Apparel & Footwear

Versace CEO Steps Down After Four Years

Prada Group announced that Emmanuel Gintzburger has stepped down as Versace’s CEO amid Prada’s acquisition of the Italian fashion brand. Emmanuel first joined Versace as CEO in 2022 following six years as head executive at Alexander McQueen. Additionally, he held leadership positions at major fashion labels like Saint Laurent, Lanvin and Sephora. During his time at Versace, he was instrumental in several company transitions, including the transfer of ownership from Capri Holdings to Prada as well as the departure of Creative Director Donatella Versace, who was succeeded by Dario Yitale last year.

Dana-co Acquires Lunya, Expanding Footprint in Premium Sleepwear and Lifestyle Market

Dana-co LLC, a New York-based intimate apparel company that partners with and manages premium brands, has acquired the sleepwear and lifestyle brand Lunya. The acquisition marks a milestone for Dana-co as the company celebrates its 25th year in business and continues to expand its presence across intimate apparel, sleepwear and lifestyle categories. Lunya was acquired from its founder and owner Ashley Merrill, effective June 12, and the purchase price wasn’t disclosed. The Lunya brand previously had stores, but now will be strictly direct-to consumer, via e-commerce, and a wholesale operation.

Sporting Goods & Leisure

Chandler Bats Acquired by Marucci Sports Co-Founder’s Investment Firm

Chandler Bats, based in East Norriton, PA, has been acquired by CoverFour, a Baton Rouge, LA-based sports investment firm led by CEO Joe Lawrence, a former professional baseball player and a co-founder of Marucci Sports. Chandler Bats was founded in 2009 and acquired by Major League Baseball player Yoenis Céspedes in 2019 following a bankruptcy filing.  Chandler Bats’ wood bats have reportedly been used by top players for Major League Baseball, including Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.  CoverFour plans to focus on athlete-led product innovation, direct-to-consumer and retail sales growth, expanded manufacturing capacity and international market expansion.

Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming Secures Strategic Investment From Great Hill Partners

Pet supply and grooming retailer Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming has received a new investment from the Boston-based investment firm Great Hill Partners.  Great Hill’s investment and partnership are designed to build on Woof Gang’s existing momentum by deepening franchisee support infrastructure, expanding into new markets, and investing in the digital marketing capabilities needed to drive national brand awareness, company officials said.  Great Hill joins existing investor Garnett Station Partners, which remains a partner in Woof Gang’s continued growth.

Port 32 Marinas Takes Over Acme Marinas, Creating 17 Properties in Iconic Superyacht Destinations

Port 32 Marinas, which already operates 10 facilities in North Carolina and Florida for yacht and megayacht owners, has nearly doubled its holdings. Having taken over Acme Marinas, it now has approximately 4,000 slips across 17 locations. In fact, the seven newest marinas are among the most popular with East Coast cruisers.  Acme’s portfolio comprises high-demand destinations in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, and Florida’s Gulf Coast. Superyacht owners, captains, and crew particularly seek out Vineyard Haven Marina (below), Coinjock Marina & Restaurant (above), and MacDougall’s Cape Code Marine Service, all in Massachusetts, along with Sag Harbor Yacht Yard in New York and Annapolis Landing Marina in Maryland. Although Acme’s Gulf Coast property in Sanibel can’t accommodate these large yachts, it’s a well-known, longstanding marina.

Cosmetics & Pharmacy

L Catterton Reinforces Its Expert-Led Brand Thesis With Rōz Investment

L Catterton has taken a significant minority stake in Rōz, confident that the credibility founder Mara Roszak has cultivated over two decades as a celebrity hairstylist can translate into lasting consumer loyalty. The investment comes amid strong demand for leading haircare assets and follows L Catterton’s funding of Remedy, another brand centered on the expertise of its founder, dermatologist Muneeb Shah, reinforcing the firm’s belief that brands rooted in founder authority can have a durable competitive advantage. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, although Business of Fashion reported Rōz is projected to quadruple its sales to $35 million in 2026.

Glossier secures $45M in debt financing

Glossier has secured a $45 million revolving credit facility from Tiger Finance, according to a press release. There were few specifics on how Glossier would deploy the capital, though CEO Colin Walsh said the financing would support “the next chapter of Glossier’s growth, enabling us to deepen our connection with customers and continue creating meaningful experiences that inspire lasting brand love around the world.” Glossier, which launched in 2014 amid the DTC craze, last raised $80 million in 2021.

Bath & Body Works expands distribution through Ulta Beauty partnership

Bath & Body Works is expanding beyond its traditional retail footprint through a new partnership with Ulta Beauty, bringing a curated assortment of its body care and home fragrance products to more than 600 Ulta Beauty stores nationwide beginning July 12. As part of the partnership, customers will be able to shop a selection of Bath & Body Works’ best-selling fragrances, body care products and home scent collections in-store and online. Bath & Body Works said it has already seen encouraging early results from selective and strategic marketplace expansion, reinforcing demand for the brand in new shopping environments.

Discounters & Department Stores

Walmart gets bullish on advertising business with Vibe.co acquisition

Walmart agreed to acquire connected TV advertising platform Vibe.co in order to advance the mass retailer’s full-funnel advertising strategy through Walmart Connect. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, though The Wall Street Journal has reported that the retailer is paying $1.4 billion for Vibe.co. The Vibe.co agreement comes about two years after Walmart acquired TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion. The move comes as advertising revenue becomes more important for retailers. Walmart’s first-quarter global advertising business grew 50% year over year, with Walmart Connect in the U.S. increasing 31%, per a May release.

Target to open 11 stores in July

Target will open 11 new stores across the U.S. in July, adding to the retailer’s goal of opening 30 in 2026. The new locations top Target’s 125,000-square-foot chain average, according to a company announcement. The 11 new Target stores will be in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah. Six of those locations are over 140,000 square feet and many include Target’s newest “food-forward selection of fresh and affordable produce, meat and dairy,” per the announcement. Target is working on a turnaround strategy under CEO Michael Fiddelke that includes a goal to open 300 locations by 2035. Following several quarters of declining sales and store traffic, the retailer’s first quarter net sales increased 6.7% year over year to $25.4 billion. Merchandise sales grew 6.4% and comparable traffic increased 4.4% during the period.

Emerging Consumer Companies

Halo, hair styling brand, announces $7 million in funding

Halo, a company creating products for textured hair, announced $7 million in funding to introduce the world’s first braid assist device, HaloBraid. HaloBraid’s technology helps stylists complete braids quickly, consistently, and gently. A stylist has full creative control; they start each braid by hand, and HaloBraid finishes it 5x faster while matching their braid style. The seed round was led by Seven Seven Six, Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm, with participation from AlleyCorp and Bling Capital. The funding will accelerate product development, stylist testing, manufacturing-readiness, and salon partnerships.

Algae Cooking Club raises $11.6M for its algae-based cooking oils

Algae Cooking Club (ACC), a Los Angeles-based maker of chef-grade cooking oils derived from algae, has raised $11.6 million in fresh funding. The round surfaced via a Form D filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 8. Founded in 2023 by Kasra Saidi, ACC sells a line of oils built around a single hero ingredient: algae. ACC’s early-stage round reflects continued investor appetite for better-for-you, sustainability-driven food brands, with the company leaning on its algae oil’s high smoke point and omega-9 profile to court chefs and health-conscious cooks.

Food & Beverage

Danone to acquire MADE Group to accelerate APAC nutrition growth

Danone has agreed to acquire Australian health food company MADE Group and buy out its remaining stake in a fresh dairy joint venture with Saputo Dairy Australia, strengthening its position in the fast-growing healthy nutrition market across Asia Pacific. The transactions are expected to be completed in the second half of 2026 and will add a business generating more than €300m in annual sales to Danone’s portfolio. Danone has said the acquisition will enhance operating margins and earnings per share from the first year.

Hoffmann Family of Companies Acquires Cedar Crest Ice Cream

Hoffmann Family of Companies (“HF Companies”) announced its acquisition of Cedar Crest Ice Cream, an iconic, multi-generational dairy business with deep roots across the Midwest. Headquartered in Winnetka, Illinois, HF Companies also owns Oberweis Dairy, another beloved regional brand known for its quality and heritage. As part of the transaction, Renato DePaolis, CEO of Oberweis Dairy, will assume leadership of Cedar Crest, bringing together two heritage brands with longstanding reputations for quality.

US RTD cocktails surge as category nears 80m cases

Spirit-based ready-to-drink cocktails are making big inroads into the US alcohol market, according to figures from Impact Databank. The category grew by more than 10 million cases in 2025 to nearly 80 million cases, reflecting changing public attitudes on how they consume spirits. And the evidence is that the category is becoming a firm part of consumers’ repertoires rather than an experimental or passing fad. Rather than exotic flavours, the most solid gains came from simple combinations such as vodka and iced tea, spirit and seltzer drinks and packaged versions of classic cocktails.

Grocery & Restaurants

Hopdoddy is being sold to the owner of Chopt and Dos Toros

Founders Table Restaurant Group said on Wednesday that it is acquiring the Austin, Texas-based Hopdoddy. Hopdoddy is a fast-casual burger chain with 47 locations across the U.S., including 30 in Texas. The company generated $138 million in system sales and its restaurants average nearly $2.9 million in sales per location, according to data from Technomic. The “better burger” chain is known not just for its burgers but for a bar menu that enables it to sell boozy shakes, margaritas, and local craft beer. Founders Table, meanwhile, is quietly building an interesting roster of fast-casual chains. The company already owns Chopt, Dos Toros, Field Trip, and Protein Bar.

Surging LongHorn Steakhouse powers growth for Darden

LongHorn Steakhouse is on a tear. Same-store sales at the 618-unit steak chain surged by 9.5% year over year in the quarter ended May 31, driven by traffic growth of 4.2%. It was LongHorn’s best same-store sales performance since the fourth quarter of 2022 and followed a 7.2% increase in the prior quarter. LongHorn’s total sales grew nearly 22%, to more than $1 billion in the quarter, a first for the chain. Executives for parent company Darden Restaurants credited a record Mother’s Day as well as strong demand for lamb chops. That was driven in part by a viral social media post that teased the return of the popular seasonal protein. Aside from those seasonal sales boosters, Darden CEO Rick Cardenas said 10 years’ worth of food and service investments at LongHorn are paying off. The chain’s food quality scores are higher than ever, and service continues to improve, he said.

Home & Road

Portmeirion Group raises £18.6M, plans Spode rebrand

Portmeirion Group PLC has raised £17 million through a financial placing that it says will shore up its finances and enable it to continue funding its financial transformation plan. A subsequent retail offer raised an additional £1.6 million, bringing the total amount of equity raised to £18.6 million. A placing is the allocation of securities to a limited number of institutional or other selected investors, as opposed to a public offering of shares, according to LexisNexis. All the company’s directors participated in the placing, the company said. Portmeirion PLC recorded profitable years between its 2019 and 2024 fiscal years, but posted losses in fiscal 2025, citing the challenges of U.S. tariffs and “related disruption,” UK energy pricing and the industry introduction of non-lithium glaze, which affected yields. Other headwinds included employment tax changes, having to operate with a constrained balance sheet, inefficient factory economics and over-reliance on the U.S. and Korean markets, Portmeirion PLC said.

MillerKnoll Shares Surge, After Swinging to Net Profit in Q4, Notes Positive Middle East Performance

Amid a challenging macroeconomic climate, American design furniture conglomerate MillerKnoll swung to a positive net earnings position in its fiscal fourth quarter. In the three-month period ended May 30, the Zeeland, Mich.-based firm — whose portfolio includes heritage brands like Knoll, Herman Miller, online platform Design Within Reach and Holly Hunt, Copenhagen-based design firm Muuto and textile firm Maharam — said Wednesday an improved performance in its North American contract business and global retail sales helped boost net profit to $23.6 million, versus a $57.1 million loss in the same period a year earlier. In the fourth quarter, sales rose to $1 billion, up 4.4 percent versus the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025. This exceeded analyst estimates of $973.9 million. Earnings per share of 55 cents beat analyst estimates by 6.8 percent.

Jewelry & Luxury

Global luxury stabilizes amid compounding disruptions as brands race to amplify meaning and rebuild relevance

The global luxury sector enters the second half of 2026 confronting a compounding polycrisis of economic volatility, geopolitical turbulence, and deep cultural shifts, even as underlying fundamentals point to a gradual stabilization, Bain & Company, in partnership with Altagamma, the Italian luxury goods manufacturers’ industry association, reported. Worldwide luxury spending reached €1,443 billion in 2025 and is on a trajectory of gradual stabilization in 2026, according to the spring update of the Bain-Altagamma Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study. The study maps a market shaped by four interconnected forces: amplifying experiences over ownership, rebalancing growth engines across geographies, evolving consumer meanings of luxury, and rapidly shuffling go-to-customer funnels disrupted by artificial intelligence.

Analysts Reduce 2026 Gold Forecast as Price Tumbles to New Low

The spot price of gold fell below $4,000 per ounce on Wednesday, dropping to a new low for 2026 and leading at least one firm to lower its price forecast for the second half of the year. Gold was at $3,965.20—its low for the year—in early trading on Wednesday. At JCK’s press time, it was trading at 4,027.10. The spot price had hit an all-time high of $5,594.82 on Jan. 28. ING commodities strategist Ewa Manthey shared a report with JCK that said ING now sees gold prices averaging $4,300 per ounce for the third quarter and $4,600 an ounce in the fourth quarter. The financial services firm previously forecast $4,850 for the third quarter and $5,000 for the fourth quarter. “While we remain constructive on gold over the medium term, the near-term environment has become more challenging. As a result, we are lowering our gold price forecasts,” Manthey wrote on an ING website Wednesday.

Technology & Internet

Apple stock posts worst day in over a year after price hikes on MacBook and iPad

Apple on Thursday announced price hikes on MacBooks and iPads, its first formal move to pass higher memory and storage costs on to consumers after CEO Tim Cook said increases had become unavoidable. Shares of the company closed more than 6% lower on Thursday after the price change, the worst fall since April 2025. Apple’s online store briefly went down Thursday morning and updated with the price changes. “The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge,” the company said in a statement. “The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.” Apple added that it has “reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products,” leaving the door open to more increases down the line. “We know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions,” the company said.

Meta Glasses are new smart glasses starting at $299; Zuckerberg keeps pushing wearables

Meta on Tuesday announced a new set of $299 smart glasses, at least $80 less than the price tag for the company’s entry-level second-generation Meta Ray-Ban glasses, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues his push into wearables. The Meta Glasses come with new designs and are built in partnership with Ray-Ban parent EssilorLuxottica , but they don’t come with Ray-Ban or Oakley branding. Meta is aggressively marketing its smart glasses to consumers as eyewear competition heats up and consumers find more value in augmented reality devices. Though the smart glasses market is still small, Meta and EssilorLuxottica dominate it, with estimated market share of more than 80% and millions of units sold since they first launched in 2021.

Finance & Economy

Key inflation gauge jumps to 3-year high in latest sign of affordability challenges

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose to a new three-year high in May as gas prices peaked, a sign rising costs could pose political problems for President Donald Trump and his political party as midterm elections near.  Consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said, the largest annual increase since April 2023. On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.4% last month, matching April’s increase and down from 0.7% in March.  The increase was largely driven by more expensive gas, as well as pricier semiconductors and other computer equipment that are in high demand for the AI buildout.

Factory job cuts in June neared financial crisis and Covid levels, S&P says

Job cuts at U.S. factories ran near their highest levels since the end of the global financial crisis in 2009 and the Covid-19 pandemic as worries grew over global demand and rising costs, S&P Global reported.  Though the firm’s manufacturing index ran better than expected for June, it came largely from an inventory rebuild and despite sharp job cuts that were the most since 2009 — excluding the massive labor reductions at the onset of the Covid crisis in 2020.  Manufacturers have indicated job cuts for three of the past four months as they seek to reduce headcount over costs and demand concerns.