Amazon Ridding Itself of Small Vendors and Topshop to Shutter All U.S Locations
AMAZON SLIMS DOWN
Amazon is officially tapping out of the retail race, or so it seems. The company is planning to remove what appears to be thousands of smaller vendors from its core business model.
Now, those sellers will still be able to use the Amazon platform to sell, but they will own the inventory, they may or may not handle fulfillment and, most importantly, they will only get paid if and when a sale is made. Amazon will collect a commission for its services.
The criteria for vendors to continue to use the traditional Amazon system has been reported to be $10 million in annual sales, with variations for particular classifications. As such, this could impact a huge number of companies that sell on the site.
FOOT LOCKER AT RISK In a Trade Nation video from CNBC, analysts note Foot Locker is hitting new lows after its stock fell. The company is being "kicked to the curb," and is also set to receive the most negative impact from the pending Trump tariffs. How does this translate for its latest $100 million investment in the resale sneaker app, GOAT? We'll have to see... Read More |
EMBRACING EXPERIENTIAL RETAIL Rumors of the death of physical retail appear to be greatly exaggerated. New retailers have found a viable place for themselves by exploiting an area of brick-and-mortar sales that virtual platforms simply can’t compete with—experiential retail, driving retailers to reorient their focus toward singular, event-based strategies. Read More |
TOPSHOP TO CLOSE ALL U.S. LOCATIONS
Arcadia Group, which runs its Topshop and Topman brands, and in the U.K. and Ireland, also runs Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, could shutter all 22 of its U.S. stores, according to multiple media reports and documents filed Wednesday with the United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District Of New York.
The conglomerate's ability to withstand everyday retail challenges plus uncertainties introduced by Brexit have also been undermined by its billionaire chairman, Sir Philip Green, who has piled it with debt and whose personal behavior has lost it key partnerships, including Beyonce's Ivy Park.
NIKE STEPS INTO GAMING Nike's Jordan brand has teamed up with "Fortnite" on a product integration. The collab has new characters in the massively popular online game showing off some of the athletic apparel brand's signature sneakers. The #FortniteXJumpman partnership includes two new, limited-edition skins — downloadable character variants that users pay for — wearing Air Force 1s in a variety of colors. |
THIS WEEK'S BRIGHT SPOT Late last year, the songstress SZA teased some new merch from her anticipated sustainable clothing line, including two Champion hoodies that read "Puck Flastic" and "Sustainability Gang." Since the initial images of the hoodies went viral last December, both SZA and Ctrl Fishing Company's (Ctrl refers to SZA's 2017 debut album). IG accounts have remained silent — until now! Read More |