News Briefs

Chick-fil-A is branching out.

The popular quick-serve restaurant chain has debuted a new restaurant concept, called Daybright, featuring an array of specialty coffee drinks and some food items, reported AtlantaNewsFirst.com. Located in the Atlanta suburb of Hiram, Ga., the concept was created by Chick-fil-A innovation subsidiary, Red Wagon Ventures.

Daybright has a dual drive-thru lane and a dining room, according to the report. It’s open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday (all Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed on Sunday) and offers handcrafted coffees, smoothies, cold-pressed juices and food make with “simple ingredients,” according to its website. 

The food menu is limited. It includes donuts (with each one having at least six grams of proteins), stuffed English muffins, egg bites, a burrito and more. Notably, no Chick-fil-A items are listed on the menu.

“With schedules busier than ever, we know people are looking for easy, convenient ways to enjoy quality food and beverages,” David Farmer, VP of Red Wagon Ventures, said in a statement in the report. “Daybright is designed with this in mind, offering delicious beverages and portable bites intended to delight customers and help boost their busy days.”

A trending Westernwear brand has tapped a new artificial intelligence solution provider to improve its inventory management.

Following a successful pilot, Tecovas is rolling out Invent.ai’s AI-powered allocation and replenishment solutions across its entire store network. The platform drives real-time inventory decisions, which the retailer says “enables faster, data-driven decisions and rapid testing of inventory strategies.”

“Our initial pilot with Invent.ai delivered outstanding results,” said Kevin Harwood, CTO at Tecovas. “They improved in-stock rates, reduced excess inventory and streamlined our planning processes. Seeing such measurable results upfront gave us the confidence to phase Invent.ai’s solutions across all our stores.”

For Tecovas, Invent.ai will predict demand at the granular SKU-store level, ensuring the right products are in the right locations. The AI continuously adjusts inventory across stores, distribution centers and fulfillment channels as demand shifts, improving in-stock rates and sales while reducing excess inventory. Invent.ai also says its solutions reduce allocator workload by 80% through automated and optimized inventory flows.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Tecovas, a brand that values craftsmanship and customer experience as much as we do,” said Tav Tepfer, chief revenue officer of Invent.ai. “Their pilot with our AI-powered solutions already delivered outstanding results and scaling the platform will help Tecovas keep the right products in the right place at the right time to provide the seamless retail experience their customers expect.”

[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Gartner sees data as key to fulfillment success]

Based in Austin, Tecovas handcrafts Western footwear, workwear, apparel, and accessories, and operates over 50 stores nationwide. In 2024, the brand opened 11 new locations.

Saks Global has reportedly reorganized its top management.

Emily Essner, who was named president and chief commercial officer of Saks Global in December 2024 when the luxury retailer purchased the Neiman Marcus Group, has left the company, reported WWD. Essner previously served as chief marketing officer at Saks.

In addition, Bill Bine, chief transformation officer for Saks Global, and Rob Brooks, the chief operating officer for Saks Global, have also departed the company, according to the report. Similar to Essner, both were appointed  to their roles in December. 

In other changes, Kim Miller, president of Saks Off 5th, has been tapped as chief customer officer, a new role at Saks Global.

With the executive shakeup, the company is looking to reduce costs and improve relations with brands and vendors, WWD said.  

Saks Global is the largest multi-brand luxury retailer in the world, comprising Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Off 5th, Last Call and Horchow. 

A prominent online pet supplies retailer's creator storefront program has reached a new milestone.

Launched last year, Chewy Storefronts, a platform that brings the “power of the creator economy to the pet industry,” has surpassed 600 content creators. Through the platform, creators can build curated shops featuring their favorite Chewy products and earn commissions when their fan communities purchase through them.

Participants can apply to join, curate collections across thousands of brands, and track performance through a dedicated dashboard with real-time analytics. Chewy says its Storefronts program represents the next phase of its broader engagement strategy, by combining “commerce, community, and creator storytelling to meet pet parents where they are.”

[READ MORE: Survey: Pet parents continue to spend on food, toys]

“With Chewy Storefronts, creators can showcase their favorite pet finds in one place, making it easier for pet parents to discover products they’ll love,” said Amelia Taylor, director of influencer strategy at Chewy. “Chewy Storefronts brings together trusted voices in the pet community with our unmatched selection and service, creating a shopping experience that feels both personal and inspiring for pet parents.”

On its website, Chewy offers approximately tens of thousands of pet products from national and private brands, including pet supplements, food, accessories and more. Last spring, the company opened its first brick-and-mortar veterinary care practices.

Walmart is partnering with a pharmaceutical giant to sell its weight-loss treatment at the chain’s nearly 4,600 pharmacies nationwide. 

Walmart pharmacies will offer Eli Lilly’s Zepbound’s single dose vials at direct-to-consumer prices by mid-November, with the lowest dose starting at $349 per month with self-pay. It marks the first retail collaboration for the drugmaker and the first time it has provided a retail pick-up option to customers who use the LillyDirect website to order Zepbound. Patients with a valid, on-label prescription can access Zepbound vials directly without using insurance.

“Life is busy, and this will help people discover new, easy ways to get their medication,” said Kevin Host, senior VP of pharmacy at Walmart. “We are known for building great relationships with our patients, and our teams look forward to doing more of that through making this pickup option available from our trusted pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.”

 Zepbound is an injectable prescription medicine that may help adults with obesity, or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off, moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea and obesity to improve their OSA.

“Managing a chronic disease like obesity can be a significant and ongoing burden — physically, emotionally, and financially,” said Jennifer Mazur, senior VP and general manager of LillyDirect. “This collaboration with Walmart is designed to reduce that burden by streamlining access to prescribed treatment. By combining LillyDirect’s innovative, patient-centered platform with Walmart’s nationwide pharmacy footprint, we’re expanding options for patients facing access challenges, making it easier to start and stay on authentic Lilly medicine.” 

A softening of consumer sentiment is driving changes in spending behavior — and discount stores are the beneficiaries. 

Across income levels, consumers are broadly trading down and seeking more value amid macroeconomic uncertainties, according to new data from commerce media platform Cardlytics. Overall retail spending grew modestly (up 4.47%) from July through mid-October compared to the same time last year. But spending at discount retailers such as Dollar General, Walmart and Ross is growing nearly twice as fast (up 8% year over year) across the U.S. and continues to grow share.

With basket sizes staying flat, this points to more cautious and value-conscious behavior that is expected to continue through the holiday season, advised Cardlytics.

The states with the highest growth in discount retail spend include North Dakota (up 17.8%), South Dakota (17.6%), Hawaii (16.5%), Wyoming (15.9%) and Minnesota (15%). The states with the highest growth in overall retail spend include Delaware up (9.2%), Hawaii (8.9%), Ohio (6.8%), New Jersey (6.6%) and New York (6.1%)

Methodology 

Analysis is based on aggregate first-party purchase data from Cardlytics’ bank partners, representing spend from nearly 200 million bank customers in the U.S. Purchase data from July through mid-October in 2024 and 2025 was reviewed for year-over-year comparisons. Consumer spend patterns at all retailers across industries in the U.S. (top 100 retailers make up the vast majority of category spend) also reviewed.