Moving across the US-Canada border can be the first step toward international expansion for retailers. Canadian brands like lululemon athletica and Aritzia are thriving in the US. Meanwhile, US-based companies Lowe’s, Nordstrom, and Bed Bath & Beyond recently announced they were leaving Canada. And let’s not forget Target’s famous Canadian failure. Here’s a look at how brands on both sides of the border have fared, and the lessons you can learn from them.
Bumper profits, struggling investment banks, and swelling customer deposits were all themes in banks’ Q1 earnings.
GreenSky may be an attractive acquisition as consumers rely more on BNPL for essential purchases
This can help Square ward off disintermediation as softPOS volume grows
Autonomous food delivery robots gain momentum: Uber Eats’ food delivery robot test in Northern Virginia builds on the company’s delivery pilots in Miami, Los Angeles, and Houston.
Delivery isn’t as essential as it was early in the pandemic: That’s creating a challenging environment for pandemic-era winners such as Deliveroo and Getir.
Ikea has big plans to grow its US sales: It plans to spend $2.2 billion over the next three years to add 17 new stores and bolster its fulfillment network.
Declining demand and rising costs are taking a toll. Samsung and Apple dominate the premium segment, leaving room for budget brands to thrive in emerging markets.
Travel and food propped up spending in Q1, but consumers are pulling back amid record-high credit card debt and inflation.
Disney and Kroger team up to enhance targeting, measurement capabilities: The partnership gives CPG advertisers the ability to better connect ad exposures to sales or their KPI of choice. (This article was written with the assistance of ChatGPT.)
The UK’s cost-of-living crisis shows no signs of easing: Inflation remained in the double digits in March, even as price increases in the EU and US eased.
Just Eat Takeaway touts higher profits even as order volumes decline: North American orders fell by 17% YoY in Q1, further complicating the company’s efforts to offload Grubhub.
Malls are struggling to stay profitable as consumer behaviors change and shopping moves even more online. While foot traffic and occupancy rates are down, there are some opportunities for growth. By changing up their retail mix and mastering the omnichannel experience, malls can regain relevance among shoppers.
“Over 50% [of users] say they view Pinterest as a place to shop,” said Pinterest CEO Bill Ready. “Yet we haven’t made it easy for them to shop historically, as shoppable content was not integrated into core experiences.”
Network International is mulling a $2.6B acquisition bid, which reflects the widespread payments digitization in the region.