Apparel & Footwear

Shoe Carnival changes corporate name to Shoe Station Group

Shoe Carnival Inc. will officially change its corporate name to Shoe Station Group Inc. and begin trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “SHOE,” effective June 12. The retailer will continue to operate a multibanner business, with both the Shoe Station and Shoe Carnival names, as previously announced in May. That marked a reversal from the company’s pursuit of a single banner strategy that would have shifted many Shoe Carnival stores to Shoe Station. The company’s net sales for the first quarter dropped 2.5% year over year to about $271 million and it swung from net income to a net loss of $5.6 million.

Abercrombie & Fitch begins selling third-party shoe brands in latest bid to chase growth

Abercrombie & Fitch is expanding into new categories and has begun selling footwear from external brands. Since partnering with Sperry in April to sell select apparel and footwear styles from the brand online and in stores, Abercrombie has expanded and is now offering shoes from Puma, Frye, Hunter and GH Bass. For now, the only place Abercrombie is offering all of the brands together is at its new 10,000-square-foot outpost in New York City where they launched for the first time in June. If the release performs well, the company could expand the full range of brands to more stores and online in the future. Currently, the only outside brands Abercrombie is selling online are Puma and Sperry.

Human Made to Acquire Jun Takahashi’s Undercover

Human Made Corporation, the company founded by Japanese streetwear pioneer Nigo, has signed an agreement to acquire Undercover, the cult fashion label founded and independently owned by Jun Takahashi. The agreement, which is non-binding at this stage, with a share purchase agreement targeted for September 2026 and the full transfer planned for February 2027, connects two of Japanese fashion’s most visionary figures. The deal comes less than a year since Human Made launched a historic IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, becoming the first streetwear brand to go public there. The company generated annual revenues of JPY 14.27 billion ($89.14 million) in fiscal year 2026, representing a 26.8% increase from JPY 11.26 billion ($70.33 million) the previous year.

Sporting Goods & Leisure

L Catterton Eyes Stake in HYROX

L Catterton is reportedly in talks to acquire a major stake in HYROX, according to Sky News.  Turning hybrid fitness into a mass-participation event, more than 1.3M people competed in 140 HYROX events worldwide over the last 12 months.  Evolving CrossFit’s model, HYROX simplified competitive fitness with a standardized format that’s easier to train for, benchmark, and repeat. More than a race series, HYROX is building an ecosystem around training, equipment, apparel, and community — including 13K affiliated training clubs, dedicated Performance Centers, and partnerships with PUMA and Centr.

Bass Pro Shops Acquires Historic Cheeca Lodge

Bass Pro Shops, through its nature-based resorts division, has agreed to acquire the legendary Cheeca Lodge, one of the most historic and beloved fishing and sporting resorts in the Florida Keys for an undisclosed sale price.  Long recognized as a gathering place for anglers, adventurers and families seeking the timeless spirit of the Keys, Cheeca Lodge has welcomed generations of visitors drawn to Islamorada’s world-famous waters, natural beauty, and laid-back hospitality.  Cheeca Lodge reinforces Bass Pro Shops’ ongoing commitment to hospitality through world-class nature-based properties. Referred to as America’s Premier Wilderness Resort, Bass Pro’s flagship Big Cedar Lodge in the Missouri Ozarks hosts 7.5 million guests annually.

Frasers Group Moves to Takeover Accent Group Down Under

Frasers Group plc, the UK-based parent of Sports Direct, is looking to expand its presence Down Under as it moves to acquire the balance of the shares of Australia-based footwear retailer and wholesaler Accent that it does not already own. Frasers has reported via the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that it has made an all-cash on-market takeover offer to acquire all of the fully paid ordinary shares that it does not hold in the issued share capital of Accent Group Limited at a price of A$0.65 per Accent share. Frasers said that based on the number of Accent shares currently in issue, it holds 22.9 percent of the fully paid ordinary shares in the issued capital of Accent. In addition to running retail stores, including The Athlete’s Foot and Sports Direct, Accent Group is also the exclusive distributor in Australia and New Zealand for the Dickies, Dr. Martens, Hoka, Lacoste, Merrell, Saucony, Skechers, Timberland, Ugg, and Vans brands.

Cosmetics & Pharmacy

L’Oréal bets on digital-first India with Innovist majority stake

L’Oréal has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Innovist, a digital-first Indian personal care house of brands. The strategic move is part of L’Oréal’s planned expansion in India’s fast-growing beauty industry. L’Oréal says the decision complements its portfolio with local brands tailored for Indian consumers. In 2025, L’Oréal announced plans to significantly expand its India business operations over the next few years. It positions the country as a central hub in its global growth strategy.

ELF Expands into Haircare

ELF has entered the hair care category with a six-piece “prestige-quality” portfolio. The move aims to bring luxury-standard products into everyday beauty rotations with their accessible price points. According to ELF, the launch addresses consumer demands for affordable hair care, with 77% of those in the company’s community expressing purchase intention of hair care products.

Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc Completes Acquisition of Breathe Right

Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. announced that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of the Breathe Right brand. The closing was finalized pursuant to the terms of the asset purchase agreement, announced on March 20, 2026, under which Prestige agreed to acquire Breathe Right and certain other brands from Foundation Consumer Healthcare for $1.045 billion, or approximately $900 million net of anticipated tax benefits valued at $150 million. Breathe Right, created in the 1990s, is an iconic #1 brand synonymous with the nasal strip category. It will become the company’s largest brand and represents expansion into a new category for Prestige. Prestige financed the transaction with a combination of available cash on hand and a completed financing of a new Term Loan B.

Discounters & Department Stores

SGM sells BHV Marais to department store’s management team

The Société des Grands Magasins (“SGM”), which acquired BHV Marais from Galeries Lafayette in 2023, said in a statement on June 16 that it had accepted a takeover offer led by the store’s current management team, headed by chief executive officer Karl-Stéphane Cottendin, “with the commitment and participation of a large portion of its employees.” The new ownership group includes marketing director Valérie Chaleyssin, artistic director Medy Ty and human resources director Elodie Nho. Together they plan to refocus the 170-year-old Paris institution on its historic strengths in homeware, DIY, decoration, furniture and lifestyle categories.

Emerging Consumer Companies

REMEDY Secures $20 Million in Series A Funding

Dermatologist-developed skincare brand Remedy has closed a $20 million Series A funding round led by consumer-focused private equity firm L Catterton. The investment round also saw participation from new investor Sonoma Brands Capital alongside existing investor Norwest, which previously led the company’s seed round. The fresh capital injection will be used to scale Remedy’s operations, fund clinical research, expand its product pipeline, and build out its team. The brand also intends to bolster its inventory depth to support its current retail channels.

Rhoback, active lifestyle apparel brand, raises $50 million

Rhoback, the active lifestyle brand known for its distinctive dog logo and premium apparel, announced a strategic investment from CHAMP, the newly launched strategic partnership between L Catterton, Patricof, and more than 250 of the world’s most recognizable athletes, designed to pursue a universe of brands across the consumer landscape where deeply aligned athlete involvement can step-function growth. The investment establishes Rhoback as CHAMP’s first partnership and brings CHAMP on board as a strategic partner to help accelerate the brand’s next phase of growth, while the company’s co-founders retain control of the business and continue to guide its long-term vision and day-to-day operations.

Food & Beverage

VMG Partners invests in US collagen-bar firm Stars + Honey

Private-equity firm VMG Partners has taken a “minority” stake in US collagen protein bar brand Stars + Honey. Stars + Honey said that VMG Partners has invested $24m in the business, which was founded by CEO Daniel Rainey in 2023 and remains the majority shareholder. The brand is currently sold only on StarsandHoney.com and Amazon, but the company stated that it will “soon debut in its first-ever retailer at the end of this month”.  It said in the statement the funding will be used to build a new 60,000 square foot manufacturing facility, which will “allow the brand to build the operational infrastructure needed to support national scale”.

Kraft Heinz overhauls operating structure to accelerate growth

Kraft Heinz is cutting senior leadership roles as part of an overhaul to its operating structure, which the food maker said will help accelerate growth and use resources more effectively. The Philadelphia cream cheese and Jell-O owner said it will consolidate global businesses into the following three regions on July 1: North America, Europe and Pacific Developed Markets and Emerging Markets. As consumers shift away from processed foods and cut down on spending due to inflation, few companies have been hit as hard as Kraft Heinz. Steve Cahillane, former head of Kellanova, took over as Kraft Heinz’s CEO in January and wasted little time making changes to the storied food manufacturer.

AeroFarms gets new owner with former Kraft Heinz exec as CEO

Vertical-farming business AeroFarms has been acquired by a unit of the family-run investment firm Palm Ventures. Virginia-based AeroFarms, which grows leafy greens in a controlled indoor environment, said the move “significantly reduces AeroFarms’ debt, prioritises sustainable growth and long-term profitability”. Financial terms were not disclosed. AeroFarms also has a new management team led by former Kraft Heinz executive Gustavo Burger as the CEO.

Grocery & Restaurants

Pizza Hut to be sold to LongRange Capital

Pizza Hut is being sold to both LongRange Capital and Yum China in two separate deals for $2.7 billion, parent company Yum Brands said on Tuesday. Yum launched a formal strategic review of the Pizza Hut chain in November, in which parent company Yum Brands disclosed it was considering a possible sale or other divestiture options as the business continued to face ongoing sales and market share declines in its core U.S. market. Yum will sell Pizza Hut outside of China to LongRange for approximately $1.5 billion. Additionally, Yum has the opportunity to receive an earn-out of $75 million by 2030. Yum will sell Pizza Hut China to Yum China for approximately $1.2 billion. Across the two transactions, Yum expects to receive approximately $2.3 billion of net proceeds after taxes, closing adjustments and transaction-contingent fees, excluding the earn-out.

Red Robin to sell 86 restaurants to franchisees for $72.5M

Red Robin is selling 86 more restaurants to franchisees as part of an ongoing effort to pay down debt. The company will get $72.5 million for the restaurants in two separate deals. Op Burgers will acquire 69 units in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia for $62.5 million. Kuber Oregon and Kuber Washington will acquire 17 units in Oregon and Washington for $10 million. Last month, Red Robin agreed to sell 30 locations in Washington and Idaho to Evergreen Dining for $23.5 million. After the transactions close, these groups will continue operating the restaurants as franchisees.

Home & Road

Retail segment leads the way in La-Z-Boy Q4

Retail expansion was pivotal to top-line results at La-Z-Boy Inc. during the fourth quarter. The company generated $570 million in total sales for the period ended April 25, flat against last year. The retail segment (company-owned La-Z-Boy stores) provided a bulwark, particularly the expanded store base. Written sales for retail rose 11%, driven by acquired and new stores. Written same-store sales slipped 2% as lower traffic was partially offset by higher conversions, average ticket and design sales. Delivered sales increased 9% to $270 million, primarily due to growth from acquired and new stores. La-Z-Boy’s wholesale business experienced modest declines across its businesses, pushing year-over-year sales down 2% to $393 million. Net income more than doubled to $33 million compared to $15 million in last year’s Q4, with diluted earnings per share coming in a $0.81 vs. $0.36 in last year’s Q4.

Consistent performance from Bob’s Discount earns it fastest growing in 2025

The competition for fastest-growing retailer tightened this year as 10 of the Top 100 scored in all five of the categories tracked to determine the honor. Bob’s Discount Furniture, which was the No. 4 fastest-growing furniture retailer last year, came out on top with a composite score of 475 on a 500-point scale, even though the national retailer failed to capture the top spot in any one category. Bob’s did, however, receive scores of 90 or higher across the board. Bob’s was fourth in units added with 20; ninth in unit growth at 10.6%; fourth in percentage increase in sales at 16.8% and second in net sales increase with nearly $340 million. Mattress Warehouse, meanwhile, was tops in three of its four indices — highest net units, highest unit percentage change and highest sales percentage change — to earn the No. 10 among the fastest growing and a repeat visit to the list. Mattress Warehouse added 200 stores in 2025, most through its acquisition of Mattress Firm and Sleep Outfitters locations because of the Tempur-Sealy/Mattress Firm transaction.

Furniture’s sales gap shrinks in May

After an April that saw furniture and home furnishings sales slip by more than three points, the category declined by significantly less in May according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s advance monthly estimates, which were published on June 17. For the month, the category totaled an adjusted estimated $11.222 billion, which was 1.2% off the adjusted revised $11.518 billion pace set in May 2025. However, the total was a full point ahead of April’s adjusted preliminary $11.115 billion sales figure. Through the first five months of 2026, the DOC says the furniture category has accumulated an unadjusted $53.685 billion, which is 3.1% down from 2025’s levels.

Jewelry & Luxury

Who Will Own De Beers? We May Know Soon

While we continue to wonder who will buy De Beers, the company’s CEO, Al Cook, says the industry will be “excited” by the new owner—even though he won’t say who it is. Anglo American set April 16 as the initial bid deadline for its 85% share of the company. In the nearly two months since then, there’s been little word on who will control the diamond giant. At last month’s JCK Las Vegas show, Cook said during a House of Botswana presentation that the new buyer will likely be a group of “countries that produce diamonds, or companies that love and understand diamonds…” He declined to put a timetable on when the sale will close. “I’m optimistic that in the very near future, we’ll see some positives,” he said. Cook confirmed reports that Namibia, Botswana, and Angola—three significant diamond producers who all brought large delegations to the JCK show—have all expressed interest in purchasing part of De Beers.

Mazarine Buys Luxury PR Firm Bacchus

Global creative group Mazarine has acquired luxury PR and digital agency Bacchus. The deal, announced Tuesday, adds the expertise of the high-end agency in engaging ultra-high-net-worth individuals to Mazarine’s offer at a time when luxury brands are contending with slower growth. As they seek to win back customers, many brands are focusing on wealthier clients who are seen as more immune to economic headwinds. In addition to creating events for very important clients, or VICs, Mazarine will be able to “identify and attract the ideal prospects to attend,” the agency said in a statement announcing the deal. For Bacchus, the transaction provides access to Mazarine’s events capabilities, as well as a network that spans luxury, art, fashion and culture.

Technology & Internet

Snap unveils $2,195 Specs AR glasses, Spiegel bets on post-smartphone

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is betting consumers are so tired of looking at smartphone screens that they’ll be willing to pay over $2,000 for augmented reality glasses that bring digital visuals into a user’s field of vision. “Almost 20 years since the launch of the iPhone, people are ready to think about computing differently,” Spiegel said in an interview with CNBC. On Tuesday, the Snap co-founder debuted Specs, his company’s first AR device geared toward the broader public instead of developers. At $2,195 with a $200 refundable deposit, Specs are more than 15 times the price of Snap’s $130 camera-only Spectacles that debuted in 2016 and never became a hit. “Specs really represents a way to use computing together in shared experiences in the real world, looking up through see-through lenses rather than at an opaque screen,” Spiegel said. The device is expected to ship later this year in the U.S., U.K. and France.

Fox to buy Roku for $22 billion

Fox Corp. has reached an agreement to acquire Roku for roughly $22 billion, marking another chapter in media consolidation as the industry grapples with changing dynamics and mounting challenges. On Monday, Fox announced it would acquire Roku for $160 per share in a cash-and-stock transaction. Fox plans to fund the cash portion of the deal with a combination of cash on hand and new debt. The company said it obtained a $12 billion loan for the transaction. The combination will bring together Fox’s news and sports channels as well as its free ad-supported streamer Tubi with Roku, the maker of streaming devices and also the home of The Roku Channel, a service similar to Tubi. In 2020 Fox acquired Tubi for $440 million. Murdoch said on Monday’s call with investors that the companies intend to keep Tubi and The Roku Channel separate after the deal closes. He called them “incredibly complementary services” that see about a third of overlap between their audiences.

Finance & Economy

Fed leaves interest rates unchanged but signals higher rates are ahead

The Federal Reserve is keeping its interest rate unchanged for the fourth-straight time but signaled that a rate hike is ahead.  Trump appointee Kevin Warsh led his first policy meeting as Fed chairman and quickly made his mark, revealing in a news conference a list of changes he plans to make.  President Donald Trump appointed Warsh to cut interest rates and has joked that he would sue his Fed chairman if he does not lower borrowing costs.  But many of Warsh’s colleagues signaled in their economic outlook that they anticipate hiking rates at some point this year.

Retail sales up a strong 0.9% in May, underscoring the resilience of the US consumer

Shoppers stepped up their spending in May and surpassed expectations as temperatures warmed and gasoline prices leveled off.  Retail sales rose 0.9%, up from a revised 0.4% gain in April, according to Commerce Department data. Sales got a boost from generous government tax refunds in both April and May, though economists say that cash cushion is starting to fade.  Excluding sales at gas stations, retail sales in May rose 0.7%.  The figures aren’t inflation-adjusted so higher prices likely helped boost sales. But economists point to healthy spending with increases that were broad-based. Business at clothing, accessory and furniture stores all posted sales gains. Online sales rose 1.5%.