Handbags representing affordable luxury fashion from startup Atorie's factory-direct model

Atorie Raises $9.5M to Disrupt Affordable Luxury Fashion

Fashion startup Atorie just closed a $9.5 million funding round with a simple but bold pitch: sell shoppers the same handbags and clothing that luxury brands offer, made from identical materials and produced in the same factories, minus the steep markup. The rise of affordable luxury fashion as a category is catching investor attention because […]

Chief supply chain officer overseeing global distribution and manufacturing operations

Jim Beam Maker Names New Chief Supply Chain Officer

Suntory Global Spirits, the company behind Jim Beam, has appointed a new chief supply chain officer to lead its worldwide operations. Manuel Cabanas, who has spent more than two decades at the company, will now take charge of manufacturing, distribution, quality, sourcing and overall operations across the organization’s global footprint. The move places a long-tenured […]

Ulta Beauty store aisle showing exclusive brand displays reflecting beauty retail exclusivity strategy

Ulta Doubles Down on Beauty Retail Exclusivity vs Target

Ulta’s latest quarterly results offer a clear signal about where specialty beauty retail is headed. The company posted strong sales and raised its full-year guidance, even as makeup comparisons stayed nearly flat. To keep growing, Ulta appears to be leaning harder into beauty retail exclusivity, positioning itself as the destination for brands and products shoppers […]

Kitchenware items displayed for a peer-to-peer marketplace resale platform

Sur La Table Peer-to-Peer Marketplace Enters Resale Market

Sur La Table has entered the resale economy with a new peer-to-peer marketplace called Second Servings, built in partnership with resale technology platform Archive. The move places the kitchenware retailer alongside a growing list of brands that are turning secondhand goods into a formal sales channel rather than treating them as a side effect of […]

Illustration representing open social web monetization through Flipboard's acquisition of Graze

Flipboard Buys Graze: Open Social Web Monetization Grows

Flipboard has acquired Graze, a feed-building startup built on Bluesky’s decentralized network, in a move that pushes open social web monetization further into the spotlight. Graze is known for letting creators and communities build custom feeds while layering in privacy-friendly advertising and monetization tools. By folding Graze into its own ecosystem, Flipboard is betting that […]

Warehouse workers processing retail shipments funded by tariff refunds

Tariff Refunds Reshape Big Box Retail Logistics

Big box retailers are finding new ways to put tariff refunds to work, and the strategies vary widely. Walmart has committed a substantial refund toward price cuts, while Target is preparing for further reimbursements down the line. Meanwhile, Home Depot and Lowe’s are using their returned funds to offset rising costs elsewhere in their operations. […]

Autonomous delivery truck on the road symbolizing self-driving truck funding growth

Gatik’s $200M Raise Signals Self-Driving Truck Funding Boom

Self-driving truck funding just hit a new milestone. Gatik, a startup focused on short-haul autonomous delivery, closed a $200 million round following its partnership with PepsiCo. The raise, Gatik’s largest to date, was led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies, two backers with deep pockets and long investment horizons. Why This Self-Driving Truck […]