Retail Industry Weekly Newsletter (12.13.21)
By: Loc Nguyen
Tags: Venture Capital, Brands, Ecommerce, Retail Technology

TIPS & INSIGHTS

➜ Venture capital firms set aside $1 billion for women-led startups. Here’s how it’s going

➜ The pandemic highlights the importance of investing in women

➜ Gordon Ramsay moves restaurant HQ to Texas from California as his huge brand expansion plans start to take shape

➜ Securing the metaverse — What’s needed for the next chapter of the internet

➜ 3 keys to operationalizing startup sales from day one

➜ Venture funding to booze startups boomed this year, but will the buzz linger?

➜ 7 innovative brands speaking at NRF 2022: Retail’s Big Show

➜ $1B+ market map: The world’s 936 unicorn companies in one infographic

➜ ‘Play-to-Earn’ gaming and how work is evolving in Web3

MACROECONOMY & INDUSTRY

➜ How do you feel about inflation? The answer will help determine its longevity: Supply-chain disruptions, labor shortages and climbing oil prices have pushed inflation to a 39-year-high. But attention is now focused on another variable: Do people think inflation is here for a while? Because people’s expectations can factor into inflation, the answer plays a critical role in determining how the Federal Reserve and the administration manage the rising numbers — and how soon and how much the Fed will raise interest rates.

TOP RETAIL TECH STORIES

➜ Headless Commerce: Part 1 — The Evolving State of E-Commerce Infrastructure: Coresight Research and Nogin’s three-part report series, Headless Commerce, explores the emerging commerce-as-a-service (CaaS) space in the US and the key trends in the market. We leverage findings from an October 2021 Coresight Research survey of e-commerce leaders in the US to identify the key challenges and benefits in building and using e-commerce infrastructure and tools.

➜ DoorDash introduces ultra-fast grocery delivery, new approach to labor: Boasting delivery times in as little as 10 minutes, DoorDash has launched a grocery delivery service from its DashMart location in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The offering of items available for delivery is limited to 2,000 fresh and frozen grocery staples, snacks, household goods, and local products. Initially, the speedy deliveries will be offered from a new DashMart location in Chelsea, with more locations and partners coming over the next few months. DoorDash introduced DashMarts in eight markets in 2020. New Yorkers also turn to a rapidly expanding set of so-called “instant needs” companies such as Jokr, Buyk and GoPuff, who promise rapid deliveries on a limited range of items, typically in markets with high population densities.

➜ Walmart adds science-based targets to supply chain financing option: Walmart announced Wednesday it has added science-based targets to its supply chain finance program, with the aim of helping smaller and mid-size companies make their operations more sustainable. Walmart worked with HSBC and CDP, a nonprofit that helps companies and cities with their environmental impact disclosures, on changes that provide smaller suppliers access to special financing for their sustainability efforts. Walmart said the new finance program for suppliers marks a “key” step in its efforts, called Project Gigaton, to cut 1 gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions from its global supply chain by 2030.

➜ Zippin brings checkout-free tech to JFK airport store: As more retail tech companies roll out cashierless tech tools, JFKIAT, which runs Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, has partnered with Zippin and SSP America to integrate Zippin’s A.I. technology into Camden Food Express at Gate B 42, according to information emailed to Retail Dive. When shoppers pass through a turnstile, they can tap their credit card, and Zippin’s A.I. technology will identify and track the items they pick. Once they leave, their credit card will be charged for the cost of the goods they chose. About 100 Zippin-powered stores are expected in train stations and airports by the end of next year, according to the company.

➜ Buy now pay later boom shows no signs of slowing this holiday season: 7% of shoppers said they will be using buy now, pay later as a payment method for holiday purchases this year, according to a CNBC/Momentive Small Business Survey. The credit card alternative has exploded in popularity as online shopping has boomed during the pandemic and more retailers and payment providers have adopted it. The use of BNPL globally during Cyber Week — from Nov. 23 to Monday — jumped 29% year over year, according to Salesforce data.

➜ Walmart’s former e-commerce head is now CEO of food startup Wonder: Marc Lore, who is credited with transforming Walmart’s e-commerce operations, is going “all in” on his latest tech-driven venture, which features an on-demand food truck business called Wonder. Wonder trucks deliver made-to-order meals ordered online through the Wonder app directly to the customer’s home. Each truck is equipped with a mobile kitchen, with a chef who completes the meals once the vehicle arrives at the customer’s home. The chef places the meal on a foldable tray table at their door. The entire process is contactless.

➜ Alibaba rolls its marketplace businesses into a single organization: Alibaba Group, operator of global marketplace platform Alibaba.com, is shaking up the ranks of its senior executives. And the shuffling does include the realignment of B2B marketplace operations. In a letter to employees today, Alibaba Group Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang announced that all its global business-to-consumer and B2B marketplace operations will be folded into a new business unit: International Digital Commerce.

➜ Zara lands in the metaverse with South Korean label Ader Error: Zara has taken the leap into the metaverse with South Korean label Ader Error to launch its first collaborative project which explores the metaverse and virtual reality. According to Ader in a release, the AZ Collection is ‘inspired by the identities and uniqueness of all generations from A to Z, blurring the boundaries between the virtual and real worlds, and features the lives of young people who pioneer their own Persona.’ Alongside its physical apparel range, the collaborative project is available through the Zepeto platform, which is already being used by the likes of Ralph Lauren, Disney and Nike, where users can purchase digital versions of the clothes and makeup for their avatars.

TOP RETAIL STORIES

➜ Holiday shopping? Check out some of the Dallas area’s most interesting new stores: The long holiday weekend proved that stores are still important to shoppers, at least this time of year. Optimistic retailers banked on consumers heading back to stores as the restrictions of the pandemic eased. From pop-ups to permanent locations and relocations, local entrepreneurs and national chains have committed to new stores in the Dallas area. Some concepts are driven by people who quit or were forced from their day jobs and started their own businesses. Creative sorts have filled new collaborative spaces, such as MKT Dallas in West Village and Mosaic Makers in the Bishop Arts District. Both have opened second stores in Galleria Dallas.

➜ Activist firm Engine Capital pressures Kohl’s to consider sale or online separation: The New York-based hedge fund Engine Capital wants Kohl’s to explore the two alternatives to try to boost its stock price, it said in a letter sent to Kohl’s board that was published publicly on Monday. Engine Capital owns a roughly 1% stake in Kohl’s. Engine Capital said in its letter that assuming Kohl’s brings in online sales revenue of about $6.2 billion, Kohl’s digital business alone would be worth $12.4 billion. Engine Capital also said it believes that there are private equity firms that would pay at least $75 per share for the retailer

➜ Target’s Lego collaboration is what technicolor dreams are made of: Big-box retailer Target has a long history of high-low designer collaborations that offer fashion-forward product mashups at reasonable retail prices. In the past several decades, they’ve brought their cheap-chic magic to Marimekko, Missoni, and Rodarte, and more recently, Christopher John Rogers and Rachel Comey. The ever-famous Red Dot Boutique’s latest partnership is a little more youthful but no less stylish — this time, they’ve teamed up with the legacy toy brand Lego for a 300-piece collection of gifts, home goods, toys, and pet accessories inspired by the Danish toymaker’s signature primary-hued building blocks. The assortment also includes a wide range of apparel for kids and adults, with sizes extending up to 4X.

➜ Oatly plans 3 new facilities by 2023 to combat supply shortages: Oatly is building out its global manufacturing footprint “at an unprecedented pace” to address supply shortages and meet the growing demand for plant-based milk, CEO Toni Petersson said on the company’s Q3 earnings call. Three plants are set to open in the U.S., U.K. and China in 2023, which are expected to produce 450 million liters of product, according to COO Peter Bergh. The company already opened three facilities in Utah, Singapore and Ma’anshan, China, earlier this year. Oatly had to rely more on contract manufacturers this year after struggling to build inventory and meet global demand. Supply issues also pushed the company to prioritize production of oatmilk over other dairy-alternative food products.

➜ That big office building? It’s an e-Commerce warehouse now.: Allstate Corp.’s suburban campus outside Chicago, with its interconnected buildings, manicured grounds and acres of parking, represented a new vision for the U.S. office when it opened in 1967. That vision is now dead. The insurer reached a deal last month to sell most of the campus. The new owner plans to demolish the office buildings and convert the Northbrook, Ill., site into more than 3 million square feet of e-commerce warehouses and other logistics facilities. In New York and San Francisco, more than 80% of all office space is more than 30 years old, and Chicago isn’t far behind, according to Phil Ryan, director of U.S. office research at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. These three cities also have some of the lowest office occupancy rates in the country

➜ Retail shopping center trends to watch in ’22: Real estate investment trust Phillips Edison and Company (PECO) is out with its predictions for the retail industry heading into 2022. PECO is literally and figuratively close to the ground when it comes to retail insights through its management of nearly 300 shopping centers that include Kroger, Public, Ahold Delhaize and Albertsons anchor stores. As retailers compete with restaurants for the share of the consumer food dollar, they can also heed foodservice trends likely to impact shoppers’ behavior. PECO highlighted the launch of digital-only restaurants and ghost kitchens in the quick-service and fast-casual spaces, noting that those trends reflect the restaurant industry’s drive to accommodate demand for off-premise dining, which is likely to continue beyond the pandemic.

➜ How money shapes retail: In early 2020, Retail Dive launched what was supposed to be an extended series of stories that looked at how financial interests and players had shaped the industry as well as the fates of individual companies. That was also the last story we formally published in the series. In March 2020, as everyone knows all too well, the world changed suddenly and dramatically. With retailers temporarily closing their entire chains, and the industry grappling with how to operate in or even just survive the pandemic, we shelved the “money in retail” series to focus on the ramifications of COVID-19.

TOP EXITS

➜ Chobani S-1: Sum of the parts here points to a $6B valuation for @chobani, but we all know @chobani is going to trade a lot higher than that. Why? (1) This is a beacon for every other ESG company and will attract capital commensurately; and (2) value will be put on their innovation platform + distribution capabilities.