News Briefs

BuyBuy Baby is closing its fledgling brick-and-mortar operation and transforming to a digital-first brand.

In what it called a “new path forward,” the company said it was focusing all its energy on providing an “exceptional online shopping experience.”  The retailer is holding going-out-of-business sales at its 10 physical stores, which will close by the end of this year.

“We understand this may be disappointing news, and we want all our customers to know this wasn't a choice we took lightly,” Buy Buy Baby said on its website. “The loyalty and support of our customers over the years have meant the world to us.”

In July 2023, BuyBuy Baby's intellectual property was sold for $15.5 million to Dream on Me, a New Jersey-based company that makes and sells a wide range of baby goods. The deal did not include BuyBuy Baby's 120 physical stores, which went dark. 

The company relaunched BuyBuy Baby in fall 2024, opening 11 stores in November. The brand’s brick-and-mortar comeback followed the launch of the company’s new website, which went live in October 2023.

Prior to Dream on Me, Buy Buy Baby was owned by Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2023.

Aldi’s new discount Thanksgiving basket is its lowest-priced holiday meal deal since 2019.

Throughout the Thanksgiving season, Aldi is offering a Thanksgiving-themed shopping list of fresh ingredients including a Butterball turkey with spices, gravy, rolls, mac & cheese, stuffing – plus the ingredients for cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.

According to the fast-growing discount grocer, the holiday deal enables customers to serve a full meal for less than $4.70 per person.

"Every day at Aldi, we are focused on finding ways to deliver the lowest possible prices for our customers – and this Thanksgiving is no different,” said Jason Hart, CEO of Aldi. “With 25% of U.S households now shopping Aldi, we know grocery prices are still top of mind for customers. We worked hard this Thanksgiving to deliver the best value and quality products so everyone can enjoy a traditional meal with family and friends without having to scale back.”  

Discount giant Walmart is also providing a traditional holiday meal offer priced less than the national average. Through Tuesday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve), customers can purchase Walmart’s discounted Thanksgiving meal, including turkey (priced $.88/lb.) and trimmings to desserts, for what the retailer says is less than $7 per person. 

[READ MORE: Walmart offers 'inflation-free' Thanksgiving meal under $7 a person]

Aldi operates more than 7,200 store locations around the world, including more than 2,200 stores in 38 U.S. states with over 45,000 associates. The company intends to open 800 new U.S. stores during the next five years.

Minnesota artist Adam Turman is opening his first-ever retail space at North America’s largest mall.

Open Nov. 1 through Dec. 30, the nearly 2,000-sq.-ft. space at Mall of America will feature dozens of new Adam Turman art and merchandise designs. Guests will be able to take home Adam Turman artwork in the form of original paintings and custom prints, new apparel, kitchenware, home décor, and more

"Adam Turman has been a long-time friend of the mall and we are very excited to feature his pop-up location,” said Adina Cohen, specialty leasing manager at Mall of America. “Guests have been able to enjoy Adam's art throughout Mall of America for years, as he has been a vibrant part of our history. We can’t wait for our visitors to experience and shop his creative work in a whole new way."

Additionally, Turman will be meeting with fans and signing artwork every Saturday from Nov. 30 through Dec. 21 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

“Opening my first ever retail store at Mall of America is a dream come true,” said Turman, who started his professional studio career in 2003. “Throughout the past decade, this iconic venue has held a special place in my journey as an artist through various projects including a mural, screen prints, and more. I can’t wait to share more of my art with a wider audience and connect with both my amazing fans and visitors from around the world.”

[READ MORE: Mall of America, Rent the Runway to host fall/winter pop-up]

At 5.6 million sq. ft., Mall of America, located in Bloomington, Minn., is the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America with up to 520 world-class retail stores and restaurants, and several entertainment attractions.

eBay Ventures, the online marketplace giant’s venture capital arm, is expanding its investment in circular fashion start-ups.

eBay Ventures’ Circular Fashion Fund aims to help fashion start-ups scale circular solutions, from production to end-of-life, including rental and repair services. New for the 2025 cohort, eBay will reward one “Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year” with an extra investment of $300,000.

eBay is set to deliver a total investment of $1.2 million by the end of 2025 through the program, in addition to over 200 hours of mentoring and networking support for applicants from industry experts. 

Since it launched in the U.K. in 2022, the fund has helped 15 businesses scale their circular solutions, including The Seam, which allows businesses to offer garment care & repair services at scale to extend the life of clothes, and RCYCL, creators of the innovative at-home fashion recycling program for unwearable clothing. Now in its third year in the U.K., the Circular Fashion Fund is set to launch in the United States and Germany for the first time having successfully expanded to Australia last year.

[READ MORE: Guess launches online clothing recycling program]

"The Circular Fashion Fund is a catalyst for collaboration by combining the global scale and power of established companies like eBay with the creativity and innovation of nimble start-ups,” said Kirsty Keoghan, global general manager of fashion at eBay. “We’re not only helping to scale circular solutions but also bringing together the most knowledgeable and respected experts in the industry. Together, we’re making a positive impact on the circular economy and truly reshaping the future of fashion.”

A delivery services veteran is assuming the role of CTO at Instacart.

Instacart has named Anirban Kundu as CTO. He comes to the grocery technology company from Uber, where he was VP and head of engineering for Uber Delivery. At Uber, Anirban was in charge of business-to-business and business-to-consumer solutions, including the Uber Eats hosted online delivery platform and the company’s ad solutions.

At Instacart, Kundu will lead the company’s technical team. Instacart has been increasingly focusing on developing solutions such as its Foodstorm order management system.

[READ MORE:Instacart upgrades FoodStorm order management platform]

"His deep understanding of multi-sided marketplaces like ours and proven track record of building scaled technical systems that can support long-term growth make him the perfect person to drive our technical vision forward," Instacart said in a corporate blog post. "We’re looking forward to having Anirban’s expertise and leadership to help us realize our long-term vision of building the technologies that will power every grocery transaction."

Kundu previously joined Uber from Postmates, where he was responsible for product and engineering. Prior to Postmates, Anirban was CTO at note-taking/task management software provider Evernote and before that led engineering teams at companies including GoDaddy, Shazam, and Yahoo. 

Based in San Francisco, Instacart has more than 1,500 retail partners on its platform and is available to over 98% of households in the United States and Canada.

Walmart is partnering with a business management platform to help small-to-medium-sized businesses and non-profits streamline daily tasks.

Walmart Business, which was introduced in January 2023 and offers a broad assortment of more than 100,000 items with categorization and navigation tailored to organizational shoppers, is teaming up with Clover, a business management platform for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from Fiserv, a global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions

Clover business management solutions are designed to help SMBs streamline daily tasks, including sales reporting and cash flow management. The platform delivers fully integrated solutions built to meet the specific needs of industries including retailers and restaurants, and allows customers to pay via debit or credit card or mobile payment apps.

"We continue to expand how we serve organizational customers by listening to and learning from businesses and nonprofits about their unique needs and how we can best meet those needs," said Ashley Hubka, senior VP and GM of Walmart Business. "Offering Clover solutions is a testament to our goal of providing customers with the products, tools and services they want and need to effectively streamline their operations."

[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: How Walmart Business serves commercial, nonprofit customers]

Walmart also recently rolled out Walmart Business Print, which enables organizational customers to design and place an order and then choose items with no-to-low minimum quantities to be shipped directly to them or picked up in-store. 

"Fiserv shares Walmart’s commitment to working closely with small business owners to enable their success," said Kevin Race, senior VP and GM of direct and strategic partnerships at Fiserv. "This broadens our unparalleled distribution network and will provide more small business owners with access to Clover technology that can help them adapt and grow."