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 go up. Resale platforms are gearing up for a demand spike. Meanwhile, some are helping customers deal with the anxiety by launching wellness products – Target is launching cortisol calming brand, Nello, and Bath & Body Works is launching magnesium based skincare products.

'INNOVATION MOVES'

  • Cortisol calming Nello, the fourth most-viewed wellness brand on TikTok, is launching in all Target doors nationwide, marking its first brick-and-mortar retail partner. (WWD)

  • Bath & Body Works has launched the latest line in its ingredient-led collection – this one specifically focuses on magnesium, the ingredient popularized by the sleepy girl mocktail. (WWD

  • Clean beauty’s newest frontier is the mouth, with products and ingredients designed to nourish the “oral microbiome”. New toothpastes, mouthwashes, and tools promise to enhance mouthcare routines while providing additional health benefits, hoping to furnish “cleaner” alternatives to oral care incumbent brands. (Business of Fashion)

  • Coach announced a multi-year partnership with the WNBA as the league’s first handbag partner, a team-up that will see the two come together for several events throughout the WNBA season and beyond. The collaboration will be kicking off with the 2025 WNBA Draft where Coach will sponsor the pre-event “orange carpet” event and dress five of this year’s top WNBA prospects. (Business of Fashion

  • Rent the Runway has restructured its customer service team with an emphasis on proactively helping customers rather than reacting after a problem is reported. About half of new customers now receive a call from customer service after they join that explains key subscription features and answers any lingering questions, as well as mid-month and end-of-month check-ins. (Retail Dive

  • While some brands are tacking on “tariff surcharges” at checkout, others are appealing to price-conscious shoppers with discounts. Brands like Saatva are launching “tariff sales” to encourage shoppers to buy now before prices go up. (Modern Retail

  • American shoppers are expecting rising costs across goods, prompting some to panic shop for big ticket items. But soon, some may turn to pre-owned products to save. Resale platforms say they are seeing a spike in demand that seems to be correlated to tariffs. (Modern Retail

'Financial Moves'

  • Clothing, footwear, and accessories retail sales growth softened in March’25 vs Jan’25 and Feb’25, says a new report by CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor.

  • Ballet Makers (Capezio) sold to Argand Partners.

  • Franchise Group sells Vitamin Shoppe to private equity firms.

  • Jimmy Beans Wool (yarn manufacturing) was acquired by Local Crafts Group (backed by Blue Point Capital Partners).

  • reverse.supply (German resale platform) was acquired by Trove.

  • DedCool (fragrance brand) sold an additional equity stake to Sandbridge Capital.

  • HUUG raised $6 million from Kaylim Capital.

  • Skin Analytics raised 15 mill Euros led by Intrepid Growth.

Financial Moves Powered by MMG Advisors

'Career Moves'

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