By Sonal Gandhi
Chief Content Officer at The Lead
Price conscious consumers are switching away from brands to private label products, according to the EY Future Consumer index report. Brands will have to get creative to get them back – case in point, Kate Spade will have a large collection at Target with more than half of the items being priced at $15 or less. Meanwhile, bids for TikTok are rolling in, including one from Amazon, even as retailers likely QVC deepen their partnerships with the platform.
QVC Group is deepening its partnership with the social and e-commerce platform, TikTok, with 24/7 shoppable livestream content and a larger swath of brands and products. QVC initially launched on TikTok Shop in August 2024. (WWD)
Ulta Beauty is doubling down on in-person events for 2025 with 70,000 events planned across stores. Ulta’s event cadence is up from 50,000 in-person branded events held in stores last year. The retailer’s 2025 experiential investment also includes the addition of the retailer’s largest-ever out-of-home consumer event, Ulta Beauty World, and more activations around cultural events like festivals and sporting events. (Glossy)
Uniqlo introduced Uniqlo Coffee at its Fifth Avenue flagship in New York City. The cafe serves a curated selection of high-quality Japanese coffee blends, as well as matcha drinks, tapping into the growing global obsession with matcha. Uniqlo Coffee is part of a broader trend of fashion brands blending retail with lifestyle offerings to enhance customer engagement. (Glossy)
Target is partnering with Kate Spade on a limited-edition collaboration spanning women’s and children’s apparel, handbags and home accessories. With more than 300 items, Kate Spade New York x Target will be one of the mass merchant’s largest limited collections. More than half of the products are being priced at $15 or less. (Retail Dive)
Consumer spending slows over worries over sticky inflation and anticipation over the impact that increased Tariffs will have on prices, reports the NRF. Retail sales during 2025 anticipated to grow between 2.7% to 3.7% per the NRF.
Higher living expenses and intensive economic challenges are causing customers to discount brand loyalty in favor of cost concerns, reports the EY Future Consumer index report.
The Hershey Company announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LesserEvil.
Kering acquired eyewear companies Viscard (100%) and Mistral.
Unilever has acquired British sustainable deodorant brand Wild for an undisclosed sum.
Fairly Made® (traceability platform) raises $16.2M from venture funds.
True Classic (menswear) received strategic investment from David Wertheimer’s fund 1686 Partners.
Gente Beauty raised capital from Webster Capital.
Elvie (women’s health brand) was acquired by Willow.
Nature’s Table (restaurant chain) was acquired by DIA Equity Partners.
Mela Water (watermelon water) was acquired by King Juice Holdings.
LYS Beauty raised a Series A from Encore Consumer Capital.
Covision Media (AI fashion) raised a €5M seed round from CDP Venture Capital SGR.
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The Indicator | April 18th, 2025 By Sonal Gandhi Chief Content Officer at The Lead This week’s headlines center around how the industry is coping with tariffs. Some brands are adding tariff surcharges at checkout while others are launching tariff sales encouraging customers to shop now before prices
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