The Weekly Close: Petco Partners with Nationwide for Pet Insurance and Shopify Plans to Turn Profitable

It’s been another week with a lot more retail news than there is time in the day. Below, we outline some things you may have missed during the week, and what we’re still thinking about.

From Ugg’s Feel House pop-up to Digital Brands Group’s stock split, here’s our closeout of the week.

What you may have missed

Petco partners with Nationwide to expand pet health offerings

Relying on his health and wellness destination positionPetco announced on Thursday a multi-year partnership with Nationwide provide pet insurance.

Insurance offerings, expected to be available next year, will focus on pet care from Petco’s pharmacies, hospitals or veterinary clinics, and other health programs like the retailer’s Vital Care program. . Preventative care like vaccinations and unforeseen medical needs are included in the coverage.

“Receiving the lifelong medical support pets need is critical for pets and their families,” said Jenny Wolski, senior vice president of omnichannel customer experience at Petco, in a statement. communicated. “The personalized, data-driven pet insurance solutions we are developing in partnership with Nationwide will be designed to expand families’ access to Petco’s full suite of pet care services, giving them a longer, healthier life together.”

The news comes just days after the online pet retailer Chewy announced a partnership with Lemonade provide pet insurance to consumers.

Targeting its professional customers, Lowe’s presents a “playbook”

After bringing back its PROvember sale event, Lowe’s on Wednesday deployed its “PROvember Playbook”, a guide focused on its professional clients.

The company found that 86% of professionals saw inflation as a major problem this year and two-thirds expected it to persist over the long term.

The home improvement retailer kicked off its month-long sale event on Thursday, with additional savings on tools and materials from DeWalt, Metabo HPT and FLEX; the ability to earn bonus reward points on purchases; and access to dedicated associates trained to help this customer segment.

“We know Pros have a lot of challenges ahead this winter, so we’re deepening our dedication through Lowe’s PROvember,” Tony Hurst, senior vice president of Pro, Services and International, said in a statement. “As a true business partner of Pros, we are listening to their needs and adding more value and meaning to what we offer our Pros so they can look forward to a busy new year.

Digital Brands 1 for 100 Stock Split

Following its IPO last year, Digital Brands Group is planning a reverse stock split which would combine all 100 shares of its common stock into a single share.

Reverse stock splitting is a common move by companies with low stock prices to stay in line with stock markets. Earlier this year, the Nasdaq informed Digital Brands that it would remove the listing the company’s shares because they failed to meet market requirements, but the Nasdaq granted Digital Brands an extension until Jan. 17 to comply.

Digital Brands, which continued to accumulate losses since its IPO, is still working to complete its acquisition of clothing brand Sundry, announced earlier this year. The company said the last time he expects to close the deal in November, after the sellers agreed to a significant cash reduction and stock in the sale price.

Shopify Q3 revenue grows 22%, expects to ‘return to profitability’

Next a second quarter report Showing a net loss of $1.2 billion, e-commerce company Shopify returned to the third quarter with a smaller $158 million loss and a 22% increase in year-over-year revenue to $1.4 billion, according to a press release Thursday.

The company has been working hard to launch new products for merchants. Just this month, the brand released a new sale tax product designed to help companies with the tedious task, as well as new mobile point of sale equipment.

“We are a company that loves profitability,” Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify told analysts on a call Thursday. “If you look at the 7 years since IPO, 5 of those years we’ve been profitable. We plan to return to profitability.

retail therapy

Ugg is exactly what it feels like

Ugg this week launched a “multi-sensory community space dedicated to making self-expression comfortable for all,” nicknamed Feel House. The pop-ups will appear in Brooklyn, New York; Chengdu, China; and Seoul, South Korea this fall.

People enter the Feel House through a sensory tunnel and enter a “sanctuary space” with special audio and lighting installations. A personalized perfume smells like – you guessed it – a pair of Uggs (really, the scent of suede, leather, apricot, salt and other things that smell like rich people). Customers can also contribute to an interactive wall by sharing their feelings through art and words, which sounds like an absolute nightmare for introverts, but a thoughtful idea for a brand.

What we still think about

150

This is the number of Apple shop-in-shops now hosted at Target stores after the partnership launched with just 17 in early 2021. The retailer and the tech giant have deepened their collaboration, as the retailer has done with other major brands, including Ulta Beauty and Disney, to create experiences brand in its stores.

Target is now also offering perks like free trials of Apple Fitness+ and other services, including Apple Music and Apple TV+, for its loyal Target Circle members. Apple shop-in-shops feature Apple-trained Target technology consultants and have twice the space for Apple products.

$2 billion

This could be Adidas’ annual revenue drop now that the sneaker powerhouse has ended its collaboration with Yeezy, following the latest round of problematic remarks from longtime collaborator Ye, also known as by Kanye West. On Tuesday, the brand said forgoing its Yeezy sales would mean losing some $246 million in profit this year alone as it sells more in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, he doesn’t detail his Yeezy sales, but analysts estimate the label accounted for 10% of his revenue and up to 15% of his profits due to high Yeezy prices.

Despite the major loss, Adidas will be fine without the merger, according to Morningstar stock analyst David Swartz.

“To add some perspective, even without Yeezy, Adidas ships over 300 million shoes a year and has a revenue base of approximately [$20 billion]”, Swartz said in comments via email, adding, “While the decision to end the deal with Yeezy was painful, it was necessary and will pose no risk of financial distress. Historically, Adidas has operated with over €1 billion in cash and little to no debt on its balance sheet, and we expect this to continue to be the case.

what we watch

The disappearance of Yeezy

Adidas’ announcement to end its partnership with Yeezy and retire all Yeezy products reverberated through the industry this week. Foot Locker removed the sneakers from its shelves at the sneaker giant’s request, according to Footwear News, and Adidas has reportedly been working on the phones to get smaller shops to remove them as well. Second-hand clothing site The RealReal on Instagram said it would no longer be accepting items, although Yeezy x Adidas shoes were still available there at press time.

It is not known what will happen in the resale of sneakers. There was evidence that demand was growing, although the Los Angeles Times reported that resale prices were dropping on what are now tarnished products.

TJX Cos., which runs TJ Maxx, Marshalls and other off-prices, also clarified that Yeezy items won’t be found in its stores. This may not have been the most difficult decision, as many customers and even some employees were skeptical as they ever were.