Apparel & Footwear

Men’s Wearhouse owner Tailored Brands files publicly for US IPO

Menswear company Tailored Brands Inc. filed publicly for an initial public offering, marking the latest step in its return to public markets. The Houston, Texas-based company announced in late April that it had filed confidentially for an IPO. Its brands also include Moores and family retailer K&G Fashion Superstore. Tailored Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2020 after pandemic lockdowns kept office workers at home and curbed demand for business suits. By the end of that year, it had emerged from Chapter 11, eliminating $686 million of debt as part of the process. The company is now controlled by credit-focused hedge fund Silver Point Capital.

Alexandre Meerson appointed CEO of IKKS group

Under the leadership of investment firm MB.SC, the IKKS group is starting a new chapter with the appointment of Alexandre Meerson as CEO to lead the brand’s revival and accelerate its development. Meerson previously served as Sephora’s director of e-commerce for Europe and the Middle East. After leaving Sephora, Meerson joined the investment fund MB.SC as a partner in 2026. This appointment comes one month after the acquisition of IKKS by the MB.SC fund, which has launched a revival plan for the brand.

Sporting Goods & Leisure

Outward Hound acquired by H.I.G. Capital

Outward Hound announced that investment firm H.I.G. Capital has acquired majority ownership of the company. According to Outward Hound, the acquisition will provide it with additional support to build upon its dog and cat brands, accelerate product innovation, enhance customer partnerships and pursue additional opportunities in the pet category.   Founded in 2014, Outward Hound develops, manufactures and distributes pet treats, supplies and accessories through several brands, including pet treat brand Wholesome Pride, which it acquired in 2018.

Bond Vet and Small Door Merge to Form One of the Nation’s Largest Premium Veterinary Networks

Bond Vet and Small Door Veterinary, two New York-founded providers of premium pet care, have finalized a merger that creates one of the largest premium veterinary networks in the country. The combined company spans more than 55 clinics across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, serving over 500,000 pets with more than 1,000 team members, including 170+ veterinarians. Founded by Peyre and Josh Guttman in 2018, Small Door had raised a total of $118.5M in reported funding and is backed by investors that include Valspring Capital, Primary Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau, Toba Capital, C&S Family Capital, Alumni Ventures, Brand Foundry Ventures, FS Investors, and TriplePoint Capital.

Cosmetics & Pharmacy

David Beckhams Health Drink Startup IM8 Raises $1B in Funding

David Beckham’s startup IM8 has taken on $1 billion in funding from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund (CVF), the company announced on July 14. IM8 was co-founded by CEO Danny Yeung, who founded a health company called Prenetics that went public in 2022. IM8, a subsidiary owned by Prenetics, sells a vitamin drink stuffed with compounds linked to longevity that range from açai fruit extract to Coenzyme Q10. Customers buy the drink via subscriptions. CVF doesn’t make standard venture equity investments, but offers what are essentially loans with some non-traditional repayment terms. Startups funded by CVF repay the loan amount along with a fixed, capped percentage of the revenue they generate.

Macy’s Inc. taps Kering Beauté exec to lead Bluemercurv

Former Kering beauty executive Alexandre Choueiri will be chief executive officer of Bluemercury as of Aug. 3, Macy’s Inc. announced July 14. Choueiri will lead the beauty retailer’s “overall business and growth strategy, building on the brand’s position as a leading luxury beauty retailer,” the company said. Most recently, Choueiri was CEO and president of the Americas at Kering Beauté, overseeing its largest region. Before that, he had various leadership roles at L’Oréal, including as global president of Ralph Lauren fragrances.

Style Capital invests in French firm Essential Parfums

Style Capital, the Milan-based private equity firm specialising in fashion, luxury, and lifestyle brands, has announced a strategic partnership with Essential Parfums, a rapidly growing Parisian niche fragrance house founded by Géraldine and Stanislas Archambault. Founded in 2018, Essential Parfums has established itself in the niche fragrance sector through responsible sourcing and accessible pricing practices, among other factors. As part of the transaction, Style Capital will invest alongside the founders, who will retain a majority stake in the company and continue to lead it. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Discounters & Department Stores

J.C. Penney declines continue in Q1 after holiday stumbles

After a rough holiday period that interfered with its turnaround, J.C. Penney posted further topline declines in Q1. Total Q1 net sales fell 4.6% year over year to $1.25 billion, and gross margin contracted about 20 basis points due to tariff costs, category mix shifts and increased promotions. J.C. Penney stumbled in a quarter when retail sales, including at department stores like Macy’s and Dillard’s, were surprisingly strong.

Walmart touts some of its lowest back-to-school pricing since 2019

Walmart’s back-to-school assortment will feature its lowest prices since 2019 on 14 of the most popular school supplies. Pricing on select school products will start at 25 cents, the mass retailer said on July 15. The company also has over 1,300 more rollbacks compared to 2025 and its back-to-school lunch basket maintains an average cost of under $2 per lunch. Walmart also debuted a new grocery-focused college basket for under $35 and a digital college wishlist experience. Walmart’s news follows similar announcements from other retailers in July. The pricing focus across the industry comes as back-to-school spending is expected to stay flat in 2026.

Emerging Consumer Companies

Caraway debuts cookware in over 500 Walmart stores

Starting this month, Caraway is selling an assortment of its products in over 500 Walmart stores nationwide as well as on the retailer’s website and marketplace, the direct-to-consumer cookware brand said in a press release. The brand has curated some of its best-selling cookware and kitchen products for Walmart shoppers. The launch is part of Walmart’s strategy of bringing “more premium, design-forward brands to its customers,” per the release.

Buffs, maker of grass-fed beef puffs, raises seed round

BUFFS, a startup making grass-fed beef puffs, has closed a $1.1 million pre-seed round, co-founder George Zhou announced on LinkedIn. Co-founded by recent college grads Beckett Kitaen and George Zhou, the company sells a crunchy, puffed snack made from grass-fed beef, with 10g+ of protein and no seed oils or fillers. Investors include Hu co-founder Jordan Brown, The Coconut Cult chief executive Ari Raz, and Kettle & Fire founder Nicholas Mares, alongside a roster of more than a dozen consumer operators and angels.

Functional Instant Coffee Seller Reformed Raises $22 Million Round

UK “functional coffee” and matcha company Reformed has raised a US$22 million Series A round led by Iris Ventures, with plans for a U.S. launch. Launched by Neil Saada and Neil Marrakchi in 2024, Reformed sells powdered arabica coffee and “ceremonial-grade matcha” products blended with functional ingredients such as collagen, creatine, mushrooms, vitamins and minerals. Marrakchi said Reformed is targeting a $100 million revenue run rate by the end of 2026, with a U.S. launch planned for the third quarter.

Chipotle’s Cultivate Next Invests in Plant-Based Regenerative Farming Startup Simpli

Cultivate Next, the $100M agrifood tech fund launched by Chipotle Mexican Grill, has announced the six latest entrants in its portfolio, including Simpli, a company specialising in regeneratively farmed whole-food plant-based products. The four-year-old fund focuses on companies working to solve critical challenges across agriculture, supply chains, sustainability, food systems, and restaurant technology. Founded in 2020 by Sarela Herrada and her husband, Matt Cohen, Simpli aims to build a transparent, responsible supply chain rooted in regenerative organic products.

Food & Beverage

U.S. grocery slowdown deepens as shoppers buy fewer items

Shoppers are buying fewer items than a year ago, and grocery sales are declining as weakening unit sales are now outweighing rising prices, according to Bain & Company. Grocery units, which refer to individual items or products sold, fell 1.8% in June from a year earlier, a sharp reversal from the 0.1% year-over-year growth recorded in June 2025. While prices continue to rise about 2% to 3% year-over-year, that inflation cushion for the industry is no longer enough to keep overall sales growing.

PE firm Apheon buys new French food group Alma

Private-equity firm Apheon has acquired Alma, the new French food group created by combining Foo Seng and Varachaux. The deal, struck for an undisclosed sum, comes just months after Asian snacks business Foo Seng and meal-components supplier Varachaux were merged to form Alma. Combined, Alma employs around 115 people and generates around $45.7M in revenue. The company supplies to wholesalers, foodservice operators and retailers, primarily in France.

Bakery ingredients supplier AAK to scale Savor’s carbon-based fats

Savor, a startup that produces butter from carbon, has entered into a two-year agreement with bakery ingredients supplier AAK to jointly develop a source of saturated fats that does not rely on conventional agriculture. The partnership, which also includes an investment from AAK, will scale solutions for bakery applications and the dairy alternative market. Savor and AAK’s partnership focuses on dairy alternatives and bakery, two segments that face growing demand for functional ingredients at a time of supply chain volatility. The companies’ fat alternative could give brands a sustainable alternative that also provides a more stable supply with reliable pricing.

Grocery & Restaurants

Yoshinoya parent acquires Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya

The parent company of Yoshinoya has added a ramen concept to its portfolio in the U.S. Yoshinoya Holdings Co. Ltd., the 125-year-old parent company of the quick-service Yoshinoya brand, has acquired the Seattle-based Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya chain, the companies announced this week. Kizuki was founded in Seattle in 2012 by Taiwanese-American restaurateur Yi-Chen (Brandon) Ting, who also founded the Supreme Dumplings chain. The acquisition, however, is specifically Kizuki, which has 17 units, primarily on the West Coast (Washington, Oregon, and California) with some locations in Indiana and Texas. Ting will stay on as CEO, working with Yoshinoya to grow the ramen concept.

Wonder acquires Mighty Quinn’s BBQ

Food hall/delivery concept Wonder has added another restaurant to its portfolio of 30 brands. The company acquired Mighty Quinn’s BBQ, an eight-unit fast casual based in New York City. Some of Mighty Quinn’s management team will remain with the company, while co-founder and co-CEO Micha Magid will act as a consultant during the transition. It is the second time Wonder has acquired a restaurant outright. In February, it bought the single-unit Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, another NYC concept. Wonder’s other brands were either created in-house or licensed from their owners. The acquisitions are part of Wonder’s strategy of buying small, local brands and scaling them across its growing network of high-tech food halls.

Home & Road

Serta Simmons Bedding acquires one of its longtime domestic licensees

Serta Simmons Bedding is acquiring family-owned Dormae Products, one of its five Serta licensing partners. Under the agreement, Serta Simmons began producing orders in Dallas, and Dormae will shop its last orders “on or about” Friday.  The acquisition, the company said, aligns with SSB’s broader strategy of expanding its market presence, enhancing customer service capabilities, and creating a strong foundation for continued growth. Company officials said the acquisition provides SSB additional scale and opportunities to support customers across its distribution network. SSB will also assume ownership of the facility’s production equipment and raw materials as part of the transaction once Dormae ends production. Other terms of the transaction, including purchase price, were not disclosed.

2025 mattress shipments plunge 13%; consumers spend more per purchase

Consumers continued pulling back on mattress purchases last year, but those who entered the market opted for higher-priced products. That purchasing trend helped the industry offset some of the impact of softer demand, according to the International Sleep Products Assn.’s newly released 2026 Mattress Industry Trends Report. The publicly shared snapshot of a larger report for organization members shows total U.S. mattress market value declined 6.5% from 2024 while unit shipments fell 13.2%, underscoring a market where volume continues to erode faster than revenue. Mattress sales alone declined 4% in dollars compared with a 6.7% drop in units, reflecting continued strength in pricing and product mix. The findings reinforce a trend many mattress manufacturers and retailers have cited throughout the past year: consumers remain cautious about replacing mattresses, but those who do buy trade up to premium products.

June sales at home furnishings & furniture stores include an asterisk – here’s why

The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor reported unusually large year-over-year retail sales increases in June, largely compared to depressed sales in the same period last year.

Retail sales in June 2025 were pressured by consumer uncertainty in the wake of “Liberation Day” tariffs that had been announced two months earlier. Still, June 2026 retail sales climbed for the ninth month in a row  “as positive factors overcame challenges to the economy,” according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants , auto dealers and gas stations) was up 0.36% month over month in June and was up 10.08% year over year. That compared with increases of 0.39% month over month and 6.98% year over year in May. June sales at furniture and home furnishings stores were down 0.16% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 4.92% year over year unadjusted. In June 2025, that segment’s sales were down 1.04% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 1.14% year over year unadjusted.

Jewelry & Luxury

Watches of Switzerland Reports Annual Revenue Growth Amid Talk of Possible Sale

As questions loom about its potential sale, Watches of Switzerland Group released financial results for fiscal 2026, with the retailer’s revenue up 11% (13% in constant currency) in what CEO Brian Duffy called a “year of strong execution.” Last Monday, Reuters reported that Watches of Switzerland (WoS) has held discussions “in recent months” with investors who may be interested in taking the luxury retailer private. No formal offer has been made, Reuters said, describing the possible buyers as “private equity funds and strategic bidders.” Duffy agreed to the talks because he believed the London-listed company was undervalued in the marketplace, according to the Reuters story. WoS shares are at half of their 2022 peak, and Reuters attributed the drop primarily to Rolex’s 2023 acquisition of Bucherer, “which some ​analysts saw as a threat to the watchmaker’s relationship with Watches of Switzerland.”

T. rex sells for $50 million, becoming the most expensive dinosaur fossil ever auctioned

A Tyrannosaurus rex specimen sold at Sotheby’s for $50.1 million, becoming the most expensive dinosaur ever sold at auction. Riding a boom in dinosaur prices at auction, the T. rex, named “Gus,” blew past its price estimate of $20 million to $30 million after a 10-minute bidding war between seven bidders. It broke the record sale by Sotheby’s of a Stegosaurus skeleton nicknamed “Apex” in 2024 for $44.6 million, bought by billionaire hedge funder Ken Griffin. Gus was discovered in South Dakota and is about 67 million years old. Touted as one of the most complete dinosaur specimens ever found, Gus has 183 fossil bone elements and is about 61% complete by bone count. It is about 38 feet long, about 12.5 feet tall and has a skull length of 54 inches, making it one of the largest T. rex fossils ever found, according to Sotheby’s.

Bottega Veneta Appoints Romain Spitzer as CEO

Romain Spitzer has been appointed as Bottega Veneta’s CEO, parent company Kering said on July 15. His appointment is effective September 1. Spitzer most recently served as president and CEO of Fragrance Group at LVMH Beauty, overseeing Parfums Givenchy, Kenzo, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Acqua di Parma, Loewe Perfumes, Officine Universelle Buly, and New Ventures. The selection process for the house’s next CEO took a few months after former CEO Bartolomeo Rongone’s departure was announced in January and left the label on March 31 after six years to join Moncler.

Technology & Internet

Uber in $15 billion deal for Delivery Hero to create global takeout giant

Uber agreed on Thursday to buy Germany’s Delivery Hero at an equity value of $14.8 billion to create the ​largest food-delivery group outside China and stave off intensifying competition from U.S. and European rivals. The acquisition advances the U.S. ride-hailing firm’s efforts to build a global food-delivery business ‌that can better compete with Just Eat, owned by Dutch group Prosus and U.S. rival DoorDash, which has been expanding aggressively. It is likely to face a complex regulatory process as the combination would create a platform spanning 99 countries with a combined pro-forma gross merchandise value (GMV) of $236 billion in 2025, according to a statement by Delivery Hero. The €41.50 per-share offer represents a roughly 34% premium to Delivery Hero’s ⁠three-month volume-weighted average share price, it said.

PayPal stock soars as Stripe, Advent make $53B takeover offer

Stripe and Advent International have made a joint offer to buy PayPal in a deal valued at $53.4 billion, CNBC confirmed Wednesday. Shares of PayPal closed up 17% on the news. The companies made a $60.50 per share cash offer for the payments firm, according to people familiar with the deal, who asked not to be named because the details are private. Stripe, Advent and Block are contributing $17 billion in equity for the offer, the people said. The offer was submitted earlier this month and includes roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing, valuing PayPal at a 28% premium to its closing share price on Tuesday, according to Reuters. PayPal hasn’t responded to the offer, which would see Stripe and Advent jointly own the company and hold equal stakes.

Finance & Economy

Consumer prices rose 3.5% annually in June, less than expected as energy prices eased

Consumer prices posted their biggest decline in more than six years during June as a sharp swoon in energy prices provided at least temporary relief from this year’s inflation surge, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.  The consumer price index, a broad measure of costs for goods and services across the U.S. economy, was lower than expected across the board. The CPI fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% for the month, bringing the annual inflation rate down to 3.5%.  Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a drop of 0.2% and an inflation rate of 3.8%, following the 4.2% reading in May. The monthly decline in headline inflation was the biggest since April 2020.

Mortgage rates surge close to an annual high, pulling homebuyers back from the market

The MBA reported that the average contract interest rate on conforming 30-year fixed mortgages climbed to 6.65% — its highest reading since August 2025 — up from 6.58% the week before, with points ticking up to 0.67 from 0.64 on loans carrying a 20% down payment, after accounting for the origination fee.  Purchase mortgage applications slipped 7% week over week and trailed the comparable period from a year earlier by 2%, the MBA said. “Mortgage applications declined as the 30-year fixed rate increased to 6.65 percent, the highest level since August 2025. Purchase applications were down over the week and dipped below last year’s pace in the week following the July 4th holiday,” Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement.