News Briefs

One of the country’s most popular cookie brands is going on a nationwide summer road trip.

Oreo will unveil a pop-up dedicated to its soft, cake-baked snack cakes on June 12 in New York City’s Meatpacking District. “The Soft Life" pop-up is designed to immerse customers in the "new and improved" Oreo Cakesters brand. The marketing push follows the product’s reformulation, which was optimized for softness and flavor.

The pop-up will feature a soft-baked bakery counter where guests can order Oreo Cakesters-to-go, a scent discovery experience and an interactive giveaway experience featuring numerous Cakesters merch items. It will also feature a “cloud pillow pit” with an overhead mirror for photo opportunities.

After its initial stop in New York City, a custom-branded Airstream camper will embark on "The Soft Life" Summer Tour. The tour will bring the sensory experience and sampling across the country, with stops in:

•Milwaukee, July 2-4;

•Chicago, July 10 – 12;

Columbus, Ohio – August 1-2;

•Bethlehem, Penn.; – August 7 – 9; and

•Asbury Park, N.J.,August 14 – 16

Additional tour stops in California and Texas will be announced at a later date.

"We know today's snackers want dynamic, on-the-go treats, and we are thrilled to deliver our softest, most delicious Orea Cakesters yet," said Melissa Renny, senior director, cakes & pastries at Mondelēz, whose portfolio includes Oreo. "While we kept the nostalgic flavor long-time fans expect, we wanted to celebrate this upgraded recipe in a big way that would pique the interest of new consumers. 'The Soft Life' goes beyond just tasting the product — it immerses fans in a playful, pillowy world where they can truly feel the softer side of Oreo Cakesters."

Canada has become the first Walmart market outside of the U.S. to offer the Walmart+ paid subscription program.

Walmart+, initially launched in the U.S. in September 2020, is now available for customers of Walmart Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Walmart Inc., for $8.97 per month or $89 annually.

The program provides Canadian customers with unlimited same-day delivery from store on orders of $35 or more, free shipping with no order minimum from the Walmart.ca e-commerce site and savings on Express Delivery orders that arrive in two hours or less. Members also receive a subscription to the Crave streaming service. Walmart+ is the only membership to offer Crave as an embedded benefit at no additional cost.

This program replaces Delivery Pass, a paid subscription program Walmart Canada introduced in 2023 with free next-day delivery of more than 65,000 items, for the same annual price of $89. Existing Delivery Pass members will automatically become Walmart+ members.

[READ MORE: Walmart Canada introduces delivery subscription program]

"Walmart+ is a game changer for Canadians, especially the busy families who rely on our everyday low prices," said Catherine Theberge-Conner, head of membership, Walmart Canada. "With Walmart+, Canadians can access a unique membership offering that combines unlimited grocery and general merchandise delivery with benefits beyond retail – all for only $89 per year. Canadians are going to love the level of convenience, assortment and value they get with Walmart+, with more to come."

New customers can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Walmart+ on the Walmart Canada website.

Headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., Walmart Canada is an omnichannel discount retailer operating more than 400 stores nationwide.

Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii is growing its footprint through traditional and non-traditional formats.

The chain says it now has six non-traditional stores spanning trailers and food trucks, coffee kiosks, carts and counters, drive-thru only kiosks, and "captive audience" shops inside venues such as airports, sporting arenas, grocery stores and shopping malls. Bad Ass Coffee cited the recent opening of the brand's flagship presence at a 19,000-sq.-ft. travel plaza in Kenosha, Wis., developed in partnership with multi-unit operator Paul Bhardwaj of Golden Oil.

The non-traditional growth comes as Bad Ass Coffee continues to grow its traditional store footprint. AWA Investments, Bad Ass Coffee’s largest investor and a multi-unit operator with stores spanning from Nashville, Tenn., to the Florida Panhandle, recently committed to a 10-unit agreement spanning the Gulf Coast of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

Between both formats, Bad Ass Coffee anticipates between 25 and 30 new store openings this year. The brand currently has more than 100 locations in various stages of development.

[READ MORE: Black Rock Coffee Bar names development chief; eyes 1,000 locations by 2035]

"Our franchisees are operators first, and the conversation keeps coming back to flexibility," said Tom Wylie, president and chief operating officer of Bad Ass Coffee. "When you're building inside a territory, having more than one format to deploy changes the math. A traditional cafe anchors the market. A kiosk inside a travel plaza, airport terminal, arena or grocery store extends the brand into traffic patterns a single cafe can't capture. That optionality is how we accelerate development with the multi-unit partners who are driving our growth."

Founded in 1989, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii operates more than 45 locations nationwide.

Primark’s latest round of expansion includes the Lone Star State.

The global value fashion and home retailer will open a 30,000-sq.-ft. store at The Parks Mall in Arlington, Texas, on June 25. It will be Primark’s sixth store in the state, and joins previous openings across the store, with locations at Katy Mills in Katy, Grapevine Mills in Grapevine, Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, La Plaza in McAllen and, most recently, North East Mall in Hurst. Primark currently has 42 U.S. stores.

"Primark's keen on continuing its Texas expansion," said Kevin Tulip, president of Primark US. "We've seen first-hand the importance of providing fashion that doesn't break the bank at our stores in the Dallas Fort-Worth area, and we want to continue to fulfill that need. It's incredible to become a part of these communities and be able to offer families a wide selection of trending fashion and everyday essentials at exceptional value."

The opening at The Parks Mall at Arlington comes at the heels of Primark's May openings, including its flagship at Herald Square in New York City, and its fourth opening in the Washington, D.C. metro area (DMV) at Prince George’s in Huntsville, Md., both areas in which Primark also continues to strengthen its presence.

[READ MORE: Primark to become stand-alone company]

 Primark operates more than 480 stores across 19 countries, 

GameStop Corp. reported a surprisingly strong first quarter that included the highest quarterly net income and the highest first-quarter operating income in its history.

The video game retailer's net income rose to $389.6 million in the quarter ended May 2, compared to net income of $44.8 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted net income was $179.3 compared to an adjusted net income of $73.1 million in the prior year.

Operating income was $143.3 million for the first quarter. compared to an operating loss of $10.8 million in the prior year's first quarter.

Net sales rose to 14% $835.3 million, driven by sales of  collectibles, which made up 41.8% of net sales, up from 28.9% in the year-ago quarter. (Collectibles Includes the sale of apparel, toys, trading cards, gadgets, other retail products for pop culture and technology enthusiasts, and submission services for the authentication and grading of trading cards. )

Hardware and accessories made up 39.9% of sales, down from 47.1% in the prior year. Software accounted for 18.3% of sales.

The results come after GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen in May launched a bid to take over eBay for $56 billion. eBay subsequently said that its board and independent advisers reviewed the offer and decided to reject it. 

On June 2, the GameStop board unanimously approved a  $2.0 billion share repurchase authorization through June 2, 2029, replacing the prior authorization from March 2019.

As customers search for products using descriptive language such as color, texture or pattern, AI-generated images will instantly take shape in the suggestions below the search bar, shifting and refining with each word added. Customers can tap a generated image and shop for visually similar products. 

Customers searching for apparel or accessories like “women’s silk shirt” will now see AI-generated shoppable collages in search results labeled “Shop by style,” organized by themes such as “Urban luxe” or “Soft elegance.” Tapping a collage leads to a curated page where customers can shop items, explore similar products, or swipe between styles.

When customers search for an item with a broad visual description such as “flannel shirt,” Amazon shows descriptive visual filters while they’re typing. Customers can select the image that best refines what they’re looking for and browse a narrowed selection of relevant products.

[READ MORE: Amazon introduces Lens Live, an AI-powered visual shopping tool]

Amazon enables conversational shopping

Amazon is using AI to expand customer capabilities for discovering and purchasing products. The retailer recently rolled out “Alexa for Shopping” to all U.S. customers on the Amazon e-commerce site and app, as well as on Amazon Echo Show smart speakers. 

This new solution combines the personalization capabilities of the next-gen Alexa+ voice model with the functionality of its former Rufus generative AI shopping assistant to deliver a targeted shopping experience where customers can browse and shop the full Amazon store using voice, touch, or both.