It’s Q4 (already!) with lots of angst and uncertainty about how the quarter might unfold. Even in ‘normal times’ the run up to the holidays has retail pulses racing.
FINANCE
Warby Parker (USA), the eyeglass DTC, saw a successful IPO this week leaving analysts questioning whether this is an indicator of the market reaction that others who have recently filed (Allbirds, Fabletics, Rent The Runway and others) might have .
KEY ADVANTAGE: Warby Parker’s fundamentals are better than many DTCs. Initial customer sales are profitable. Customers typically spend $200 per sale. About 42% of its customers are repeat buyers.
- Customer acquisition cost is a huge threshold for most DTC brands. Being profitable from the first sale – and customer retention – clearly differentiates Warby Parker from most DTCs.
H&M (Sweden) reported net sales increased 13% year-on-year in the first nine months of the financial year. Q3 sales were up 14% year-on-year.
- Q3 profits rose 158% year-on-year, despite 100-180 stores being closed at times during the quarter.
Claire’s Holdings Inc. (USA) has filed to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering.
- The company reported a net loss of $144.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2021, compared with a loss of $38 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose to $356 million from $184 million a year ago.
Parade (USA), the DTC intimate apparel brand looking to compete with Victoria’s Secret (USA), raised $20 million at a $140 million valuation.
PODCAST
Supply Chain Strategies: What I Learned Growing Lettuce in China
Despite the incredible challenges sourcing food in a market with a highly fragmented agricultural system, Xavier Naville managed to survive – and ultimately thrive.
In this podcast he shares how he built his supply chain, best practices for doing business in China, and how digitization is bringing better food quality to people throughout the nation.
RETAIL
Dollar Tree (USA) added products priced above $1 to its assortment after positive feedback from customers.
Giordano (Hong Kong) has opened its first store in Ghana, West Africa. The store was opened with the retailer’s franchise partner Melcom Group Limited. Four additional locations are planned for this year. Read more
Mastercard is rolling out Mastercard Installments, a BNPL program that will offer consumers a flexible, ubiquitous way to pay online and in-store through equal, interest-free installments – an additional choice to debit, credit or prepaid cards. The program will initially be rolled out in the U.S., UK and Australia.
E-COMMERCE
TikTok launched its shopping platform for brands – taking on Instagram and Snap for the social commerce crown (separately, TikTok will also do its first NFT drop).
Shopify surpassed Amazon in website traffic, according to Similarweb, reaching 1.16 billion average monthly visitors in Q4, compared to 1.1 billion for Amazon.
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