By Sonal Gandhi
Chief Content Officer at The Lead
Vintage and archival pieces are trending with young consumers and celebrities – Urban Outfitters partnered with Kate Spade to revive the iconic baguette from the ‘90s while eBay, the original platform for vintage and second hand goods, declared May 21 as Recommerce day. Meanwhile, e.l.f beauty is riding the popularity of the category to 77% YoY growth. To hear from beauty leaders from Coty, Rare Beauty, Kopari and more, join us at The Lead Summit on July 10th and 11th in NYC.
● LVMH and Alibaba Group are extending their strategic partnership for five years to deliver cutting-edge retail experiences in China. The French luxury group will leverage the Chinese retail giant’s generative AI capabilities, including Qwen, Alibaba’s proprietary large language model, and Model Studio (Bailian), a comprehensive AI model building platform. (WWD)
● eBay is declaring May 21 the first annual Recommerce Day working with lawmakers in both the California legislature and the city of San Jose to introduce resolutions to potentially enshrine the holiday in the state. (Retail Brew)
● WNBA stars are signing their own sneaker partnership. Nike will release signature sneakers for A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark in the coming seasons, while Angel Reese has one of her own on the way with Reebok. Caitlin Clarke also signed a multi-year contract with Wilson Sporting Goods Co. for signature basketball collections. (Business of Fashion) (Retail Dive)
● Vintage and archival pieces are increasingly popular. Levi’s released 9Rivet, a reproduction of its oldest jean model from the 1870s, while Wrangler released a vintage line in February. Urban Outfitters released a reissued version of the Kate Spade baguette from the 1990s, using three prints pulled from Kate Spade’s archives. The limited-edition capsule collection is being promoted with an event curated by artist Anna Ling featuring the work of artists and designers inspired by Kate Spade. (Glossy)
● Target will lower prices on approximately 5,000 frequently bought items as it seeks to stay competitive amid signs consumers are experiencing price fatigue. (CNBC)
● Keihl’s (premium beauty) and Rothy’s (Foremost 50 sustainable footwear brand) launched on Amazon this week, both with a dedicated storefront (Retail Dive)
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