanks, and The Warehouse Games. As part of the deal, MLB is purchasing a stake in Jomboy Media at an undisclosed valuation. Jomboy Media is in the midst of tremendous growth. In 2024, the company set revenue and profitability records, and totaled over 93 million engagements on social media—placing JM in the top 4% of all digital publishers. Over the last year, the company has reached brand partnership deals with official MLB partners Corona and T-Mobile.

Arcis Golf Acquires Three Top-Tier Clubs in Atlanta, Georgia

Arcis Golf, the second largest owner and operator of golf facilities in the United States, has acquired three nationally recognized clubs: The Country Club of the South (Johns Creek, Georgia), The Manor Golf & Country Club (Alpharetta, Georgia), and White Columns Country Club (Milton, Georgia). This is Arcis Golf’s 18th club acquisition in the last three years. With these acquisitions, the Company now owns 54 holes across three clubs in the Atlanta area. Arcis Golf is a premier owner and operator of 70 private, resort, and daily fee clubs in the United States. The Company continues to transform its portfolio of clubs into inclusive, lifestyle hubs with dynamic programming and unrivaled amenities.

Industry Nine Acquires We Are One Composites

Cycling component company Industry Nine just dropped some big news — they have officially acquired We Are One Composites, a Canadian composite manufacturer based out of British Columbia. This partnership was already brewing, with I9 offering complete wheelsets using We Are One’s composite rims for a while, laced to their own Hydra and 1/1 hubs. This acquisition solidifies what seemed like a natural pairing. For Industry Nine, it’s a play to bring carbon rim production in-house, cutting down lead times, increasing control over the supply chain, and likely opening the door for even more integrated designs. For We Are One, it means greater resources and reach, all while keeping their Canadian manufacturing intact.

Cosmetics & Pharmacy

Beiersdorf Doubles Poznań Capacity with €300 Million Investment in Skin Care Expansion

Beiersdorf has completed a €300 million expansion of its Poznań, Poland, manufacturing site, doubling annual production capacity to 500 million units and reinforcing the site’s role as a critical hub in its global skin care supply chain. The expanded facility will now supply skin care products from brands such as NIVEA, Eucerin, and Florena to over 100 international markets. Six new automated production lines and a microbiology lab have been commissioned, creating 200 new jobs. The Poznań plant—one of Beiersdorf’s most modern—operates climate-neutrally as part of the company’s goal to decarbonize all production centers in Europe by 2025 and globally by 2030. Poznań’s expansion ensures faster time-to-market across Europe and beyond.

Sojourner Acquires Lornamead Personal Care Portfolio in Strategic Carve-Out

Sojourner Consumer Partners has acquired key assets of Lornamead North America, including a portfolio of well-known personal care brands. The deal marks a strategic carve-out from Lornamead Group Limited and positions the business as a newly independent entity. The transaction, terms of which were not disclosed, includes ownership of several heritage beauty and personal care brands as well as a leading U.S. private label business in toothpaste and oral analgesics. The acquisition also includes Lornamead’s operational base in Tonawanda, New York. Industry veteran Emily Fong Mitchell—formerly of Colgate-Palmolive—has been appointed Vice Chair, bringing deep expertise in global personal and oral care markets.

Discounters & Department Stores

Marks & Spencer restores some online-order operations following cyberattack

Marks & Spencer said it has resumed limited online-ordering capabilities after an April 2025 cyberattack that led to major disruptions at the U.K. department store chain. The retailer said it can once again accept online orders for standard delivery to England, Wales, and Scotland, while delivery to Northern Ireland would take a few more weeks, according to an update on its website. “We are bringing back online shopping this week,” John Lyttle, managing director of fashion, home and beauty, at M&S, said in a post on LinkedIn. The company will be adding additional inventory of fashion, home, and beauty every day, Lyttle said. M&S said it will take several more weeks for international deliveries, next-day delivery, Click & Collect, and nominated-day delivery to return.

Poundland sold for £1 with shops set to close

Struggling budget chain Poundland has been sold for £1 and now faces a shake-up which could see up to 100 stores close, the BBC understands. Its owner, the Polish firm Pepco, confirmed it had sold the brand for a “nominal” sum to US investment firm Gordon Brothers. Poundland has 825 UK stores and around 16,000 staff and was struggling to compete with other discount stores, with sales down this January and February. Following the sale, a proposed restructuring will be put to the High Court in England, Pepco said. This comes after Pepco warned that increased employer National Insurance contributions, which kicked in in April, would put added pressure on the chain. Pepco Group has owned Poundland since 2016, but the firm had to auction the brand off after sales slumped over the past year.

Walmart debuts Sparky, its generative AI assistant for customers

Walmart introduced a customer-facing generative AI assistant named Sparky to summarize and answer questions about reviews, offer recommendations, and help shoppers plan purchases. The release follows the March 2025 debut of its generative AI assistant for merchants, Wally, and builds on Walmart’s broader plans to integrate AI into its operations and customer experience. Walmart is creating agentic AI tools tailored to retail-specific tasks and company workflows using its internal data and language learning models, the company said recently. Sparky, which is available in the Walmart app, will soon expand to include reordering and service booking while understanding text, image, audio, and video inputs.

Emerging Consumer Companies

DTC footwear brand Oofos opens first stores

DTC active recovery footwear brand Oofos has opened its first brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. After 14 years of building a brand through DTC, Amazon, and wholesale partnerships, Oofos has opened its first permanent store locations. Each store is 150 square feet with additional storage space and follows a series of pop-up shops Oofos tested across the country over the years. Those included locations on Boylston Street near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, at Ironman St. George in Utah and in collaboration with the Naperville Running Company at the Chicago Marathon. The three store openings include Pentagon City in Arlington, Virginia, the Mall of Georgia in Buford, Georgia, and the Florida Mall in Orlando. Pentagon City opened at the end of May, while the Georgia location and the Florida store will debut later this month.

Somnee, sleep technology brand, raises $10 million

Somnee, a leader in sleep technology delivering pioneering AI-powered neurotech and software, announced it has raised $10 million in a seed extension round. Somnee was launched in 2022 by renowned sleep expert, Dr. Matt Walker, PhD, and an esteemed group of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, LEAD VC (founded by the Adidas family), the NBA’s Orlando Magic ownership group (DeVos family), Seaside Ventures, Nelstone Ventures, and Metalab, among others. The Somnee Smart Sleep headband combines clinically validated neuroscience and award-winning AI-powered neurotechnology to enhance the brain’s optimal sleep signals naturally and has been proven to help people fall asleep faster, reduce nighttime awakenings, and improve overall deep sleep quality.

Sauz, tomato sauce brand, raises $12 million

Sauz, the brand known for ushering in ‘a new generation of tomato sauce’, announced that the company has successfully closed a $12 million funding round led by CAVU Consumer Partners, a leading growth equity fund widely known for backing and building iconic consumer brands. The round also included investment from existing partners such as Coefficient Capital, Palm Tree Crew and Strand Equity. Sauz aims to use the capital from this raise to catalyze marketing, awareness, innovation and distribution growth. Consumers can expect to see more retail openings, additional new flavor SKUs and a larger online footprint by the end of 2025. Launched in 2023 by childhood best friends, SAUZ has quickly distinguished itself as a disruptor in the pasta sauce category with its vibrant packaging and unique flavors. Founded on the belief that pasta night should never be boring, SAUZ delivers restaurant-quality sauces with a twist—think Hot Honey Marinara, Brown Butter Alfredo, and Summer Lemon Marinara.

Food & Beverage

Conagra to sell seafood brands Van de Kamp’s and Mrs. Paul’s for $55M

Conagra Brands reached a deal to sell its Van de Kamp’s and Mrs. Paul’s brands to seafood producer High Liner Foods for $55 million. The transaction allows Conagra to “further focus our efforts on strengthening our core frozen offerings,” Sean Connolly, Conagra’s president and CEO, said in a statement. The two frozen seafood brands contributed approximately $75 million to Conagra’s fiscal year 2024 net sales. The sale marks the latest divestiture for the Chicago-based food manufacturer as it aims to streamline its portfolio and lower its debt. Earlier this week, Conagra closed on the sale of Chef Boyardee to Hometown Food for $600 million.

Grocery & Restaurants

Bojangles considering $1.5 billion sale, according to Wall Street Journal report

Bojangles, one of the most iconic brands in the Carolinas, could soon have a new owner. According to the Wall Street Journal, Bojangles is considering a possible sale. The Charlotte-based fried chicken chain could fetch over $1.5 billion, more than three times what it sold for in a 2019 buyout by Durational Capital Management LP and the Jordan Company, L.P. However, sources told the WSJ it’s also possible that the company will decide not to sell at all.

Apollo, Irth Capital look to take Papa Johns private

Apollo and a Qatari investment fund have made a bid for Papa John’s that would value the pizza chain at around $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s an unlikely pairing: Apollo, one of Wall Street’s deepest pockets; and Irth Capital, which is backed by Sheikh Mohamed al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, and managed just $190 million as of Dec. 31, regulatory filings show. With Papa John’s stock now trading around $48 a share, the consortium made a bid in the low $60s, people familiar with the matter said. Irth brings a 5% stake in Papa John’s and some expertise in buying consumer brands in need of a turnaround. One of its cofounders bought mattress maker Casper in 2021 and Bojangles, the fried-chicken house, in 2017. But the smaller fund still needs to sort out its financing, and it’s possible that Apollo could go at it alone, according to people familiar with the matter.

Home & Road

GSC Completes Bolt-On Acquisition of F&M Tool and Plastic

GSC Technologies, Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of F&M Tool and Plastic, Inc. This transaction for GSC will fuel the company’s next phase of growth. Both GSC and F&M are leading manufacturers of plastic goods in North America. F&M Tool and Plastics, located in Leominster, MA, USA, is a growing plastic injection molding company. In 2008, F&M designed, developed, and tooled a complete line of plastic storage products, Bella Storage Solution. Founded in 1982 with a single plastic molding machine, GSC Technologies, Inc. is a leading and groundbreaking manufacturer of plastic goods in North America focused on environmentally aware plastic solutions for organizing daily life today and in the future. Based in Quebec, Canada, GSC designs and manufactures attractive, practical storage and organization lifestyle products for better modern living.

RH Beats Q1 Earnings Forecast, Maintains Annual Guidance

After a first quarter in which earnings exceeded analyst estimates, Restoration Hardware stated that it is holding the line on annual guidance, even if it expects to take a bit of a revenue hit in Q2. Net income was $8 million, or 40 cents per diluted share, versus a net loss of $3.6 million, or 20 cents per diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter, the company reported. Adjusted for one-time events, net income was $2.6 million, or 13 cents per diluted share, versus a net loss of $7.3 million, or 40 cents per diluted share, in the year-prior period. A Zacks Investment Research analyst consensus estimate called for a first-quarter loss of nine cents per share on revenues of $818.9 million. Net revenues were $814 million versus $727 million in the year-previous quarter. Operating income was $55.9 million versus $54.7 million in the year-before period, while adjusted operating income was $56.8 million versus $47.2 million.

Jewelry & Luxury

Former Expedia CEO Peter Kern to rescue Italian lingerie company La Perla

Italy’s troubled luxury lingerie company La Perla will be rescued and taken over by Peter Kern, the former chief executive of U.S. travel technology company Expedia, the Italian government said. Kern submitted the best offer for the firm through his luxury holding LLC, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said after a meeting with trade unions and the future new ownership. The U.S. manager committed to investing around 30 million euros ($34.31 million) by 2027, avoiding redundancies and reviving production at La Perla’s factory in the northern city of Bologna, the minister added. La Perla was run by the family of its founder, Ada Masotti, until 2008, when it was sold to San Francisco-based buyout firm JH Partners, which already held a controlling stake.

Tabayer Names Mary Chiam as CEO

Tabayer has appointed Mary Chiam as its new CEO, effective immediately. With more than 20 years of experience in the fashion and luxury industries, Chiam brings a track record rooted in innovative scaling strategies centered around product, retail, and technology development to the position, said Tabayer, along with enhancing the end-to-end luxury experience. She will work closely with Nigora Tokhtabayeva, founder and creative director of Tabayer, to focus on growth to support product development and retail partners. “We are delighted to welcome Mary as our new CEO. Her deep understanding of the luxury jewelry landscape and her thoughtful leadership will undoubtedly elevate Tabayer to new heights,” said Tokhtabayeva.

RDI Diamonds Partners With Lavalier

Diamond wholesaler RDI Diamonds has partnered with Lavalier Personal Jewelry Insurance. Through the collaboration, RDI retailers can introduce their customers to Lavalier personal jewelry insurance, which is used by brands including Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Jared. The partnership, a wholesale diamond distributor and a personal jewelry insurance provider uniting in a way that benefits the consumer and the retailer, is an industry first, said RDI. “Lavalier chose RDI Diamonds as a partner because of their forward-thinking mindset and long-standing dedication to supporting their retail partners,” said Lorelle Henry, vice president and sales manager of Berkley Asset Protection, which Lavalier is a product of. “This partnership brings the same level of protection we offer through national retailers to independent jewelers backed by the strength and vision of RDI.”

Office & Leisure

Vireo Growth Inc. Announces Closing of Deep Roots Harvest Acquisition in Nevada

Vireo Growth announced that it has closed its previously announced transaction to acquire Nevada-based Deep Roots Holdings. Deep Roots was founded in 2023 and is a consistently solid operator in Nevada’s mature cannabis market, with a 54,000 square foot cultivation and manufacturing facility and ten active retail dispensaries. The company maintains strong relative performance due to favorable contributions from strategically situated stores in Southern Nevada (on the Utah border). The company also holds investments in a retail chain in California and a vertical operator in both Ohio and Massachusetts.

Sunstone offloads New Orleans Hilton for $47M

Sunstone Hotel Investors sold the 252-room Hilton New Orleans St. Charles for $47 million, or approximately $187,000 per key, the real estate investment trust announced. Transaction terms, including the buyer, were undisclosed, and Sunstone could not be reached for a Hotel Dive request for comment. With the disposition, Irvine, California-based Sunstone avoids near-term capital expenditures on the hotel, including a renovation that will be required to “maintain its competitive position and sustain its current level of earnings,” the REIT detailed in a news release.

Technology & Internet

U.S. online stores put ‘out of stock’ signs as Nintendo Switch 2 sales hit record highs

Nintendo sold more than 3.5 million units of its flagship Switch 2 gaming system in the four days following its launch, with online stores of major U.S. retailers putting up “out of stock” signs. The record-breaking start for the company’s first new console in eight years puts Nintendo on the path to realizing its aim of selling 15 million units of the Switch 2 console in the fiscal year ending March 2026. However, analysts continue to believe that those expectations are modest and forecast the strong initial demand to sustain. The Switch 2, released on June 5, has been met with considerable fanfare, with people lining up for hours ahead of midnight releases at Nintendo stores. The record initial sales of the Switch are in line with the strong demand analysts had predicted. However, the rush has put into question Nintendo’s ability to meet demand.

Amazon reorganizes health-care business in latest bid to crack multitrillion-dollar market

For the better part of a decade, Amazon has been trying to carve its way into the U.S. health-care market, through billions of dollars worth of acquisitions, big-name hires, and high-profile partnerships. It’s been a slog at times, and the company’s long-term strategy hasn’t always been clear. Following a series of executive departures, Amazon is now restructuring its health business, telling CNBC that Amazon Health Services will be divided into six new units, with a goal of creating a simpler structure. Amazon has for years been on a mission to crack the multitrillion-dollar U.S. health-care industry, which is notoriously complex and inefficient.

Finance & Economy

The $11 trillion gap between White House and economists on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill

An array of economists — from the Congressional Budget Office to the Tax Foundation to the Penn-Wharton Budget Model — have reached a similar conclusion: Trump’s signature legislation comes with a price tag in the neighborhood of $3 trillion over the next decade. They’re all wrong, the White House says. And not just by a little. President Trump and his aides have instead offered claims that the bill will make money and that the final tally for both the tax-cutting legislation and other parts of the Trump agenda will usher in a new golden age not just for the US economy but also for government debt. The claims from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue go as high as $8 trillion in black ink (an $11 trillion chasm with the experts) in claims that go beyond what even Capitol Hill Republicans are projecting.

Mild CPI inflation reading not likely to shake the Fed’s wait-and-see stance on tariffs

A cooler-than-expected inflation reading from May 2025 is not likely to shake the view of most Federal Reserve policymakers that rates should stay on hold until there is more clarity about the impact of President Trump’s tariffs. Some economists were expecting to see higher costs from those tariffs showing up in the CPI report released June 4, 2025, but instead, CPI showed that inflation pressures were relatively stable and even eased on a monthly basis. The “core” measure of CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 2.8% over the past year in May 2025, matching April. Monthly core prices increased 0.1%, a touch below April’s 0.2% gain.

U.S. budget deficit hit $316 billion in May, with annual shortfall up 14% from a year ago

The U.S. government drifted further into red ink in May 2025, with a burgeoning debt and deficit issue getting worse, the Treasury Department reported. After running a short-lived surplus in April thanks to tax season receipts, the deficit totaled just more than $316 billion for the month, taking the year-to-date total to $1.36 trillion. The annual tally was 14% higher than a year ago, though the May 2025 total was 9% less than the May 2024 shortfall. Surging financing costs were again a major contributor to fiscal issues, with interest on the $36.2 trillion debt topping $92 billion. Interest expenses on net exceeded all other outlays except for Medicare and Social Security. Debt financing is expected to run above $1.2 trillion for this fiscal year, totaling $776 billion through the first eight months of the fiscal year.

Continuing jobless claims reach highest level since November 2021

Claims for unemployment benefits remained at their highest level in eight months during the first full week of June 2025, while the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance on an ongoing basis reached the highest level since November 2021. Data from the Department of Labor showed 248,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending June 7, 2025, flat from the week prior and above economists’ expectations for 242,000. Meanwhile, 1.956 million continuing claims were filed, up from 1.902 million the week prior and the highest level seen since November 2021. Economists see an increase in continuing claims as a sign that those out of work are taking longer to find new jobs.