News Briefs

Urban Outfitters is partnering with a footwear giant for the latest version of its in-store concept.

Vans has been selected by the retailer for the revolving On Rotation program, which aims to showcase Gen Z's favorite brands in an immersive in-store setting. The installation will roll out across “key” Urban Outfitters locations following its debut at Herald Square (New York City), including San Diego Fashion Valley, Cherry Creek Shopping Center (Denver), Brea Mall (Brea, Calif.) and King of Prussia (King of Prussia, Pa.).

The shop-in-shop features custom-built structures integrating live camera feeds, campaign imagery and layered product moments featuring Vans products, including shoes, shirts, hats and accessories. The installment showcases musicians Thomas Day and Juliet Ivy, marking the first time the On Rotation series has incorporated music talent. 

Previous On Rotation brand collaborations have included Nike, Levi’s and Ugg.

"Vans is an iconic brand that our customers love, and we're excited to partner with them for On Rotation," says Bijon Javadzadeh, general merchandise manager of men's and footwear at Urban Outfitters. "With our customer at the center, experiences and brands like this help us excite Gen Z and meet their growing demand for head-to-toe styling."

[READ MORE: Urban Outfitters launches creator campaign; partners with Zara Larsson]

Founded in 1970, Urban Outfitters operates more than 200 stores across the U.S. States, Canada and Europe, as well as a digital presence.

As Ikea continues to expand its footprint in the United States, it’s getting a big boost from certain groups.

New data from YouGov BrandIndex suggests that Ikea’s appeal is no longer being driven by budget shoppers, but increasingly by consumers entering key life stages and those with greater spending power. Two-fifths of those considering Ikea are aged 18–34 (41%), compared to 29% of all U.S. adults, according to YouGov.  

Affluent Americans are also slightly overrepresented. Eleven percent of Ikea considerers fall into high-income households, versus 9% of the general population.

[READ MORE: Ikea plots 10 new stores for 2026— here’s where]

YouGov found that value remains central to Ikea’s appeal. Of all the home furnishing and improvement retailers tracked by YouGov BrandIndex, Ikea ranks first among both 18-34s and higher-income consumers for “value scores.” (The value metric is a net score based on whether or not people think a brand represents good value for money.)

Among 18–34-year-olds, value scores  for Ikea have risen steadily, moving from 33.5 five years ago to 42.8 as of March 6 this year. Higher-income Americans show a similar trajectory, with Value perceptions rising from 32.1 in 2021 to over 40.  

“Even for consumers with higher purchasing power, the sense that Ikea offers good value appears to remain an important part of its appeal,” the study said. 

Part of what may also be fueling growing consideration among these two groups is an improving sentiment towards the brand. Among 18-34s, impression scores have strengthened over time, rising from the mid-30s in 2021 to roughly 40 in recent readings.  

Higher-income Americans have also shown rising positive sentiment. Impression scores for this group have climbed into the mid-30s, reflecting gradually strengthening perceptions of the brand among more affluent shoppers.

Amazon is said to be considering making a permanent change in the timing of its signature — and biggest — annual sales event.

The online giant plans to move Amazon Prime Day from its traditional mid-July setting to late June, according to a report from Investing.com following up on original Bloomberg reporting. Major motivations for the change reportedly include having Prime Day occur in the second quarter of Amazon’s fiscal year rather than the third quarter, as well as capturing more back-to-school sales.

An Amazon spokesperson declined a Chain Store Age request for comment, and so far the retailer has not made any public statement about this reported timing shift for Prime Day. Amazon launched Prime Day as a one-day event in July 2015 and extended it to two days in July 2017.

The only two times Prime Day occurred outside of July were 2020, when it was pushed to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 when Amazon hosted the event in June as the economy was still in recovery from the pandemic. 

In July 2025, Amazon expanded Prime Day from two days to four days and exceeded projections with $24.1 billion in sales. 

[READ MORE: Three signals from a four-day Amazon Prime Day]

While the July timing of Prime Day has made it the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season, the retailer also now hosts an annual two-day October sales event called Prime Big Deal Days, as well as several other early holiday promotions in October and November and a major Black Friday-Cyber Monday sales effort.

Numerous retailers, including top Amazon competitors such as Walmart and Target, host their own annual July sales events timed to overlap Prime Day. It remains to be seen if those promotions would also shift to late June.

A growing fast-casual Mediterranean chain has entered a new key market.

Cava has opened its first Ohio location, a 3,200-sq.-ft. restaurant at the Oakley Station shopping center in Cincinnati. Visitors will be able to enjoy the chain’s menu of permanent favorites and limited-time offerings, with digital order pick up and delivery options available. The restaurant will employ between 25 and 40 people.

Cava is targeting “at least” 1,000 restaurants by 2032, and is on track to open its 500th location later this year. The chain’s expansion into Ohio is just the latest effort to grow its footprint in the Midwest. Last year, Cava opened its first stores in Michigan and Indiana.

Also last year, Cava debuted its enhanced, “reimagined” Cava Rewards loyalty program that introduced three new status levels.

“Cincinnati has a strong sense of community, and that’s exactly what we hope to be part of here in Oakley,” said Jeff Gaul, chief development officer of Cava. “We believe great food brings people together, so whether guests are stopping by after work or fueling up before a Bengals or Reds game, we’re looking forward to bringing the fresh and craveable Mediterranean flavors to the neighborhood.”

[READ MORE: Texas Roadhouse veteran to join Cava C-suite]

Founded in Rockville, Md., Cava, which went public in 2023, operates approximately 450 locations in 29 states and Washington D.C.

Costco Wholesale Corp. has entered into a program that helps its members reduce the cost of fertility medications.

The membership warehouse giant is partnering with Sesame and IVI RMA North America to address the biggest barriers to care for the one in six Americans who suffer from infertility and want to build their family. (IVI RMA is made up of Reproductive Medicine Associates, Boston IVF and Toronto-based TRIO, and spans 25 IVF laboratories;  Sesame is a cash-pay healthcare platform connecting patients directly with doctors at transparent, up-front prices.)

The collaboration is designed to deliver widespread access to high quality fertility care and advanced reproductive medicine specialists, affordable and competitive pricing and coordinated care throughout the fertility journey.

"Our partnership with Sesame and IVI RMA reflects our commitment to transparent and affordable solutions that reduce barriers, are more accessible, and more affordable for our members," said Richard Stephens, senior VP of pharmacy at Costco. "By combining transparent pricing with coordinated care, we're removing the barriers that have historically kept quality fertility treatment out of reach for too many families."

Fertility medications are fulfilled by Costco, with member pricing that includes savings of up to 80% on medications such as Follistim through pharmacy programs. This dramatically reduces one of the biggest out-of-pocket expenses in fertility care, saving patients thousands of dollars on each cycle, according to the release announcing the program.

If specialty care is advised, patients are directly connected to IVI RMA, where additional discounts have been negotiated for Costco members. 

"Our partnership with Sesame and IVI RMA reflects our commitment to transparent and affordable solutions that reduce barriers, are more accessible, and more affordable for our members," said Richard Stephens, senior VP of pharmacy at Costco. "By combining transparent pricing with coordinated care, we're removing the barriers that have historically kept quality fertility treatment out of reach for too many families."

Vera Bradley has ended its search for a new chief executive.

The women's handbags and accessories company named Ian Bickley as chairman and CEO. For the past eight months, he has served as executive chairman of Vera Bradley, a role that was created following the departure of CEO Jacqueline Ardrey in July. In the role, Bickley has been “deeply” involved in accelerating Vera Bradley’s transformation efforts, including the development of its “Project Sunshine” initiative, the company said.

Prior to Vera Bradley, Bickley was at Tapestry, where his roles included serving as president of the international group of Coach He also served as interim CEO of the Body Shop, where he helped complete a successful sale of the company.  

“After an extensive search, the board is delighted that Ian has accepted this important role,” said Andrew Meslow, lead independent director of Vera Bradley. “He brings deep and relevant strategic and operational experience in building and transforming global brands, including executive roles at Coach and on the Boards of Crocs, Brilliant Earth and Natura. He has already made a significant impact on the business, the talent and the organization.”

The board also appointed Martin Layding as COO and CFO. Layding joined Vera Bradley as CFO in June 2025.

“The board’s decision to name me permanent CEO and expand Marty’s role to COO and CFO reflects our shared confidence in the path forward,” Bickley said. “The positive response to the return of beloved styles like the original 100 Bag, along with strong double-digit positive comp growth in our brand channels for the second consecutive quarter, suggests we’re making progress with our product assortment.”

Vera Bradley reported fourth-quarter net revenues of $84.9 million compared to $86.4 million in the year-ago period. The company returned to profitability with net income from continuing operations of $2.7 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $20.0 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter.