By Sonal Gandhi
Chief Content Officer at The Lead
In collaboration news this week, FKA Twigs is a creative partner for On’s new line of apparel while Tag Heuer and Kith partner to bring back a vintage watch collection from 1986. And Microsoft is partnering with Estée Lauder on a new AI innovation lab. Talking of tech and brand partnerships, The Lead Summit in NYC on July 10 and 11 features a forum for innovation stakeholders – investors, tech leaders, startups and brands – to discuss how to collaborate and co-create for the benefit of the industry. Join us.
Nordstrom is the latest major retailer to launch a marketplace as it leans into its e-commerce business. The company has carefully selected its marketplace brand partners which include Mulberry, Adore Me, Cynthia Rowley, and DXL. (Retail Dive)
Estée Lauder and Microsoft have teamed up to open an artificial intelligence innovation lab designed to use generative AI across Estée’s more than 20 beauty brands, including Clinique, Mac Cosmetics and namesake Estée Lauder. The lab will develop tools that help internal teams more quickly identify and respond to trends and use that data to inform product development and improve customer experiences. (Vogue Business)
Tag Heuer and Kith have bought back TAG Heuer Formula 1 Series 1 watches from 1986 for the first time. The 10 colorways of the limited-edition Formula 1 watch run will drop on Friday at Kith’s Miami store, ahead of the city’s Formula 1 race. (WWD)
Urban Outfitters is remaking its vintage and secondhand offerings into a new program called Vintage + Remade. Urban Outfitters online store will introduce two new sections – Vintage: authentic vintage finds, discovered and curated into limited-edition collections and Remade: a new category focused on items that have been repaired, restored by Urban Outfitters’ product team and new products made from deadstock fabric. (Glossy)
Dolce & Gabbana Beauty is expanding to the U.S. via an exclusive retail partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue, where a collection of 11 products sold on Saks.com and in select Saks Fifth Avenue stores. The brand which brought beauty in house in 2022 hopes to have $300 million in product sell-out in 2024. (Glossy)
Outerspace 3PL fuels high-growth brands with cost-effective, enterprise-level omni-channel fulfillment, delivering reliable post-purchase customer journeys. With 1MM SF of bicoastal warehouse space, we combine stability and scalability with high-touch services for customer acquisition and loyalty.
L’Occitane went private via a $1.8B capital infusion from Blackstone and Goldman Sachs.
Edgard and Cooper (a pet food brand backed by The Craftory) was acquired by General Mills.
Mented Cosmetics (beauty products) was acquired by West Lake Capital Partners.
Ansa (branded virtual wallets) raised $14M from Renegade Partners.
FindMine (retail SaaS platform backed by LVMH) raised $8.9M from Grayhawk Ventures.
Baxus (collectible liquor marketplace) raised a $5M Seed round from Multicoin Capital.
“Xtended Identity” (“Phygital” Fashion) popular with famous musical names (Grimes) raised $400,000 pre-seed.
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The Indicator | May 16th, 2025 By Sonal GandhiChief Content Officer at The Lead M&A activity dominated the news this week with Dick’s Sporting Goods purchasing Foot Locker, Chobani buying Daily Harvest, Andie Swim buying Richer Poorer, and Church & Dwight buying hand sanitizer brand touchland. In other
The Indicator | May 9th, 2025 By Sonal GandhiChief Content Officer at The Lead A few big financial headlines this week starting with private equity firm 3G Capital buying Skechers and food delivery startup Wonder raising $600M in capital. Meanwhile, catering to a value-driven consumer in the coming
The Indicator | May 2nd, 2025 By Sonal Gandhi Chief Content Officer at The Lead In an unexpected twist, Saks Fifth Avenue is opening a storefront on Amazon. In tariff related news, spring sales events are happening earlier than usual, de minimis loophole ends today and Prime Day
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