Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Etsy Inc., the online marketplace for handmade arts, crafts and clothing, has gone public with a bang. Shares opened on Thursday at $31 a share, almost twice their initial public offering price. As of April 16, Etsy is trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol “ETSY.”

After the offering, the total number of shares outstanding will be 110.9 million. Based on the opening price, Etsy is valued at over $3.7 billion.

Physical expansion remains the primary growth driver of many a U.S. retailer, but the likes of Alibaba and rival JD.com are allowing U.S. retailers and brands to tap the Chinese market without the aggravation and financial uncertainty associated with establishing a physical presence.

New York -- Teens directly command a whopping $75 billion of discretionary spending, but their wallets continue to shift from fashion and other “possession-based” categories to “shareworthy” experiences such as events and dining out. Those are among the findings of a study conducted by investment bank and asset management firm Piper Jaffrey.

New concepts are the lifeblood of retailing. Here are six new stores — three homegrown formats and three imports — that are currently in the works:

The nature of competition in the retail industry is not what it used to be. Decades of consolidation concentrated sales among a top tier of mega-retailers fueled deal-making among product manufacturers and others who serve the retail industry.

The top 10 U.S. retailers now account for more than $1,200,000,000,000 (zeroes added for effect) and that figure swells to $1.5 trillion if the next 10 largest are include. The big have gotten bigger and will continue to do so in the near term, however there is also a dramatic “re-fragmentation” of the retail industry underway.

Center City, Pa. -- X Team International, an international alliance of retail real estate advisors, announced that partner MSC Retail has completed a lease transaction with New Balance Experience Store at 1615 Walnut Street in Center City.

The new 2,200-sq.-ft. ground-floor retail space is located on Philadelphia’s leading high street, and will sit alongside The Apple Store, Urban Outfitters and Free People. It opened on April 1.

Littleton, Mass. - Dover Saddlery Inc. entered into a definitive merger agreement with a company formed by Webster Capital. Webster will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Dover common stock for $8.50 per share in cash and take Dover private.

Despite not having any stores in or near St. Louis, Academy Sports + Outdoors has inked a multi-year brand building deal with the Cardinals that is sure to have fans of the popular hometown baseball team scratching their heads.