News Briefs

California’s largest shopping center has added new tenants in time for spring and summer.

Orange County’s South Coast Plaza has welcomed several new luxury retail tenants as well as eateries to its mix. Last year, the shopping center debuted nearly 40 new boutiques, and is currently on track to outpace that number.

"This spring is an exciting time of growth at South Coast Plaza," said Debra Gunn Downing, executive director of marketing at South Coast Plaza. "These vibrant, new boutiques and dining experiences continue to further elevate the experience for our shoppers and tell the story of Southern California's premier shopping destination."

[READ MORE: South Coast Plaza adds new luxury apparel tenants]

New tenants that have just opened at South Coast Plaza include:

• A West Coast flagship for Dior Beauty;
• Luxury swimwear label Eres;
• A new Tiffany pop-up;
• Japanese restaurant Ramen Nagi;
• Chinese/Peruvian restaurant Vox Kitchen.

Other arrivals debuting later this spring/summer include Ami Paris, Eleventy, and Guerlain as well as new stores for Gianvito Rossi, Moncler, Roger Vivier, Sandro and See’s Candies. Coming this fall are Alo and Skims, along with new concepts for Bottega Veneta, Camilla, Club Monaco, Crate & Barrel, MaxMara, and Tumi.

Located in Costa Mesa, Calif., South Coast Plaza is home to more than 280 retail stores and restaurants.

The world’s largest cosmetics company is significantly enhancing online marketing performance of one of its brands.

L’Oreal is utilizing the AI-based Appier Ad Cloud and Personalization Cloud solutions and partnering with media services provider Omnicom Media Group to strategically identify and engage high-value customer segments. 

The company leverages the advanced segmentation, behavioral analysis and time-sensitive offers enabled by Ad Cloud to strategically identify and engage high-value customer segments. In addition, L’Oreal uses the smart conversion optimizer within the Personalization Cloud to target hesitant customers with personalized incentives that have been reported to lift coupon performance while protecting profit margins.

L'Oreal further supported these capabilities with data-informed promotional strategies, scaling back incentives during high-demand periods and increasing engagement in quieter seasons to sustain conversion momentum. According to L’Oreal, this strategic modulation of campaign intensity has helped strike a balance between growth and profitability.

Since L'Oréal launched this program to improve the online marketing performance of the SkinCeuticals site, it says it has achieved a 152% quarter-over-quarter increase in return on ad spend, a 400% uplift in conversion rate among hesitant visitors, with a 48% boost in total on-site revenue.

"Appier helped us accelerate AI transformation in advertising and marketing, boosting revenue while improving operational effectiveness," said Maggie Hui, SkinCeuticals & Kérastase e-commerce manager at L'Oréal. "From behavior-triggered campaigns and time-sensitive offers to advanced segmentation and seamless user experiences, Appier's technology played a crucial role in turning data insights into action."

[READ MORE: L’Oreal developing sustainable cosmetics generative AI model with IBM]

Playa Bowls is looking to grow its footprint in the Tar Heel State.

The fast-casual chain, known for its açaí bowls, smoothies, juices, cold brew and more, has announced plans for continued expansion, targeting seven new locations in North Carolina’s Triad region, which includes the cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point. The announcement follows the success of Playa Bowls’ roll out in other key North Carolina markets, including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Mooresville and Wilmington. 

Playa Bowls is actively seeking spaces between 1,000 and 2,000 sq. ft. in strategic retail centers to meet growing demand in the Triad region. The company says that partnering with "forward-thinking landlords" will be key to its growth in the market.

“Playa Bowls has the power to uplift communities with its revitalizing menu and vibrant, summertime atmosphere,” said Beth Bennett, Playa Bowls franchise owner. “We are excited to bring that energy to Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and the surrounding areas. Our success in Morgantown, W.V. – where our location has welcomed nearly 10,000 customers per month since opening – shows how strong the demand is for what Playa Bowls offers.”

[READ MORE: Smoothie King expansion on track with strong Q1 growth]

Founded in 2014, Playa Bowls operates more than 300 locations in 27 states. In 2024, the chain was acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Amazon beat Wall Street estimates for both its top and bottom line, but offered weaker than expected second-quarter guidance.

Publix reported mixed results for its first quarter.

The regional grocer posted net earnings of $1 billion, with earnings per share of $0.31, for the quarter ended March 29, compared to $1.4 billion, or $0.41 per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were $0.36 per share, compared to $0.33 per share in 2024.

First-quarter sales rose 5.1% to $15.8 billion. Comparable store sales increased 4%. Publix said the increase in sales compared to the year-ago period was 1% lower due to the effect of the Easter holiday being in the second quarter in 2025 and in the first quarter in 2024.

Effective May 1, 2025, Publix’s stock price increased from $19.20 per share to $20.20 per share. Publix stock is not publicly traded and is made available for sale only to current Publix associates and members of its board of directors.

[READ MORE: Albertsons tops Street amid strong pharmacy growth; new CEO takes over on May 1]

Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the U.S., currently operates 1,403 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. 

The retail industry is seeing an increase in its annual number cyberincidents as criminals are seeking a wider variety of data.

Verizon recorded 837 digital security incidents in the retail industry during 2024, including 419 with confirmed data disclosure. The annual 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report also reveals that the top patterns for retail cyberincidents were system intrusion, social engineering, and basic web application attacks, representing a combined 93% of all breaches.

Almost all recorded threat actors (96%) were external, with 3% internal and 1% working for partners of exposed retailers. All threat actors had a financial motive, with 9% also conducting some sort of espionage. There was a substantial year-over-year increase in the number of threat actors conducting espionage from only 1% in 2023.

The top three types of data (more than one type can be exposed in a single incident) compromised in retail breaches reported by Verizon - internal (65%), other (30%), and credentials (26%) – remained the same from 2023.

However, Verizon analysis indicates that retail breaches are less frequently focused on unlawfully obtaining payment card data (12% of all breaches) and shifting to other data types that are more accessible. 

The top three retail cyberattack patterns as tracked by Verizon were system intrusion (including ransomware), social engineering (such as phishing emails), and basic web application attacks (fraudulent use and reuse of legitimate credentials, such as exploiting password weaknesses).

[READ MORE: How common are consumer data breaches?]