DTC's a mixed bag: What does it mean for holiday sales?

Some brands are expanding while others struggle with the holidays right around the corner.

Welcome to the Retailist Roundup - your go-to spot for hot-off-the-press news, job opportunities and updates in ecommerce, retail, and DTC brands, brought to you directly from our editors.

We've sifted through the noise and picked out the most impactful headlines, cutting-edge trends, and audacious predictions from global retail leaders. Let’s dive in and see what caught our eye this week:

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In the News: This week’s top headlines

D2C is still a mixed bag as the holiday season approaches. August witnessed significant changes in the DTC industry, with significant leadership shifts at companies like Grove Collaborative and Wolverine Worldwide. As brands navigate a challenging macroeconomic landscape, some are expanding through wholesale or direct-to-consumer channels while others struggle. With the holiday season nearing and consumers anticipated to have tighter budgets, the DTC industry is a mixed bag. [Retail Dive]

Dick’s announces layoffs. Dick's Sporting Goods unveiled a "business optimization" strategy on Tuesday, aiming to enhance its cost efficiency, as per an official press release. This move, primarily affecting its customer support center, will result in an unspecified number of layoffs. CEO Lauren Hobart attributed this shortfall to significant inventory shrinkage, emphasizing theft as an "increasingly serious issue" for the business. [Retail Dive]

Kohl’s profits plunge over 50% YoY. Kohl's reported a significant 53% drop in profits in the second quarter compared to the previous year, despite beating earnings estimates with an adjusted earnings per share of $0.52. This decline is attributed to weak sales, with same-store sales decreasing by 5.0% and net sales falling 4.8% to $3.68 billion. However, the Sephora segment within Kohl's remains robust, with CEO Tim Kingsbury noting that it's attracting new, frequent shoppers and surpassing expectations. [Yahoo Finance]

Macy’s to launch more strip mall stores. Macy's intends to launch four additional smaller stores this year, following early positive results from its strip mall experiment. This decision was announced as the company surpassed second-quarter earnings expectations, despite forecasting a significant drop in annual sales. [CNBC]

Foot Locker cuts full-year outlook, signaling trouble. Foot Locker has revised its full-year outlook downwards and halted its quarterly dividend due to a decline in sales during its fiscal second quarter, reflecting consumers' growing caution with spending. The company's shares plummeted over 33% in Wednesday morning trading after reporting a drop in quarterly sales to $1.86 billion, missing analysts' expectations. Additionally, same-store sales decreased by 9.4% during the quarter. [The Hill]

Peleton recall still impacting the company’s performance. Peloton's recent earnings revealed a net loss of $242 million for the quarter, accompanied by a loss of 29,000 subscribers and a higher-than-expected monthly churn rate of 1.4%. The company acknowledged that the financial impact of a recent bike seat post-recall was significantly higher than anticipated, costing them $40 million. Additionally, between 15,000 to 20,000 members opted to temporarily suspend their subscriptions awaiting replacement seats. [The Verge]

Abercrombie & Fitch shares surge. Abercrombie & Fitch shares surged over 20% on Wednesday due to the retailer's impressive performance, surpassing Wall Street's earnings and sales predictions and subsequently raising its annual guidance. Contrary to trends observed in other major retailers like Home Depot, Target, and Walmart, Abercrombie has thrived. CEO Fran Horowitz attributed the company's success to years of dedication and its ability to attract customers with a diverse and trendy product range. [CNBC]

Job Board: This week’s Top Openings in DTC, RetailTech, and more

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  • Learning and Development Manager (Miami, FL) CHEWY - more here

  • DevOps Analyst (Los Angeles, CA) HOT TOPIC - more here

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  • Full Stack Software Engineer, Commerce Platform (Senior) (Remote) INSTACART - more here

  • SVP, Global Merchandising, Footwear (New York, NY) TAPESTRY - more here

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