Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Online retailer Hollar is looking to take sales away from a segment that, to date, has proved relatively immune to digital growth: dollar stores.  

Personalization continues to be the trend that just won’t go away, probably because it’s the new normal in how consumers want to interact with brands and retailers. Personalized videos hold the promise to surprise and delight (and covert), especially as we collectively spend more and more of our time viewing videos online. And personalized promotions help retailers maximize scarce marketing dollars, ensuring the right customer gets the right call to action at the right time.

Forrester Research has identified the retailers with the most and least satisfactory experience, and a very prominent name scored poorly.  

Alex and Ani is ramping up its store growth.   The Cranston, Rhode Island-based retailer plans to open 27 new locations in North America by the end of 2016, giving it a total of some 90 stores.     With the majority of its stores located on the East Coast, Alex and Ani, which is privately held, is now looking further afield. It will make its Southern California debut this fall, in Orange County.    

Party City Holdco Inc. on Thursday named Daniel J. Sullivan as CFO.   Sullivan succeeds Michael A. Correale, who is stepping down as Party City CFO to focus on the newly created position of executive VP chief accounting officer and treasurer, effective Aug. 29. In his new role, Correale will be responsible for all of the company’s external financial reporting, treasury functions, banking and credit relationships.  

Target Corp. is expanding its portfolio of smaller stores.

The chain expects to roll out 14 more of its smaller stores this year, including a 21,000-sq.-ft. location in the Queens borough of New York City, which is opening this week, according the New York Post.

The Unilever-Dollar Shave Club deal reflects the growing importance of emerging brands, vertical integration, and the consumer direct route to market favored by new CPG market entrants such as Dollar Shave Club, Honest Co., and NatureBox.

Even geeks appreciate the convenience and hands-on experience of visiting a physical store.   Recognizing the continuing popularity of brick-and-mortar, specialty video game retailer GameStop Corp. has been extending its pure-play ThinkGeek banner into physical stores. GameStop purchased ThinkGeek parent company GeekNet Inc. in 2015. ThinkGeek specializes in selling “loot,” or collectible items and memorabilia, rather than video games.  

Sequels are rarely better than the original, but the second annual Amazon Prime Day may deserve comparisons to “The Godfather Part II” and “The Empire Strikes Back.”  

Consumer goods giant Unilever is paying a reported $1 billion to buy an online retail start-up that has yet to turn to profit.   Unilever PLC announced it is buying Dollar Shave Club, the razor delivery subscription service known for its irreverent brand positioning and viral You Tube videos. Terms of the deal were not announced, but The New York Times and other media outlets reported Unilever is paying $1 billion in cash for the scrappy company, which has yet to turn a profit but expects to do so by yearend.